KSR Today: Welcome to the May grind

The Kentucky Derby is in the past. Universities across the Commonwealth have sent students home. Some could call this the unofficial start of summer. That means the grind has begun. It’s almost time for the countdown clocks.

Baseball is still going on, but most sports on the University of Kentucky campus have shifted towards building for next season. Before you know it, the men’s basketball team will be going on a foreign trip and the football program will host over 50 prospects for official visits during a three-week stretch in June. The summer is not boring but it can be a grind. It’s time to embrace that grind.

In the first Saturday after the Kentucky Derby, we’ve got some more answers from Mark Pope and a baseball game to recap. Let’s get after it.

Mark Pope explains why Kentucky basketball does not have a general manger

The fan Q&A exercise continued with Kentucky head coach Mark Pope on Friday. This time the question that seemingly everyone wanted answered was addressed. Why does UK not have a general manager? Pope explained.

“In this ever-changing, dynamic college basketball environment, everybody is trying a different solution,” Pope said. “For us, instead of hiring a singular GM, we’ve gone with a more comprehensive general management team approach.”

“We have four members of the team. Keegan Brown is a data analysis and roster construction expert that’s worked in both college and in the NBA. Nick Robinson is our salary cap strategy and management specialist. Kevin Sergent is our compliance officer, and he deals with all of our contracts and legal language. And Kim Shelton is our JMI liaison, and she does all of our NIL contracts and dealing with corporate sponsorships. That’s our four-person general management team.”

What a week Big Blue Nation!
What else do you want to know? pic.twitter.com/3w0WXwjeeU
— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) May 8, 2026

Pope also opened up on Braydon Hawthorne, what having a star can do, and why things are quiet on the basketball front at this time of year. But this part of this week’s exercise will be remembered for the GM answer. Kentucky is taking a committee approach.

Kentucky blows late lead in series opening loss to Florida

Kentucky entered the eighth inning in Gainesville owning a 6-1 lead. The Bat Cats chased potential All-American Aidan King from the game in the 7th inning after posting five earned runs. The bottom three in UK’s order produced five hits, Ben Cleaver allowed one run across four innings, and reliever Jack Sams threw three scoreless innings to continue his strong debut season.

The Bat Cats were in cruise control. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not close the door.

Tristan Hunter gave up a lead off double and then went wild pitch and single to allow the first run. After getting a lineout and a strikeout, Kentucky was an out away from getting out of the inning holding a four-run cushion. Unfortunately, a single and a full count walk loaded the bases. UK then turned the game over to Nile Adcock who has had some very bright moments this season, but he could not get the Bat Cats out of this jam. Florida No. 2 hitter Brendan Lawson clubbed a double that cleared the bases. The last run was scored because of an error by Kentucky left fielder Scott Campbell Jr. that also allowed Lawson to move to third. That allowed him to score on another wild pitch to tie the game. Adcock gave up another double before being pulled from the game. Ira Austin IV got UK out of the inning with a ground ball to first base but the damage was done.

Kentucky did not record a hit in the ninth inning. UK got two outs in the bottom of the frame with Austin and Jackson Soucie each recording a strikeout around a double. However, a pair of walks would load the bases. Ryan Mullan would then allow an RBI single into left field as the Bat Cats lost in crushing fashion.

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WALK-OFF WINNER 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/gbXg1X3C6B
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 9, 2026

This was Kentucky’s fifth one-run loss in SEC play. Four of those have now come in consecutive weekends against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida. UK (29-17, 11-14) lost a golden Quad 1 win opportunity. They’ll get another chance on Saturday.

Jaxon Jelkin (7-2, 3.77 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 71.2 IP, 80 K) will be on the mound for Kentucky. First pitch is at 4 p.m. ET. KSR will have live coverage in our series thread at KSBoard.

LIVE UPDATES: Kentucky at No. 21 Florida

CJ Baxter suffers another hamstring injury during spring practice

The Kentucky football season is inching closer. There is excitement brewing in the Big Blue Nation and the national media is seemingly paying real close attention to what is going on with Will Stein‘s program. There is real buzz for the Wildcats.

In a national spring rundown, The Athletic touched on numerous different programs. Kentucky was one of them. The biggest news to be shared is what went on with running back CJ Baxter during spring ball.

[When you sign up for KSR+, you get a complimentary year of The Athletic included in your membership.]

Baxter re-injured his hamstring and had to sit out of practice. The redshirt junior was one of numerous players held out of the spring game. The Texas transfer dealt with hamstring injuries in high school and was severely limited by a hamstring injury last season before entering the transfer portal. That is something to watch closely. There were numerous players added to the roster from the portal with injury histories. Kentucky must keep those players healthy to reach their potential in 2026.

The offensive line, wide receiver, and standouts on defense were also mentioned.

More action in the NBA playoffs

The New York Knicks cruised to take a commanding 3-0 series lead against the Philadelphia 76ers and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road to take a 2-1 series lead. There’s more action scheduled for Saturday.