Bases Loaded: Jaxon Jelkin shines for Kentucky entering final push for NCAA Tournament bid
Kentucky hit the road for the final time in the regular season over the weekend. The Bat Cats were looking for Quad 1 wins to secure an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. They left Gainesville with just one of those wins in a series that was there for the taking. Unfortunately, this baseball team could not close the deal.
The Bat Cats blew a big lead in the late innings on Friday and had to go to the bullpen in the first inning on Sunday. That led to another series loss as Kentucky dropped to 2-7 in series finales this season in SEC play. Jaxon Jelkin delivered another gem to record an important win, but this became another close call series for Kentucky. Now there is just one opportunity remaining.
Kentucky should remain on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble this week but there is work to be done on this resume. KSR’s Bases Loaded returns to set the table for another important week. The last chance to secure a bid to the postseason has arrived.
Kentucky’s bullpen had a rough weekend
Kentucky has not been swept yet in SEC play. That should mean that the Bat Cats have a winning record in conference play. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Nick Mingione‘s squad is 12-15 in league play thanks mostly to a 2-7 mark in series finales. UK has been good (10-8) to begin series, but has not figured out a winning recipe on Sundays despite using three different starting pitchers.
The bullpen has struggled more times than not.
There was that blown 7-0 lead against LSU that everyone remembers. There was also the inability to prevent runs late in losses to Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Louisville, and Tennessee where the offense scored a boatload of runs but it wasn’t good enough to win. Then there was the meltdown on Friday where a 6-1 lead in the eighth inning turned into a 7-6 loss.
Kentucky’s defense has not exactly been stellar in this stretch but the bullpen didn’t hold up its end of the deal this weekend in Gainesville.
- Friday: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 7 K, 4 BB
- Sunday: 7.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 2 K, 2 BB
The free passes were cleaned up this weekend after some struggles, but Florida found way too many barrels and scored a ton of runs against Kentucky’s relief pitchers. UK’s top arms out of the bullpen this season have been Connor Mattison (36.2 IP), Nile Adcock (28.1 IP), and Jack Bennett (28 IP). Each now owns an ERA over 4.70 and a WHIP above 1.40. Mattison and Bennett have seen their ERAs balloon to over six. That duo gave up four combined runs over 4.1 innings on Sunday in a spot where UK really needed them to post some zeroes.
Kentucky’s bullpen has become a team flaw in SEC play and it has been exposed multiple times this season. The coaching staff is pressing numerous buttons to try and fix the problems but hasn’t found stability yet. True freshman Jack Sams (0.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 15 K) continued his strong collegiate debut season on Friday night with three scoreless innings. You can expect to see him in another big spot this weekend against Arkansas.
The Cats have been fishing for answers throughout conference play in the bullpen. They simply have not found any consistent ones. That costed Kentucky a series win against Florida. It could also cost them down the road. UK will likely ask more from its starting pitching moving forward. That means longer outings from Ben Cleaver and Nate Harris since both are now back in the weekend rotation.
Kentucky is consistently putting itself in position to win games but better results from the bullpen are needed.
Luke Lawrence continues to making winning plays for this baseball team
Luke Lawrence started his collegiate journey at Illinois State and hit .337 as a sophomore in 2024. That led to a bigger opportunity. The infielder who played shortstop in 2024 transferred to Kentucky and became a plug-and-play starter at second base. UK has used Lawrence all around the infield and has benefitted from his offense. After slashing .306/.397/.425 with 16 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases as a junior, the veteran is putting a career year together this season.
The left-handed swinging senior is slashing .341/.450/.451 with 14 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases. Lawrence ranks second on the team in hits (62), doubles (11), and RBI (37). Lawrence leads the team in sacrifice hits (six). This college baseball veteran has been Mr. Reliable for Kentucky all season and is fresh off a series where he hit 5-12 with two doubles and six RBI in his new lineup home at the No. 3 spot. Lawrence played a key role all weekend and Kentucky likely doesn’t win on Saturday without this play on defense.
This web gem came just one at-bat after Lawrence allowed a hard grounder to roll through his legs. Kentucky might have gotten swept without this out. The veteran just continues to make some big plays for this baseball team. Some more big plays will likely be needed from No. 10 this week.
Player Spotlight: Jaxon Jelkin
Jaxon Jelkin committed to Kentucky after entering the transfer portal following the 2024 season. The former Nebraska and Houston pitcher underwent Tommy John surgery and was forced to miss the 2025 season. Jelkin was a multi-time MLB Draft pick who has shown high-level stuff as a starter throughout his career, but he had never put together a full season. This 23-year-old had never appeared in more than 7 games or reached 35 innings in a college season. That has changed in 2026.
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Jelkin has been everything Kentucky could have hoped for and more.
The right-handed pitcher has made 13 starts for the Wildcats this season. This multi-time transfer leads the team in wins (eight), innings (80.2), strikeouts (92), and WHIP (1.06). In SEC play, Jelkin leads all conference pitchers in innings (59.1), ranks no. 3 in strikeouts (66), and only two pitchers have more wins. Kentucky’s ace has made nine SEC starts. UK is 6-3 when Jelkin starts and 6-12 when he doesn’t. This is simply a different team with No. 0 on the mound.
Jelkin’s best performance of the season occurred on Saturday night when he threw a complete game to give Kentucky a much-needed win. It was the seventh time this season that the staff ace went at least seven innings.
- St. John’s (Feb. 27): 7.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 8 K, 2 BB/HBP, 94 pitches
- Ole Miss (March 20): 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 3 BB, 94 pitches
- LSU (March 27): 8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 2 BB/HBP, 114 pitches
- Missouri (April 3): 7 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 ER), 10 K, BB, 117 pitches
- Vanderbilt (April 17): 8 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 9 K, BB, 105 pitches
- Tennessee (May 2): 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 11 K, 105 pitches
- Florida (May 9): 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 12 K, 2 BB/HBP, 128 pitches
Kentucky has recorded Quad 1 road wins against Ole Miss, LSU, and Florida. Jelkin was on the mound for each of those. UK’s top starter was also on the mound for thrilling home wins against Vanderbilt and Tennessee. The multi-time transfer has been the best player on the team this season and is truly delivering a terrific season. For a pitching staff that has mostly struggled in Lexington, Jelkin has been a huge shining light.
Jelkin is putting together a true All-SEC season. If Kentucky is going to make a run, this team’s ace will be a big part of it.
Current SEC standings
This is how the SEC Tournament would be seeded if it started today.
| Place | Team | Overall Record (Conference Record) |
| 1 | Georgia | 41-11 (21-6) |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 37-12 (16-10) |
| 3 | Texas | 37-12 (16-10) |
| 4 | Alabama | 35-17 (16-11) |
| 5 | Auburn | 35-15 (16-11) |
| 6 | Florida | 34-18 (15-12) |
| 7 | Mississippi State | 38-14 (15-12) |
| 8 | Arkansas | 34-18 (15-12) |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 34-18 (14-13) |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 31-18 (13-14) |
| 11 | Tennessee | 34-18 (13-14) |
| 12 | Kentucky | 30-18 (12-15) |
| 13 | Vanderbilt | 29-24 (11-16) |
| 14 | LSU | 29-24 (9-18) |
| 15 | South Carolina | 22-30 (7-20) |
| 16 | Missouri | 23-27 (6-21) |
Georgia clinched the program’s first SEC regular season title in eight seasons this weekend with a sweep of LSU. The Bulldogs will be the No. 1 seed at the SEC Tournament. The rest of the seeds will be determined this weekend. Kentucky slipped one spot to No. 12 after Oklahoma finished 1-2 against Arkansas and Tennessee took the home series against Texas. The Bat Cats have a one-game lead on Vanderbilt and are just one game back of the No. 10 seed. UK could tie Arkansas and own the tiebreaker at 15-15 this weekend. The Bat Cats also own the tiebreaker against Tennessee but don’t own the tiebreaker against Vanderbilt who has a home series with South Carolina this weekend. There is still a wide seeding scenario on the table with a Tuesday start at the SEC Tournament almost certain.
Kentucky has moved up to No. 30 in RPI after going 1-2 against Florida. That is a five-spot jump from last week. The Bat Cats are now 7-8 in Quad 1 games with a non-conference RPI of No. 19 overall. Arkansas (No. 26) is a borderline Quad 1/Quad 2 opponent entering the weekend. UK is 4-4 in Quad 2 games. The Hogs are 4-3 in Quad 1 road games.
SEC teams with 13 conference wins historically receive bids to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky’s other metrics currently hit the needed marks. UK seems to be just one win away from securing a fourth consecutive at-large postseason invitation.
On Deck: Northern Kentucky and Arkansas
Kentucky has not played a midweek game at home since Louisville made the trek down I-64 on April 7. That will change this week at Kentucky Proud Park. The Bat Cats will end the season with a four-game homestand.
Northern Kentucky (23-26, 12-12) is No. 276 in RPI. The Norse own a combined 1-7 record in Quad 1/Quad 2 games with a series loss at South Carolina and a pair of losses to Eastern Kentucky. Louisville recorded a 16-1 run-rule win versus NKU on March 18. NKU is the lowest-ranked RPI team that UK has faced this season. This will be a Quad 4 game.
Arkansas has won three consecutive SEC series and is 15-6 since a five-game losing streak from March 27-April 2. The Hogs are playing their best baseball of the season and are fighting for a double-bye at the SEC Tournament. Arkansas owns the tiebreaker over Alabama and is a big weekend away from starting the run in Hoover as the No. 4 seed. This team has something to play for this weekend.
Kentucky will need at least two wins this week to feel good about its resume on Selection Monday.
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