Kentucky
Saturday Headlines: Kentucky Baseball, Your 2024 SEC Champions
Good morning, BBN!
The Kentucky Wildcats Baseball team has been on a roll, and last night they secured their second-ever SEC Regular Season Championship! Their first one was in 2006.
UK took down Vandy in impressive fashion by a score of 17-7 to win the series as they look for the sweep later today.
The Cats are ranked #2 overall, and while I don’t see them surpassing Tennessee to finish the regular season as the #1 ranked team if they win the SEC Tournament, they could absolutely secure the #1 overall seed for the regional.
Nick Mingione led the Cats to their best finish of his tenure last year, and this year has been even better, having arguably the best season Kentucky Baseball has ever seen.
With that said, it’s all about what happens next. Kentucky will host the regional and they’ll look to make a serious run at Omaha in a few weeks.
If you’re in the Lexington area, be sure to make it out to their last regular season game today!
Tweet of the Day
Headlines
CHAMPIONS! Kentucky Wins Second SEC Championship – UK Athletics
Nick Mingione has been a part of the coaching staff on both title teams and both squads that have advanced to a Super Regional.
Police: Officer dragged trying to stop Scottie Scheffler’s car – ESPN
One the craziest sports stories of our lifetime, no doubt.
Now a college graduate, UK’s Antonio Reeves is out to prove that he belongs in the NBA – Herald Leader
Looking forward to seeing Antonio Reeves in the league!
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone plans to race 400m hurdles at Olympic Trials, coach Bobby Kersee says – NBC Sports
Go Sydney!
Caitlin Clark, Fever facing plenty of growing pains early after another blowout loss in home debut – Yahoo Sports
Turns out, Caitlin Clark is human.
Tua Tagovailoa has been mostly absent from Dolphins activities as Miami QB looks for big next contract – CBS Sports
Very interesting to see if Tua gets a long term deal.
Tyson Fury in better shape at weigh-in for Oleksandr Usyk fight – ESPN
Should be a fun one!
LeBron James reportedly won’t leave Lakers to join Bronny with another NBA team – Yahoo Sports
Does this mean he’s getting drafted by the Lakers?
Florida State petitions NCAA to rescind NIL-related penalties following court injunction, per report – CBS Sports
It’s really hard to sanction schools for anything NIL related, now.
Pirates’ Paul Skenes holds Cubs hitless before exit after 6 – ESPN
They hype was real.
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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