Kentucky Baseball Slated to Host Regional in Midseason Field of 64 Projections

Kentucky Proud Park could play host to NCAA Tournament action, as the No. 10 Bat Cats continue to excel in the 2023 regular season.

The 2023 college baseball season has reached a midway point, meaning it is time for plenty of discussion on the postseason front. 

No. 10 Kentucky is in the drivers seat, owning a 26-3 record through three weekends in SEC play. The Bat Cats are on pace to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought under head coach Nick Mingione. The last time UK made the tourney was 2017, Mingione's first season at the helm. 

Barring a gargantuan collapse, the question won't be whether or not Kentucky makes the tournament. The road to 14 conference wins — statistically the magic number for making the postseason — is already just six victories away with 21 scheduled games against SEC foes to go. 

More on the path to the NCAA Tournament for the Bat Cats HERE.

The question now turns into: Will Kentucky manage to host a regional? 

Well, midseason field of 64 projections currently think so. Baseball America, D1Baseball and College Sports Madness have all forecasted potential brackets, and all three have a regional being hosted at Kentucky Proud Park for the first time. 

There is yet to be much variance in the potential opponents that could come to Lexington, though a rivalry could commence on a big stage, serving as potential revenge for the Bat Cats dating back to their last trip to the tournament. 

College Sports Madness' projection entering the first full weekend in April has Kentucky as the No. 6 national seed, with the Louisville Cardinals as the No. 2 team in the region. The No. 18 Cardinals will square off against UK twice this season, with the first matchup set for Tuesday, April 11 at Jim Patterson Stadium. KPP will host the second game on April 25. 

It hasn't been a dominant stretch of baseball as of late for the Cards, though they currently hold a 21-7 record heading into a weekend series against No. 9 Boston College. They've lost their first two ACC series, dropping two of three to Notre Dame and NC State while also losing a midweek game to Lipscomb on Tuesday. 

Louisville knocked Kentucky out of the NCAA Tournament in 2017, winning two games over the Cats in the Super Regionals, advancing to the College World Series in the process. Kentucky actually leads the all-time series 26-25, though it's 3-8 against U of L in the Mingione era. Postseason baseball between the rivals would produce plenty of theater and a packed-out Kentucky Proud Park. 

D1Baseball currently isn't calling for that matchup, however, as it has another rival of sorts filling in the No. 2 spot in the Regional, the Indiana Hoosiers. Currently 20-9 and 5-1 in Big Ten play, IU was run-ruled 12-2 by Kentucky on March 14 in Lexington, succumbing to deplorable midweek pitching. It has since swept Ohio State and won a series at Penn State. 

The No. 3 and 4 teams in the projections all feature Indiana State (15-12) and Ball State (21-7). Kentucky hosted Indiana State during the third weekend of the season, sweeping the Sycamores, though each game was within two runs. If the projection were to hold true, UK's first game of the Regional would be against Ball State, which has won 12 of its last 13 games, entering a weekend series at The Citadel.

The SEC is projected to earn 10 bids, which would tie a record for a conference in the tournament: 

Hosts

• LSU
• Vanderbilt
• Florida
• South Carolina
• Kentucky
• Arkansas

Other Bids

• Tennessee
• Auburn
• Texas A&M
• Alabama

With seven weekends to go until the SEC Tournament, there's plenty left to be decided, but Kentucky is on a trajectory that could keep it in the Bluegrass for Regionals for the first time since Cliff Hagan Stadium played host in 2017. 

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