Fresh off a trip to the College World Series and a regular season Southeastern Conference Championship, Coach Mingione and the Kentucky Wildcats enter 2025 overlooked by many major publications despite proving time and time again that the Wildcats are here to stay for contention for a College World Series bid every year.

With the additions of a talented group of transfer portal guys and the returning talent, the 2025 Kentucky Wildcats are in the prime position to prove many people wrong this season. Sure, there’s a challenging Southeastern Conference schedule ahead for the Wildcats. Still, something about the 2025 Kentucky team excites Coach Mingione and his staff as they prepare to return to Omaha. Kentucky might not have brought other Southeastern Conference guys to fill the roster. Still, they brought him a group of guys in the portal that proved themselves at other places, gathering valuable lessons that can translate to the highest level of baseball in the Southeastern Conference.

A returning guy who has everything you could ever ask for in a player and then some is the return of Devin Burkes for a 5th and final season as the catcher for the University Of Kentucky. Burkes has the intangibles that every coach dreams of having on their team; he brings a certain level of leadership combined with a skill set that will likely be the difference in reaching just the Regional or Supers in making it back to the College World Series. In an interview with The Mitch Davis Show Podcast, Coach Mingione mentioned the intangibles Devin Burkes brings. Every guy on the roster has a purpose. Still, Devin Burkes provides a bridge between the pitchers and the position players this season while maintaining the knowledge of what it takes to take Kentucky Baseball to the next level, where reaching the College World Series is a reality.

On the pitching staff, the highly anticipated debut of the Longwood transfer, Ethan Walker, takes the Kentucky Baseball talk by storm. Walker comes to Kentucky following a wildly successful 2024 season where the left-hander finished the season with an ERA of 4.50 while striking out 59 in 42 innings. Another potential weekend starter comes to Kentucky from Radford, a righty, Scott Rouse. In 2024, Rouse put together an impressive season with an ERA of 5.94, striking out 78 batters in 69.2 innings. Rouse and Walker, once rivals in the Big South Conference, provide Kentucky with experience and early season stability. Combined with those guys, Kentucky has a 7th year incoming from South Dakota State in Nic McCay, while Ben Cleaver returns for his sophomore season with the Wildcats. Kentucky also has Robert Hogan, Evan Byers, and Jackson Nove returning for the highly talented Kentucky pitching staff.

Overall, the 2025 season for Kentucky has the potential to be just as rewarding for the Big Blue Nation as they take on the overlooked role looking to spoil the hopes of many in the Southeastern Conference. Even with the challenging schedule, there’s potential for Kentucky to turn the success in 2024 into the next level in the upcoming season.

Kentucky opens the season on the road for a three-game series against Lipscomb before the home opener next Tuesday against Morehead State.

Photo Credits – Kentucky Baseball on X