Kentucky and No. 17 Oklahoma will clash for the first time ever this weekend in Lexington in what is a must-win series for the bubble bound Wildcats.
The ‘Cats looked to be squarely in the NCAA Tournament just one week ago, but four consecutive losses have sent Nick Mingione’s team back to the bubble for the first time since 2022. Kentucky, who will play two ranked opponents in No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 11 Vanderbilt in their final two conference series, will have to go at least 3-3 in those six games to reach the 13 conference win mark.
Just three SEC teams (2006 Mississippi State, 2009 Vanderbilt and 2021 Alabama) with fewer than 13 conference wins have made the NCAA Tournament in the 21st century.
No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners (32-14, 13-11)
It’s been a successful first season in the SEC for Oklahoma and head coach Skip Johnson, as the Sooners have been in and around the top 15 all season long and are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time since 2017.
As a team, Oklahoma is hitting for a .286 batting average (105th in NCAA) with a 4.31 team earned run average (26th in NCAA). It has won five of its eight SEC series this season (South Carolina, Mississippi State, No. 11 Vanderbilt, Missouri and No. 24 Ole Miss) and holds solid non-conference victories over No. 10 Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Virginia and Texas Tech.
The Sooners are currently projected as a No. 2 seed in the Morgantown Regional by On3’s Jonathan Wagner.
Junior right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon, who is currently projected as the No. 11 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft by MLB.com, leads a solid Oklahoma rotation and will start on Friday. Witherspoon’s 2.12 ERA leads all SEC arms and his 100 strikeouts are fourth most in the conference. The Sooners are 9-3 in games that the D1Baseball Midseason All-American has started this season.
The rotation is rounded out by junior left-hander Cade Crossland and Kyson’s brother junior right-hander Malachi Witherspoon. In 108 combined innings of work this season, Oklahoma’s Saturday and Sunday arms boast a 5.67 ERA.
Offensively, Oklahoma is led by junior catcher Easton Carmichael (.316 AVG, 12 HR), junior left fielder Trey Gambill (.315 AVG, 22 RBI) and freshman second baseman Kyle Branch (.306 AVG, 52 hits). The Sooners are outscoring SEC teams 163-134 in 24 conference games this season.
Kentucky Wildcats (25-20, 10-14)
Kentucky is coming off of a week’s rest after being swept at Mississippi State last weekend, where the it hit for a .210 average over the four-game span and was outscored 32-14. The ‘Cats also stranded an average of 8.25 runners on base and were a combined 5-35 with runners in scoring position. Not quite the play of an NCAA Tournament caliber team.
They are now hitting for a lowly .269 batting average, which ranks 204th in the country and is near the bottom of the SEC. An offense usually improves over the span of the season as pieces get more comfortable, but Kentucky’s lineup has just regressed. Injuries have played a part in this, but instability in the lineup that hasn’t been there the last few seasons has played a part as well.
Just three Kentucky players are hitting for at least a .300 average, in senior third baseman Patrick Herrera (.319), freshman shortstop Tyler Bell (.314) and senior left fielder Cole Hage (.314). Although he wasn’t ruled out on the SEC availability report, Herrera did not start in any of Kentucky’s four games last week. The ‘Cats will certainly need a boost from his bat this weekend if they can pull off the series win.
Although it has been Kentucky’s best feature this season, it’s pitching disappointed in a major way as well in Starkville. In 32 1/3 innings, Wildcat pitchers boasted a combined 8.35 ERA and allowed a season-high 14 earned runs in its Saturday run-rule loss to Mississippi State. The starting rotation of freshman right-hander Nate Harris, sophomore left-hander Ben Cleaver and senior right-hander Nic McCay now boast a combined 4.43 ERA in 103 2/3 SEC innings pitched this season.
Teetering on the brink of missing its first NCAA Tournament since 2022, Kentucky will need big performances from guys not at the top of the state sheet. This includes guys not often lauded about, including second baseman Luke Lawrence (.288), outfielder Shaun Montoya (.267) and catcher Devin Burkes (.242). It’s been a tough go around for the lineup lately, but they’ll have to break out of that funk if there’s any chance of back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the ‘Cats.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Series tied 0-0
Probable Starters
Friday, May 8, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 6:30 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: RHP Nate Harris (4-2, 3.63 ERA, 44.2 IP) vs OU: RHP Kyson Witherspoon (9-2, 2.12 ERA, 72.0 IP)
Saturday, May 9, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 12:30 p.m. EST) SEC Network
UK: RHP Nic McCay (4-0, 3.68 ERA, 58.2 IP) vs OU: LHP Cade Crossland (4-3, 6.12 ERA, 50.0 IP)
Sunday, May 10, 2025 (Kentucky Proud Park – 1:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: LHP Ben Cleaver (5-3, 3.32 ERA, 65.0 IP) vs OU: RHP Malachi Witherspoon (3-6, 5.28 ERA, 58.0 IP)
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