Kentucky
Brown: Kentucky baseball run fueled by Nick Mingione’s change of heart, transfer players
The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA baseball season a month into play, yet it helped transform Kentucky for the better.
The Wildcats might not be playing Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals this weekend had it not been for the changes UK baseball coach Nick Mingione made as a result of his unexpected spring four years ago.
Mingione took the Cats to their first super regional in program history during his first season in 2017 with a roster he largely inherited from former coach Gary Henderson.
But in 2018 they failed to reach the NCAA Tournament, and in 2019 — after posting the only losing season of Mingione’s tenure — they didn’t make the postseason at all, including the SEC Tournament.
So with the season canceled in 2020, and not many places to go while the pandemic had the nation on lockdown, Mingione began calling former players. He wanted a deeper insight into what worked and what didn’t from his coaching approach.
He wanted to know how he could be better.
Those former players didn’t hold back from offering real insight. One of the points Mingione took to heart was in how he built relationships.
As a first-time head coach, he may have taken for granted the continual work he needed to do in that regard. But it was clear to Mingione that he needed to show a different side of himself to the players, not just what he displayed as a coach on the field.
“I needed to meet them where they were at,” Mingione said. “It couldn’t just be one way or no way. So I’ve just had to learn how to adjust and adapt and continue to, once you get them here, to develop the relationship piece with them.”
Mingione said he also took from those conversations some ideas on how to “continue to build our team culture and to let them take more ownership in the program.”
That advice became particularly relevant as Mingione tapped into the transfer portal to help build the Cats.
Their roster got enhanced with the additions of players including designated hitter Nick Lopez (USC), third baseman Mitchell Daly (Texas) and first baseman Ryan Nicholson (Cincinnati), a Louisville native who played at St. Xavier High School.
Four of UK’s top five batters in terms of hits, home runs and RBIs came from the portal. Two of their regular starting pitchers — Trey Pooser (Charleston) and Dominic Niman (Central Connecticut) — did, too.
Mingione didn’t just go after talent, he pursued players who would be the right fit in the locker room and on the field, which is a distinction he didn’t always acknowledge during his first few seasons.
“Now we have the right people here,” Mingione said.
Lopez is an example of how they got it right.
UK is his fourth school after starting at Illinois-Chicago and spending a year at Santa Ana Community College.
UK assistant coach Austin Cousino had ties to people who knew Lopez well to get a feel for his character. Assistant coach Nick Ammirati evaluated how he’d fit in as a player. They reached the conclusion that he could be developed into a solid player.
“He could switch hit, and he didn’t bat right-handed last year,” Mingione said. “Give coach (Ammirati) a lot of credit, to make his right-hand swing better, and I thought that really helped him.”
Lopez, who at times last season batted eighth in the USC lineup, leads the team in doubles and triples. UK primarily uses him as its cleanup batter, and he’s responded with a .356 batting average this season and was named first-team All-SEC.
The Cats’ historic run to capturing their first SEC regular-season title since 2006 and claiming the No. 2 overall national seed wouldn’t have been possible without the transfers. And it wouldn’t have happened without the transition Mingione made post-pandemic.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
Power forward has been one of the positions that Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have to fill with Andrija Jelavic and Mo Dioubate gone. The two players that Pope has had on campus at the power forward position are Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman and Colorado’s Sebastian Rancik. Both are really good players, but Freeman is better by a wide margin.
It has felt that entire time that Kentucky wanted Rancik as the backup to Freeman or a backup plan if they weren’t able to land Freeman. Well, Rancik just picked Florida State, so perhaps this is a sign that the Wildcats will land Freeman.
Big Blue Nation was torn on Rancik, but I do believe he would have been a really solid backup power forward. I personally didn’t want him to be the starting four for this team. It is clear that he wanted to go somewhere where he could be the guy at the four, so he will be heading to the ACC to play for FSU.
Now that Kentucky has missed on Rancik, it is very important that the Wildcats land Freeman soon. The problem with waiting on some of these players is the fact that the portal isn’t slowing down. If Pope targets two power forwards and misses on both of them, most of the good fours in the portal will be gone.
There will be some panic in Lexington if the Wildcats are not able to land Freeman, but I do believe the Wildcats are in a good spot to land the elite power forward. From the beginning, Freeman has been my top player for Kentucky in the portal, as he, plus Malachi Moreno, will give the Wildcats an elite frontcourt.
If Pope is able to land Freeman and Tyran Stokes to pair with Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Moreno, and Kam Williams, this could be the start of a really good team in Lexington. Hopefully, an announcement for where Freeman will transfer comes soon, and hopefully, this will be to play for Pope at Kentucky.
Fans of rival teams will say Pope “whiffed” on Rancik, but if this whiff was because the Wildcats are set to land Freeman soon, then it was more than worth it for Kentucky. If the Wildcats are able to land Freeman, it will officially be time for Big Blue Nation to start getting excited about the 2026-27 season. I expect a decision from Freeman to come within the next day or two.
Rancik would have been a solid backup four in Lexington but Freeman has been the guy from the beggining for this staff so if Kentucky lands him all is well. If the staff misses on Freeman not landing Rancik will look bad.
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Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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