Omaha is the goal for every team in collegiate baseball in order to compete for a national title. It is that much better for Nick Mingione and the Wildcats, though, with it being both of their first appearances there as a head coach and a program respectively at the College World Series.
Mingione discussed what it felt like to bring Kentucky to Omaha during media this week. He did so by recalling his only other experience there when his last program played for the ultimate prize. That lone memory showed him everything about what that place means to their sport.
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“You know, in 2013. I had the opportunity to come here with Mississippi State. Having played for the national championship and making it to the final series where there was two teams? It was, like, whoa,” said Mingione. “You know, prior, I’ve reached out to a couple of friends and people that have been here more recently. Because, if my math is right, what was that, 11 years ago. That was before this little dude was even born. Life has changed since then.”
“I just remember coming here and just thinking about there’s a lot of things going on and rightfully so,” Mingione said. “This is the mecca of college baseball.”
The Bulldogs got all the way to the title series in that season before UCLA eventually swept them. Mingione would remain in Starkville for a few more years before becoming the head coach at Kentucky before 2017.
Now, in 2024, Mingione has the Wildcats where he and they have never been. They had made a few tournament appearances and had even been to a trio of Super Regionals after this season. However, they had never made it there as a program until this year.
With that said, UK can’t let that achievement get to them. Mingione wants them to stay in the moment and keep their focus on the task at hand of turning their first trip there into their first title.
“I just remember just even reflecting and talking to some folks that have been here since then just about how to try to stay focused on the task at hand,” Mingione said.
“It is a very similar message to our team. You’ll be pulled in a lot of directions but we have to keep the main thing the main thing,” said Mingione. “This team has done a great job of that all year but to be able to stay focused on the task at hand and that’s to try to bring Kentucky its first-ever college baseball national championship.”
You don’t make it to Omaha every year. Kentucky should know that as well as any team with them just now making it there for the first time. That’s why Mingione wants them to make the most of it in hopes of setting even more history for the school at the end of this season.
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