Kentucky
No. 2 Kentucky Opens Lexington Regional Against Western Michigan on Friday
![No. 2 Kentucky Opens Lexington Regional Against Western Michigan on Friday No. 2 Kentucky Opens Lexington Regional Against Western Michigan on Friday](https://storage.googleapis.com/ukathletics-com/2024/05/amt-6916fc142a8b294cf0a95932bc6d0e737beb6943-d35dd604-240524sc_33mm.jpg)
Second-ranked Kentucky begins its 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament journey on Friday, hosting Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Western Michigan at noon at Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky (40-14) earned the number two overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the highest seed in program history. The four-team Lexington Regional includes Indiana State and Illinois, in addition to UK and Western Michigan.
The Cats earned just the second Southeastern Conference regular season baseball championship in school history by going 22-8 in league play. The 22 conference wins are the most that Kentucky has ever compiled in a single season. In addition, the Cats set new school records for two-year SEC win total (38), best SEC start (15-1), series wins (eight) and SEC road record (11-4).
With all of that success, Kentucky earned the right to host an NCAA Baseball Regional for just the fourth time in school history. After winning its only other SEC championship, the Cats hosted a regional in 2006. UK also hosted in 2017 and 2023, the years in which the Cats won their only regional championships in school history.
UK earned a number of All-SEC awards followed its historic season. UK head coach Nick Mingione was named SEC Coach of the Year, while designated hitter Nick Lopez was named first team All-SEC. Ryan Waldschmidt was named to the SEC second team, while second baseman Emilien Pitre, third baseman Mitchell Daly and pitcher Mason Moore were named to the SEC All-Defensive team.
The winner of Friday’s game between the Cats and the Broncos will face the winner of the Indiana State-Illinois game that will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday night. Saturday’s winner’s bracket game will be at noon ET and the loser’s bracket game will be at 6 p.m.
The Kentucky-Western Michigan game can be seen on the SEC Network. A limited number of general admission and outfield bleacher seats remain for the game. Those can be purchased at: https://ukathletics.com/ticketing/baseball/
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Kentucky
Kentucky remains in the mix for AJ Dybantsa
![Kentucky remains in the mix for AJ Dybantsa Kentucky remains in the mix for AJ Dybantsa](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nrA1uxTTgApdhO4pgDUtdX1foxo=/1256x1069:5114x3089/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25534218/usa_today_23720385.jpg)
Mark Pope and his staff are looking for their signature win in the high school recruiting world in the 2025 class. For a while it seemed that Will Riley would be that win, but he ultimately reclassified to 2024 and ended up at Illinois.
Now, the Kentucky Wildcats are looking to find a new recruit to become that first victory on the recruiting trail.
There would be no bigger win, however, than securing the commitment of the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa.
For some time, it seemed that Lexington was a strong contender for Dybantsa under John Calipari, but now it appears this recruitment has opened up quite a bit.
In a recent interview with Joe Tipton of On3, Dybantsa broke down some of his recruitment and had this to say about UK and the new Coach Pope era:
“I talked to Mark (Pope),” Dybantsa told Tipton. “I went on a Zoom with him but I got the offer on a call. Went on a Zoom with him, Jason Hart, and they were just talking about what they have in store and hopefully get me on a visit. He was in Istanbul, Turkey (to see me with USA Basketball).”
Outside of Kentucky, it appears that BYU, Arkansas, Baylor, UCONN, Alabama, Auburn, Duke, and several others are the schools to monitor as his recruitment starts to move into the visit portion.
Luckily for the Cats, this recruitment also seems to be far from over, as Dybantsa pointed to a late winter or early spring timeframe for him to make his commitment. His father confirmed that timeline in a conversation with Jacob Polacheck of KSR, pointing to February as a time we could see a commitment come.
The other good part of that conversation? His father guaranteed that his son would play in college.
“I guarantee he will play in college,” Ace Dybantsa told Polacheck. “He wants the experience of a college year. He promised his momma. Once you promise your momma, it’s hard to break that promise.”
We all know Kentucky’s recruiting history, which has been built upon for the last 15 seasons. Although it won’t be filled with 5-star talent every season, Pope and his staff will have to continue to try to reel in these players.
If they can get him on campus, it sounds like the Cats would still have a legitimate shot.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Kentucky Wildcats news. Go CATS!
Kentucky
How many unlawful camping citations were issued in Lexington in the first week of the ‘Safer Kentucky Act’ being in effect?
![How many unlawful camping citations were issued in Lexington in the first week of the ‘Safer Kentucky Act’ being in effect? How many unlawful camping citations were issued in Lexington in the first week of the ‘Safer Kentucky Act’ being in effect?](https://gray-wkyt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/C6Z4IMBIANAVDOFWAFTI6DUHZM.jpg?auth=eb11939f87d1c44666ad83e53a03478b0b800044f39a46f157a70e33033b82b7&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – It has been 11 days since House Bill 5, a law better known as the Safer Kentucky Act, went into effect.
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We are looking at how many citations were issued for unlawful camping in lexington in its first week.
The lexington police department says six citations for illegal camping were issued over the first four days of the law going into effect.
Those citations followed 33 calls to lexington police.
There were no “warnings” issued in the four days.
Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
Kentucky city named as one of best places for families to live
![Kentucky city named as one of best places for families to live Kentucky city named as one of best places for families to live](https://gray-wkyt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NNIDUCDJ5BA23LKVHNPRPRNMHU.jpg?auth=0c11ec334c5c235b4cff2bad82dcc8d1e9cbba7c44029eef9de694ec825b8bdc&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (WKYT) – A central Kentucky city has been named as one of the best places for families to live.
Fortune recently ranked Georgetown 40th on its list of the 50 best places for families.
Fortune analyzed more than 2,000 cities across the country. The publication says the ones that made it to the top scored high on things like health care, education, affordability, and resources for seniors.
Fortune cited Georgetown’s location in Kentucky’s prosperous Golden Triangle, quality educational options, and job opportunities at Toyota Georgetown as among the reasons for the city’s high ranking.
Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.
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