ST. PETERSBURG ― When Emilien Pitre arrived in Lexington, Kentucky, for college, he had more of an adjustment period than a typical Wildcat freshman. The Canadian infielder not only was seeing a new level of baseball and meeting new teammates, but dealing with another language.

Pitre grew up speaking French in the hockey-loving suburb of Repentigny, Montreal.

“The Lexington community is far different from Quebec,” Pitre said with a laugh. “So that was definitely an adjustment, but the people there, they were so welcoming to me, they made the transition easier.”

Pitre did not have the traditional baseball path but Sunday night, the second baseman out of the University of Kentucky was the Rays’ surprise second-round draftee, No. 58 overall. Draft “experts” predicted he would go in the later rounds, but the Rays liked what Pitre showed just getting here.

“We’re thrilled to take Emilien Pitre,” Rays amateur scouting director Chuck Ricci said. “I think he’s another guy with really good contact skills and the power kind of emerged this year. (He’s) a very, very self-made player. I think he showed up at Kentucky, probably wasn’t ready to play that level, and just worked really hard at his English, at his body and his game, and where he’s come in that amount of time is just, it’s so impressive.

“Our guys did a Zoom with him the other day, and they came away just really, really impressed by just, just how far he’s come on his own. He’s at a good program in Kentucky, and he really made the most of an opportunity.”

Pitre had to take advantage of any opportunity.

Growing up in a suburb of Montreal, Pitre calls himself a Canadian “outlier” in that he never played the national sport of hockey. Instead, he gravitated to soccer and baseball. No one in his family played the latter; his family just supported his love of the game.

Pitre grew up playing baseball maybe two to three months a year because “it’s so cold” up there.

“I played travel ball with this organization from Quebec when I was 15 or 16, and luckily, I got calls from a couple of different schools, and Kentucky was the first one to reach out to me,” Pitre said. “They mentioned how much they believed in me from the beginning so that really stuck with me.

“The past three years have been the best three years of my life.”

Pitre saw action in just 11 games as a freshman. He came in undersized and needed experience.

“I got into Kentucky and I was little,” Pitre said. “I was not big, not strong, and so my first year was all about getting bigger, stronger and faster. I made my goal to be at a certain weight and be certain strength. So my first year, I ate and lifted every single day. I focused on my body as much as I have ever done in my life.”

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Pitre had missed two seasons due to the COVID pandemic and then his 12th-grade year, which is a gap year in Quebec, he had spent living with a family in Ontario to learn English.

“But after that, I played summer baseball for the first time in, like, a couple years,” Pitre said of competing in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. “So I was just ready to, you know, obviously, get on the field and play. That summer, I went to Maryland and Bethesda and played summer ball, and absolutely had a blast there and played well. So it was nice to see all the work I put in and finally show up on the field and perform.”

In three years at Kentucky, Pitre was a .307 hitter with a .460 slugging percentage. He hit 11 home runs (10 in 2024) and stole 46 bases (26 this past season).

The Rays think that Pitre’s power will continue to come as he grows stronger — and not at the cost of his speed.

“We made a couple of adjustments to my swing. And I got stronger. That summer I gained about 10 pounds, while still keeping my ability to steal bases and stay fast,” Pitre said.

Pitre is excited to start the next leg of his unlikely journey to professional baseball with the Rays organization. He had several meetings with Tampa Bay and was not surprised — like some draft experts — that they picked him so early.

“It feels amazing,” Pitre said. “It’s been a dream since I started playing baseball. So being able to feel this moment with my family is awesome.”

Day 2 Rays picks

Round 3, 94th overall

Nathan Flewelling, Catcher, St. Joseph High School (Alberta, Canada)

Round 4, 124th

Nate Knowles, RHP, William & Mary

Round 5, 157th

Jacob Kmatz, RHP, Oregon State

Round 6, 186th

Janzen Keisel, RHP, Oklahoma State

Round 7, 216th

Ryan Andrade, RHP, Pittsburgh

Round 8, 246th

Jayden Voelker, RHP, Northern Essex CC (Massachusetts)

Round 9, 276th

Garrett Gainey, LHP, South Carolina

Round 10, 306th

Trey Pooser, RHP, Kentucky

• • •

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Could we actually see the Kentucky Wildcats miss out on Bluegrass products Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno? Based on the latest recruiting buzz, there’s a real chance it will happen.

With the AAU season effectively wrapping up soon with the Nike Peach Jam now underway, it looks like Johnson could announce a decision in the coming weeks, but it’s unlikely to be Kentucky.

Heading down the stretch, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Alabama Crimson Tide have drawn the most buzz for Johnson. That was reiterated by On3’s Joe Tipton, who believes the Tide and Heels are standing out for the Versailles (KY) native.

He recently took a visit to Alabama and the Crimson Tide should like where they’re at.

North Carolina is also making a really strong push and should not be underestimated. The hometown Kentucky Wildcats remain involved.

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One source said that this recruitment will likely come down to Alabama and North Carolina.

As for Moreno, the Cats appear to have a much better shot with him, though they may not be leading the race, at least based on what On’3s Jamie Shaw is hearing.

While Kentucky is thought to be near the top for Moreno, the Indiana Hoosiers may actually lead this race.

Heading into the visits, sources tell me to watch for Kentucky and Indiana in this one. One source close to the recruitment took it a step further and said they think Indiana leads heading into the visits.

If Moreno and Johnson end up elsewhere, it would be a painful blow for the start of the Mark Pope era. It’s rare that the state of Kentucky produces not one but two top-30 prospects, so to miss out on both would really sting, especially since they’d be going to play for rivals. Not to mention Jasper is the son of Kentucky football great Dennis Johnson.

Saying this, I’m not sure how much blame can be placed on Pope’s shoulders if it happens. Relationships matter, and Pope didn’t recruit these guys while at BYU. Sure, he’s recruited them since becoming Kentucky’s new head coach in April, but these other schools have been on Johnson and Moreno for much longer.

Here’s to hoping Pope can finish strong and land at least one of these guys. Moreno is currently set to visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.

The Kentucky Wildcats have had quite the pool of talent over the last 15 years. Now-former head coach John Calipari was quite the recruiter and never failed to have talent in Lexington.

John Wall was Calipari’s first big-time recruit at Kentucky and was immediately beloved by the Big Blue Nation. He brought excitement and a thrill to Kentucky basketball that had been missing for a while.

Wall went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and played 11 seasons in the NBA.

He’s also kept in touch with the Kentucky basketball program and their fans during that span.

Recently, Wall gave his all-time starting five for UK and his list was rather interesting.

In addition to himself, he listed Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Of course, it’s not surprising that Wall would include himself in his all-time starting five. He did spark the Calipari era and was electric doing so, averaging over 16 points and six assists per game as a freshman.

If we were to put together a UK starting five from the Calipari era based on success while wearing the UK jersey, it should probably go: Wall, Jamaal Murray, Antonio Reeves, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Davis.

There are several names that could be interchanged on that list and that’s okay — it all speaks to the success fans got to enjoy during the Calipari era.

However, if we were to put together a UK starting five from the Calipari era based on success while in the NBA (which is what Wall’s list seems to be relative to), it should probably go Adebayo, Booker, Davis, Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray.

Four of the five have played in the NBA Finals, and two have a championship ring. They’ve all been recognized in multiple all-star games, and four of the five have also received All-NBA honors.

Do you have a different starting five in mind? Let us know in the comment section below.

Tweet of the Day

Pretty awesome stuff.

Headlines

Ryan Waldschmidt Selected by Arizona in First Round of MLB Draft – UK Athletics

Waldschmidt becomes Kentucky’s seventh first round pick in program history and the Wildcats’ sixth-highest selection overall.

Emilien Pitre Selected in Second Round of MLB Draft – UK Athletics

Pitre was selected 58th overall in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cole Cubelic Believes UK Will Have a Solid Offensive Line – Vaught’s Views

Lots of good experience up front.

Tiger Woods preps for Open with 18-hole practice round – ESPN

Will he make the cut?

Aaron Harrison Still Remembers the Love he got at UK – Vaught’s Views

He hit so many big shots.

Spain coach hails historymakers, warns of more to come – ESPN

Incredible match.

Reed Sheppard Continues Hot Start in NBA Summer League – KSR

Absolutely killing it.

Vikings receiver Jordan Addison arrested on suspicion of DUI – ESPN

More trouble for NFL wide receivers.

Kalen Edwards will fill specific need for Kentucky – KSR

Indeed he will.

Jacoby Jones dies at 40 – ESPN

Just awful.