Kentucky baseball, back in NCAA tournament for first time since 2017, to host regional

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky baseball team is back in the NCAA tournament. And the Wildcats won't have to leave home for the first round.

UK was announced as one of the tournament's 16 regional hosts Sunday night. The seedings, as well as the rest of the 64-team field, which include the three schools Kentucky will host in its regional, will be revealed at noon Monday. The winner of Lexington's double-elimination regional will advance to super regional play.

Kentucky is 36-18 (16-14 SEC) this season, tying for fourth in the league's Eastern Division. UK, as the eighth seed in the SEC tournament, lost in the first round, 4-0, to ninth-seeded Alabama. The Wildcats are 18-16 in Quad 1 games — contests against clubs in the top 50 of the rating percentage index — this season, making them one of the few teams in the country with a winning record in more than 30 Q1 matchups.

This marks UK's second NCAA tournament appearance under coach Nick Mingione. The first NCAA berth of Mingione's tenure came in his record-setting debut season in 2017, when he won the SEC Coach of the Year award and the Wildcats reached a super regional for the first time in program history.

UK owns a 18-19 all-time record in the NCAA tournament.

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This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.