Kentucky
How Nolan McCarthy made the game-winning run to push Kentucky into the College World Series
All the Kentucky Wildcats needed to do was win on Sunday night and they would advance to the College World Series for the first time ever, and that is what they did.
The game was tied 2-2 in the seventh inning against Oregon State when Nolan McCarthy came up to bat and belted a double. James McCoy then went up to bat, but after a failed sacrifice bunt to move McCarthy over another base, it led to Grant Smith batting next.
Smith went down 0-2 in the count, but due to a dropped third strike where Oregon State’s catcher did not successfully catch the ball, it led to McCarthy going all the way from second back to home to score the game-winning run. He was able to score was that Oregon State’s pitcher, Nelson Keljo, was not covering home plate.
That’s when McCarthy took off into Kentucky lore forever.
“I was on second. Coach Minge (Mingione) was telling me to be balanced on my skips. Don’t want to give that pitcher anything like that,” said McCarthy after the win. “It’s a big run. I saw it squeak by.
“I was running to third, and I immediately saw their pitcher wasn’t covering. I think I ran through a stop sign, but it ended up working out. No one was covering home, so might as well take what they’re going to give you.”
That would prove to be the deciding run, as Kentucky would on for the 3-2 victory and will now play in the program’s first trip to Omaha.
Head coach Nick Mingione was actually telling McCarthy to stop but was happy to see his player not be afraid to make the biggest play in the biggest moment.
“Nolan is the guy that wants to make the special play. I was telling him to stop verbally, okay, not physically,” said Mingione “But the game was in front of him, and I’m happy he went because he saw something. And we allow our players to make decisions on their own. I’m glad he went. He did the Superman dive. He was going to do something that it was going to be, like, it was a Nolan McCarthy moment. You know what I mean?
“I was telling him to stop, but I actually had my back…it was actually roles reversed; I saw the catcher catch it, I didn’t see the pitcher, but he (McCarthy) did. I thought it was a great play.”
Before the game, McCarthy was saying he would do the Pete Rose slide to his teammates, and that is what he did.
“I told Robert (Hogan) I was going to Pete Rose dive today, and it ended up happening,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy actually got a bit dinged up from the run and had to take himself out of the game for the final two innings.
“I give him (McCarthy) a lot of credit, too, because he kind of tweaked his hamstring on that, and he basically, during the pitching change, he said, ‘Coach, I’m getting tight; I can’t make a play,’” said Mingione.
“He took himself out, which is really smart and unselfish. He’s, like, I can’t make the plays that the game’s going to demand. I was like, okay, you want to come out. He was like, yes, I do. Ty Crittenberger was ready. He’s always ready. He was prepared for the moment and always ready. He was honest with that I was proud of him for that.”
After a memorable night at Kentucky Proud Park, the Cats now look to keep their magical season alive with a run in Omaha.
The Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to start a new era of their football program. In his 13 seasons as head coach, we have all become accustomed to seeing Mark Stoops teams at Kentucky play a certain way. This has been both on defense and on offense, the Wildcats have had a similar blueprint of winning games and finding success. Now, both sides of the ball will look a lot different in terms of scheme, so we will start on the defensive side and what differences you will see in 2026 under new coach Will Stein.
Old: Conservative 3-4
Mark Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White had a lot of success in their 3-4 defense with a conservative play style, but it had plenty of weaknesses as well. With a nose tackle head up on the center and two defensive lineman playing on the inside shoulder of each offensive tackle, the defense would create pressure but couldn’t consistently finish to make them sacks. This defense required a guy like Joshua Hines-Allen to win one-on-one blocks on the edge in a dominant fashion to thrive as a defense. Since 2020, Kentucky finished top five in total sacks in the SEC just once, in 2023; every other team finished ninth or less in the conference in team sacks.
This conservative 3-4 defense allowed Kentucky to stay in similar personnel throughout the game. The conservative nature had a bend-don’t-break philosophy of keeping everything in front and making tackles. Kentucky rarely switched things up and rolled the dice with blitzes or had pre and post snap coverage rotations on the back end. It was cover 3 and cover 4 heavy, while not disguising coverages and typically sending four pass rushers at the quarterback.
New: Aggressive 4-2-5
The new scheme under defensive coordinator Jay Bateman will be the entire opposite of the old regime. This scheme will be primarily out of an even front, and we have highlighted current players on the team that will benefit from a change in technique. Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace will switch to a traditional edge rusher lining up outside of the offensive tackle, whereas Tavion Gadson will move to a true three technique on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard and both of these players played in the same technique in the previous scheme. Both Humphrey-Grace and Gadson should have more production moving to techniques they more accurately fit.
Kentucky’s defense will utilize five defensive backs for a majority of snaps, which is beneficial with most offenses living in 11 personnel with three wide receivers on the field. This scheme’s success in year one will heavily rely upon the experienced safety duo of Ty Bryant and Jordan Castell. Coach Bateman will have a lot more safety rotations in this scheme and switch up coverages a lot, disguising a particular coverage pre-snap before switching it post-snap. This defense will have a ton of eye candy to try and keep offenses off balance.
This aggressive scheme will not only roll the dice more on passing downs, playing more man coverage. However, it will also be more aggressive in terms of blitzing the quarterback or sending simulated pressures. Simulated pressures are shown as four defensive lineman rushing, but one will drop into coverage with a back seven player blitzing, still sending four at the quarterback while finding creative ways to do so. This amount of disguise and blitzing can create more havoc in the passing game, but it can also allow players to get out of position in the run game.
This schematic change will greatly benefit Kentucky against pass heavy teams, but it remains to be seen how that will be a benefit or a detriment to the run defense. In theory, this scheme should be able to create more havoc plays like sacks and tackles for loss, which can also provide more turnovers. Will Stein mentioned in a press conference, as an offensive minded coach, he wants to steal possessions on defense to get the ball back for his offense. This aggressive style is built towards a common theme of the new regime, which is they will try to win football games on offense rather than on defense.
WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Wilson County leaders are looking to introduce guardrails on data centers during a meeting Monday night.
The commissioner that introduced the idea said they are looking to mirror an ordinance that passed about an hour north in Warren County, Kentucky.
“We have thought about it significantly, and that’s why today is about protection,” said Warren County Judge/Executive Doug Gorman during a Warren Fiscal Court meeting on June 11.
Where to put data centers has become a global conservation, including here in Middle Tennessee.
“Over the past several weeks, I’ve watched Metro Council deal with the potential of a large data center next to the Nashville Zoo. I want to avoid being in that situation in Wilson County,” District 18 Commissioner Lauren Breeze said during a commissioner meeting last week.
Breeze said there are currently no requirements when and if a data center wants to move to town. So, she is working on a zoning amendment for data centers that mirror regulations that were crafted just an hour north.
“Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky, will have the gold standard of ordinances for data centers in America,” Gorman said.
Planning leaders in Warren County and Bowling Green spent eight months drafting an ordinance that they hope will protect their community from potential data center developments.
“Everyone and their brother are calling and asking what this ordinance says,” Gorman added.
The ordinance has strict standards on location, design, utility protections and even decommissioning.
For example, the data centers would need to be set back 1,500 feet from homes, schools, and hospitals, as well as look discrete—like an office building. It’s language Wilson County is looking to mirror.
“In my neck of the woods, we have a lot of warehouse and really big warehouses that honestly could be turned into one,” District 11 Commissioner John Gentry said.
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While some communities, like Cedar Hill, passed moratoriums, which put a pause on data centers, the Wilson County attorney said a moratorium might not hold up in court. However, in Warren County, Kentucky, leaders said their regulations will legally protect them.
“What we are doing is making sure to tighten the rules up enough so when they want to look at us and have to jump through seventeen thousand hoops to get done what they want done, chances are they will move on to somebody else,” another leaders expressed during the Warren County meeting.
The Warren County zoning ordinance will go through a second reading.
Meanwhile, the Wilson County Planning and Zoning Committee will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 22. Data center regulations, as well as a moratorium, will be discussed during the meeting.
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