I am a Tennessee fan obviously, but this has been an amazing turnaround story both in the SEC and Nationally. They were picked to be last in the SEC East and are in first...would like to have known the prop futures on worst to first at the beginning of the season...would have made a ton..but who would have guessed it??? Congrat to the CATS.
May 12, 2006
Scott Hood
Special to Rivals.com
Every college baseball season contains its share of feel-good stories.
Probably the best Cinderella story of 2006 is being written in Lexington, Ky., where the Kentucky Wildcats have risen from the basement to the top of the Southeastern Conference standings in little more than one season.
CatsPause.com
Junior college transfer Ryan Strieby has been a key to UK's turnaround.
Last weekend's home sweep of Ole Miss gave the Wildcats (37-11, 16-8) sole possession of first place in the SEC, one game ahead of Alabama. The successful weekend catapulted the 'Cats to the highest rankings in school history – No. 7 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 8 in Baseball America.
It is the first time Kentucky, which has been ranked for eight consecutive weeks, has cracked the top 10. It also marks the latest the Wildcats have held the top spot in the SEC since 1988.
Kentucky leads the SEC Eastern Division by three games over Georgia (13-11) and South Carolina (13-11). With just six conference games remaining, the Wildcats are primed to finish with no worse than the No. 2 seed for the upcoming SEC tournament in Birmingham, Ala.
The series win over the Rebels was Kentucky's sixth of the season, tying the school record. The 16 conference wins to date is tied for third most in school history.
"The neat thing about our situation is the future is kind of in our own hands," Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. "I don't think our kids need to worry about anything except the next pitch. They've accomplished a lot. Being ranked is a neat thing for them and for our fans to talk about."
Out of the cellar
Kentucky's baseball records and place out of the six teams in the SEC's Eastern Division since 2001:
Year Overall SEC Place
2001 22-34 7-23 6th
2002 17-36 6-24 6th
2003 24-32 9-20 6th
2004 24-30 7-23 6th
2005 29-27 7-22 6th
Kentucky has won 12 of its last 13 games entering this weekend's home series against Mississippi State.
One of the players credited for igniting Kentucky's turnaround is junior college transfer Ryan Strieby, a 6-foot-6 first baseman from Brier, Wash.
Strieby, who played at Edmonds (Wash.) Community College before signing with Kentucky, is the best hitter on a Kentucky team that tops the SEC in nearly every major offensive category.
"We have so much confidence right now we think we can go out there every day and win," Strieby said. "We had a feeling before the season began that this could be a special season. We have a lot of great players and great leaders. It's been fun."
Strieby enters the weekend with a .342 batting average to go along with 14 homers and a league-leading 64 RBIs. He is second in the SEC in slugging pct. (.690) and on-base percentage (.472), third in total bases (127), tied for third in home runs and walks (34), and fifth in runs (51).
In addition to RBIs, Strieby tops the SEC in doubles with 20.
"I've done pretty well, but I've never played against guys who are this good before," said Strieby, who was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list last weekend. "The SEC is a great baseball league."
Strieby is hardly alone in his quest to make Kentucky one of the top baseball programs in the highly competitive SEC.
In just his third season as head coach, Cohen has transformed Kentucky baseball. Cohen was an assistant coach at Florida when he was tabbed to take over a Wildcats program that had produced just one winning season in the seven years prior to his arrival.
UK's Steve Deaton and Collin Cowgill have had plenty to celebrate this season.
"Our kids play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because they've been like the kid on the block that has been picked on for a long period of time," Cohen said. "They're going to play as hard as they can all the time."
While Kentucky struggled in his first two seasons as head coach, compiling a combined conference mark of 14-45, Cohen was altering the way Kentucky players and fans viewed the program.
"When I first got here I felt like there was a lot of repair that needed to be done," Cohen said. "I just felt there was an expectation of losing. I'm a competitor, so I wanted it to happen faster than it did. I wanted to reverse that expectation. I think we've changed some people's ideas of what can happen at Kentucky."
Cohen played at Mississippi State under legendary coach Ron Polk and worked for Pat McMahon at Florida before moving on to Lexington. Cohen, though, acknowledges his coaching style is a little different from his former mentors.
"My style is a little bit different than other people's styles," Cohen said. "I'm a little bit more vocal. I expect a little more energy and emotion out of our players than most coaches. That's just my personality. I'm a Type-A personality."
For more coverage of the Kentucky Wildcats, check out CastPause.com.
May 12, 2006
Scott Hood
Special to Rivals.com
Every college baseball season contains its share of feel-good stories.
Probably the best Cinderella story of 2006 is being written in Lexington, Ky., where the Kentucky Wildcats have risen from the basement to the top of the Southeastern Conference standings in little more than one season.
CatsPause.com
Junior college transfer Ryan Strieby has been a key to UK's turnaround.
Last weekend's home sweep of Ole Miss gave the Wildcats (37-11, 16-8) sole possession of first place in the SEC, one game ahead of Alabama. The successful weekend catapulted the 'Cats to the highest rankings in school history – No. 7 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 8 in Baseball America.
It is the first time Kentucky, which has been ranked for eight consecutive weeks, has cracked the top 10. It also marks the latest the Wildcats have held the top spot in the SEC since 1988.
Kentucky leads the SEC Eastern Division by three games over Georgia (13-11) and South Carolina (13-11). With just six conference games remaining, the Wildcats are primed to finish with no worse than the No. 2 seed for the upcoming SEC tournament in Birmingham, Ala.
The series win over the Rebels was Kentucky's sixth of the season, tying the school record. The 16 conference wins to date is tied for third most in school history.
"The neat thing about our situation is the future is kind of in our own hands," Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. "I don't think our kids need to worry about anything except the next pitch. They've accomplished a lot. Being ranked is a neat thing for them and for our fans to talk about."
Out of the cellar
Kentucky's baseball records and place out of the six teams in the SEC's Eastern Division since 2001:
Year Overall SEC Place
2001 22-34 7-23 6th
2002 17-36 6-24 6th
2003 24-32 9-20 6th
2004 24-30 7-23 6th
2005 29-27 7-22 6th
Kentucky has won 12 of its last 13 games entering this weekend's home series against Mississippi State.
One of the players credited for igniting Kentucky's turnaround is junior college transfer Ryan Strieby, a 6-foot-6 first baseman from Brier, Wash.
Strieby, who played at Edmonds (Wash.) Community College before signing with Kentucky, is the best hitter on a Kentucky team that tops the SEC in nearly every major offensive category.
"We have so much confidence right now we think we can go out there every day and win," Strieby said. "We had a feeling before the season began that this could be a special season. We have a lot of great players and great leaders. It's been fun."
Strieby enters the weekend with a .342 batting average to go along with 14 homers and a league-leading 64 RBIs. He is second in the SEC in slugging pct. (.690) and on-base percentage (.472), third in total bases (127), tied for third in home runs and walks (34), and fifth in runs (51).
In addition to RBIs, Strieby tops the SEC in doubles with 20.
"I've done pretty well, but I've never played against guys who are this good before," said Strieby, who was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list last weekend. "The SEC is a great baseball league."
Strieby is hardly alone in his quest to make Kentucky one of the top baseball programs in the highly competitive SEC.
In just his third season as head coach, Cohen has transformed Kentucky baseball. Cohen was an assistant coach at Florida when he was tabbed to take over a Wildcats program that had produced just one winning season in the seven years prior to his arrival.
UK's Steve Deaton and Collin Cowgill have had plenty to celebrate this season.
"Our kids play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because they've been like the kid on the block that has been picked on for a long period of time," Cohen said. "They're going to play as hard as they can all the time."
While Kentucky struggled in his first two seasons as head coach, compiling a combined conference mark of 14-45, Cohen was altering the way Kentucky players and fans viewed the program.
"When I first got here I felt like there was a lot of repair that needed to be done," Cohen said. "I just felt there was an expectation of losing. I'm a competitor, so I wanted it to happen faster than it did. I wanted to reverse that expectation. I think we've changed some people's ideas of what can happen at Kentucky."
Cohen played at Mississippi State under legendary coach Ron Polk and worked for Pat McMahon at Florida before moving on to Lexington. Cohen, though, acknowledges his coaching style is a little different from his former mentors.
"My style is a little bit different than other people's styles," Cohen said. "I'm a little bit more vocal. I expect a little more energy and emotion out of our players than most coaches. That's just my personality. I'm a Type-A personality."
For more coverage of the Kentucky Wildcats, check out CastPause.com.
