Bases Loaded: Welcome to the SEC Tournament

The regular season is officially over. Welcome to postseason college baseball. Things are about to get interesting. Kentucky enters this week with some questions before Selection Monday arrives. That could turn into an eventful week in Hoover.

The SEC Tournament has returned. Kentucky got to a key number before the postseason started but the Bat Cats are still very much on the NCAA Tournament bubble just one week away from Selection Monday. Tuesday’s game feels important.

What can the Big Blue Nation expect this week at the SEC Tournament? KSR is here to set the table.

The bracket

1. Georgia (43-12, 23-7)

2. Texas (40-12, 19-10)

3. Texas A&M (39-13, 18-11)

4. Alabama (37-18, 18-12)

5. Florida (37-18, 18-12)

6. Auburn (36-18, 17-13)

7. Arkansas (36-19, 17-13)

8. Mississippi State (39-16, 16-14)

9. Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15)

10. Tennessee (37-19, 15-15)

11. Oklahoma (32-20, 14-16)

12. Vanderbilt (32-24, 14-16)

13. Kentucky (31-20, 13-17)

14. LSU (29-27, 9-21)

15. South Carolina (22-34, 7-23)

16. Missouri (23-30, 6-24)

The schedule

Tuesday

— Game 1: No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 16 Missouri (10:30 a.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 2: No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Kentucky (2 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 3: No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 15 South Carolina (5:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 4: No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 LSU (9 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

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Wednesday

— Game 5: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Ole Miss/No. 16 Missouri (10:30 a.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 6: No. 5 Florida vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt/No. 13 Kentucky (2 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 7: No. 7 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Tennessee/No. 15 South Carolina (5:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 8: No. 6 Auburn vs. No. 11 Oklahoma/No. 14 LSU (9 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

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Thursday

— Game 9: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Mississippi State/No. 9 Ole Miss/No. 16 Missouri (4 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 10: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Florida/No. 12 Vanderbilt/No. 13 Kentucky (8 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

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Friday

— Game 11: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Arkansas/No. 10 Tennessee/No. 15 South Carolina (4 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 12: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 6 Auburn/No. 11 Oklahoma/No. 14 LSU (8 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

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Saturday

— Game 13: Semifinal No. 1 (1 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

— Game 14: Semifinal No. 2 (5 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

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Sunday

— Game 15: Championship (2 p.m. ET | SEC Network)

What happened the last time Kentucky played Vanderbilt

Kentucky hosted Vanderbilt for a three-game set at Kentucky Proud Park from April 17-19. Vanderbilt took that series with a win on Saturday and Sunday. This was one of seven rubber match games that UK lost in conference play this season. The series was a thriller.

This is what happened.

— Friday (Kentucky 5, Vanderbilt 2): Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione was ejected in the fourth inning and did not get to the most thrilling ending of the season from the dugout. Vanderbilt took a 2-0 lead in third inning but that was all they got versus Jaxon Jelkin. UK’s ace went eight innings and recorded nine strikeouts before Nile Adcock worked around a walk to record a scoreless ninth. Then the offense came alive in a 2-1 ballgame. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases with no outs. Unfortunately, Tyler Cerny and pinch-hitter Tagger Tyson struck out on three pitches. Braxton Van Cleave stepped to the plate riding a long cold streak. That ended with this grand slam walk off that secured a big win for UK.

DID WE JUST SEE THAT?????!!!!

FRESHMAN @Braxton_VC WITH A WALK-OFF, TWO OUT GRAND SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VICTORY, KENTUCKY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/DNB7NrzEby

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) April 18, 2026

— Saturday (Vanderbilt 8, Kentucky 7): Relief pitcher Jack Bennett made his only start of the season for Kentucky and it was a short one. Bennett was pulled in the second inning after giving up four earns and handing out four free passes. Ryan Mullan failed to record an out in the second inning before Leighton Harris ultimately got Kentucky out of the frame. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 7-1 lead before UK slowly chipped away. Will Marcy produced 3 RBI and played a big role in UK’s comeback. Jack Sams (3 IP, 0 ER, 4 K) and Tristan Hunter (3 IP, 0 ER, 4 K) combined to give UK 18 big outs to set the stage for a comeback. Unfortunately, UK allowed an insurance run in the ninth inning and that would be the difference. Braxton Van Cleave‘s two RBI double in the final at-bat got the winning run to the plate but Marcy (F6) and Owen Jenkins (U3) were retired to end the game. Tyler Bell was suspended for Sunday’s game after being ejected in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch with words being exchanged with the Vanderbilt dugout.

— Sunday (Vanderbilt 13, Kentucky 6): Long relief pitcher Connor Mattison made his first SEC start of the season and gave Kentucky a chance to win in this rubber match. The Grand Canyon transfer lasted 5.1 innings and was cruising before allowing a solo home run and two free passes in the sixth. Nile Adcock would then give up a grand slam in the same frame to Will Hampton on a full count after a strike three wild pitch allowed Vanderbilt to extend the inning with two outs. A 3-1 lead for UK turned into a 7-3 deficit in the blink of an eye. This would not be the only crooked inning for the Commodores. UK would plate one run in the sixth and two runs in the eighth to make this a 7-6 game. The Cats rode with Oliver Boone in the ninth after he recorded two clean innings. That would lead to four pitches in the inning and six runs for the Commodores. Vandy hit a leadoff home run followed by four more hits and three free passes. UK’s chance to win the game late was spoiled by another rough outing for the bullpen.

Kentucky’s SEC Tournament history under Nick Mingione

— 2017: No. 3 Kentucky finished the SEC Tournament 1-2. The Bat Cats knocked off No. 11 seed South Carolina 7-2 in the opener but lost to No. 2 seed LSU 10-0 in seven innings. The Bat Cats moved to the losers bracket and were eliminated by South Carolina 3-1.

— 2018: No. 10 seed Kentucky went one-and-done in Hoover. The Bat Cats fell to No. 7 seed Auburn 4-3 in Hoover. That loss was a big one as UK was one of the first teams left out of the NCAA Tournament despite reaching 13 conference wins.

— 2019: Kentucky did not quality for the SEC Tournament due to finishing in last place with a 7-23 conference record.

— 2020: No SEC Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

— 2021: No. 11 seed Kentucky went one-and-done in Hoover. No. 6 seed Florida beat UK 4-1 in the play-in round before the double-elimination bracket started.

— 2022: The best run ever in Hoover under Mingione occurred this year. No. 12 seed Kentucky upset No. 5 seed Auburn to reach the double-elimination bracket. The Bat Cats lost 11-6 to No. 4 seed LSU before responding with wins against No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (10-2) and LSU (7-2) to reach the semifinals. UK then lost to No. 1 seed Tennessee 12-2 to finish 3-2 in Hoover.

— 2023: No. 8 seed Kentucky lost 4-0 to No. 9 seed Alabama in the play-in round to go one-and-done in Hoover.

— 2024: No. 3 seed Kentucky was run-ruled 11-0 by No. 11 seed LSU in the first round of the double-elimination bracket before beating No. 2 seed Arkansas 9-6. The run would end the next day with a 6-5 loss to No. 10 seed South Carolina.

— 2025: No. 13 seed Kentucky dropped a 5-1 opening game to No. 12 seed Oklahoma.

— Overall: Kentucky is 5-10 under Mingione at the SEC Tournament. The Bat Cats have only made the semifinals once. UK has failed to advance past the first round four times in five attempts during this era. UK had a bye into the second round in 2017 and 2024.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet

Bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament will roll out later this week. As of right now, Kentucky is expected to be above the cut line. The Bat Cats sit at No. 34 in RPI.

The eight total losses in Quads 3 and 4 are not the best look but this resume is buoyed by some other big marks. Kentucky’s has a top-15 non-conference RPI with seven Quad 1 victories and a 11-12 overall mark in the first two quadrants. UK has six wins against top-15 competition with three of those occurring on the road. The Bat Cats reached the key SEC wins mark and own a fairly clean resume.

Tuesday’s tilt with Vanderbilt will be a Quad 2 game. A loss should not hurt them too much when factoring how far the RPI could drop. The Bat Cats have a clear case to make this field and might not be truly sweating on Selection Monday unless we see some bid stealers roll in this weekend. How is this the case? The quality wins and strong non-conference RPI.