Kentucky Baseball Drops to No. 12 in Latest D1Baseball Poll Following Series Loss at Georgia
For the first time since entering college baseball rankings in the 2023 season, Kentucky has seen the number next to its name fall.
Following a 2-2 week that saw a sluggish midweek win over Dayton and losses in two of three games at Georgia on the weekend, the Bat Cats have dropped two spots to No. 12 in both the new D1Baseball and Baseball America polls.
The pair of losses to the Bulldogs came in an Easter doubleheader, in which UK managed to compile only two runs in 14 innings, losing 3-0 and 6-2. It's the first time that head coach Nick Mingione's team has lost multiple games in a row this season.
Kentucky (27-5, 9-3 SEC) is one of seven SEC teams ranked in both polls entering the second full week of April:
- No. 1 LSU
- No. 3 Florida (No. 2 BA)
- No. 4 Vanderbilt
- No. 5 Arkansas (No. 6 BA)
- No. 6 South Carolina (No. 5 BA)
- No. 12 Kentucky
- No. 16 Tennessee (No. 17 BA)
The Bat Cats remained No. 1 in the latest RPI on D1Baseball and are No. 5 in strength of schedule. Those numbers won't be getting any worse come next Monday, as they're set for four games against top-10 foes in the next five days.
On Tuesday, UK travels to Jim Patterson Stadium to take on No. 10 Louisville in the first of two midweek clashes between the rivals this season. The Cardinals are coming off of a sweep of then-No. 9 Boston College. Following the baseball edition of the Governor's Cup, the Cats are set for their toughest task of the season, flying south for a three-game series in Baton Rouge against No. 1 LSU.
Sitting at 26-5 (7-4 SEC), the Tigers are the consensus top team in the nation and are coming off a series against South Carolina that saw only two games, as rain impacted the weekend. Each team landed a victory in a tightly-contested set of matchups. Friday-night starting pitcher Paul Skenes and star outfielder Dylan Crews are both potential No. 1 picks in the next MLB draft.
Five of Kentucky's remaining six SEC series are set to come against ranked opponents, with four of those five teams currently residing in the top 10: LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt, South Carolina.
The road ahead is treacherous, to say the least.
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