Kentucky baseball jumps off NCAA Tournament bubble after Tennessee series win

Kentucky entered this past weekend riding a 9-13 record over the last 22 games and desperately needing some good wins. The Bat Cats found themselves on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble for the first time all season. That was flipped in just one week.

The tournament picture is much improved for Kentucky just one week later. UK took the SEC series against Tennessee at Kentucky Proud Park but also jumped up a few spots in RPI. Those mattered the most but what happened elsewhere also mattered. LSU swept South Carolina to go from a Quad 2 series to a Quad 1 series for Kentucky. St. John’s has been on a terrific run in the Big East to move from a Quad 4 series to a Quad 3 series. That has all helped boost the resume.

Kentucky enters the final two weeks of the regular season officially off the bubble — for now. In the latest bracket projections, UK is in the field as a No. 3 seed and not included among the last four in group.

Baseball America has Kentucky as a No. 3 seed in the Lawrence regional. No. 7 overall seed Kansas would be the host. Oregon (No. 2) and Wright State (No. 4) are also in the pod. Louisiana, UAB, Pittsburgh, and Kent State are the first four teams out. NC State, East Carolina, and TCU are the last four teams in.

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D1 Baseball has Kentucky as No. 1 seed in the Eugene regional. No. 16 overall seed Oregon would be the host. Boston College (No. 2) barely missed out on hosting as the No. 18 overall team. Saint Joseph’s fills out the pod. Pittsburgh, Purdue, Miami (Ohio), and Louisiana are the first four teams out. UAB, TCU, East Carolina, and Virginia Tech are the last four teams in.

Kentucky is currently off the bubble.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet

Kentucky (29-16, 11-13) currently sits at No. 34 in RPI.

LSU has moved from Quad 2 to Quad 1 after the Bayou Bengals jumped into the RPI top-60 after taking the home series against South Carolina. All of that moving and shaking gives Kentucky a 6-6 Quad 1 record and 4-4 Quad 2 record. The Bat Cats also own a top-25 non-conference RPI. That is all significant.