May 19, 2025 • 26 mins
n this episode of Behind Kentucky Baseball Podcast, our host Darren Headrick and Darren Williams sits down with special guest D1 Baseball's Joe Healy. They discuss the college baseball landscape, and what Kentucky's post season could look like?
Presented by: American Trust Wealth
Presented by: American Trust Wealth
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When you see Kentucky playing all these young guys and
they're starting to find their footing in the SEC, it's
got to be kind of exciting to think of, oh,
what can Kentucky be if they make the postseason, but
especially going into next year.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, I mean I've been telling people if you know,
it might be too late to get a good value
on buying Kentucky stock for twenty twenty six, but I
would if you can still get a good price on it,
I would buy it because yeah, I mean, you've got
these these young guys and it you know, it's a
little like twenty the twenty twenty three season where you know,
we would like, well, it was a great season, but
(00:32):
you start you looked at what was coming back and thought, Okay,
there's actually something to build on here. And so I've
said it all season two that we shouldn't overlook the
importance of just getting to the postseason. If you want
to make a deep run, yes, but for this program
to get to the postseason for a third year in
a row, one year after they got their back to
back seasons for the first time, like, we should not
overlook the value in that, because that's how you create
(00:54):
a program that people associate with the postseason.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hello everyone, welcome into another edition of Behind Kentucky Baseball.
We are presented by American Trust Wealth. I'm Darren Hendrick,
joined by my co host, Darren Williams. And Darren, we
got a special guest with us today. The folks watching
on social media can see him behind us here. It's
Joe Healey from D one Baseball.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Good to see Joe again.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Joe, you fella's good to be back. Yeah, man, it's
great to have you on the show again. I know
you have been traveling the country. You were out to
Oregon recently. How much fun have you had watching this
season of college baseball and all the great talent that's
on the field this year.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, it's it's been a special season from a couple
of different standpoints. Standpoints one for me is we were
talking about this before we came on, like, I've been
doing a little bit of extra help with D one
go into some different parts of the country, and that's
kind of nice because I love the SEC. It's it's
the best college baseball there is, but it is kind
of nice to go other places and get a feel
for what the style of game is like in other places,
(02:08):
what the atmospheres are like in other places. As someone
who's a college baseball nerd like myself, that's just a
really cool opportunity. But within the context of the SEC,
because that is still where my bread is buttered. That's
where I spend most of my time. It's been a
wild season where, you know, right up until last weekend,
at least it was, we had this weird deal where
Texas was running away with things, but everyone else was
(02:31):
kind of in the middle, and I couldn't tell who,
you know, what was what, and the teams were all
jammed up and just a couple of games apart from
each other. And it feels like maybe now we're getting
some clarity. But week to week in the SEC, y'all
know this. I mean, it's it's already unpredictable to begin with,
but I don't know that I've ever covered a season
that has been quite this unpredictable in this league.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
It's gonna make a lot of fun over the next month,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
We're all itching for the postseason for that very reason, Joe,
and looking at the SEC itself, you mentioned Texas, they
have been one of the best, if not the best
team all year, but we just saw them get swept
by Arkansaw, who when they're clicking on all cylinders, looks
like they could be the best Texas A and M's
got the talent to be the best Tennessee does. And
(03:15):
let's turn it back to Kentucky now the focus of
this podcast. This is a group that's in the could
easily be a top twenty five team, but they've just
come up a couple of runs short here and there
throughout the season. They just got to put it together.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, I think it's a Honestly, I think it makes
me appreciate the team that's been on the field for
Kentucky the last two years even more because I think
this year we've seen when those margins are as thin
as they are in the SEC things like what we
saw last two years were every double play got turned,
every routine play got made, every base running decision was
(03:49):
the right one. You know. It was very fundamental baseball
with very few mistakes in the game. And so when
you play like Kentucky does, that's kind of the way
you win. This team is built similarly, has had. It's
got a great deal of talent on it. They when
they're playing well that they're still succeeding like they had
the last two years, but the difference is teams a
little more experienced. The team's not quite as sharp in
(04:11):
some of those places, largely because of that inexperience in
that youth. And as a result, we've seen just seemingly
one run loss after one run loss, where you know,
you flip that coin, typically you get about half and half,
and it feels like the coin has always gone the
opposite way of Kentucky this season in terms of those close,
low scoring games, and if the result of half of
(04:32):
those change, we're having a very different conversation now we're
focused on, Hey, Kentucky's trying to make sure they get
into the field if you know, just a handful of
those games go the other direction. We're talking about kin
Kentucky host for a third year in a row.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I mean, it's very close.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
We've already we've had a few conversations on the last
few pods of how you know some of these games
have gone. I want to go back to what you
saw in some of the high moments of this season.
You know, a win over Number one Texas, win over.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Georgia, series win, Knox win in Knoxville in College Station too.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Series winning college station and a brutal schedule, and and
they're still right there, win over Louisville, you know. So
the highs are there with this team. When you see
and think about Kentucky this year twenty twenty five, what
stands out to you?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
What do you like with with what you say from
a national.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Perspective, Yeah, with no disrespect to to the pitching staff
to the last couple of years, I think the high
end talent on the pitching staff is better this year.
Like I think when when McKay and Cleaver in particular
are at their best, there they can be anybody in
the country and and they're not always going to have that.
You know, there are very few pictures in the SEC.
(05:44):
You count them on less than one hand, the number
of guys you can set your watch to just just
being shut down guys every every week. You know, Liam
Doyle of Tennessee's one of them. Kyson Witherspoon at Oklahoma's
one of them. But once you get past those guys
like McCain, clever right there for Kentucky in terms of
what they can do on the high ends, that's the
first thing, they're going to be dangerous assuming Kentucky gets
(06:06):
into the postseason. They're gonna be dangerous in a regional
because they're gonna have two guys that can beat anybody.
And y'all know what the format being what it is,
winning those first two games in a regional is basically,
I don't want to say all that matters, but that
gets you ninety percent of the way there is winning
those first two games, and Kentucky's set up to do that.
So there's that. I also think, much like the last
couple of years, I think one of the positives of
(06:28):
the way this program has been built, with the success
they've had in bringing in transfers, is you've got a
hungry team like these guys came to Kentucky because they
wanted to play for play, wanted to prove themselves in
the SEC. A lot of them came up from lower
levels of college baseball. They want to prove themselves here.
They want to win big, they want to give themselves
an opportunity to play professional baseball. They felt like they
(06:48):
may not have gotten at other places. So it's a
group that we've seen it all year, that has scratched
and clawed and fought, and I think that's part of
the reason why. Look, they're not as talented in terms
of raw talent as Tennessee. They're not as talented as
Texas A and M in terms of draft prospects things
like that, but they're in just about every game against
every team they've been up against because they just refuse
(07:10):
to give up the fight. And that's gonna get you
a long way, especially when we get to this part
of the year where look, I watch the games, the
lot of the team does look like they're starting to
get a little bit worn out, like it's been a
long season. They've been fighting every single game, and yet
they're still competitive more often than not because they just
they refuse to kind of lay down in those types
(07:31):
of situations. And that's a that's a great testament to
the roster.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Again, it's a great week to be Finals week and
have a couple of days, Guys, this is a team
that needs that. Yeah, you study for a little bit,
take a load off, you know, get ready for Oklahoma
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Joe, I want to stay with the pitching staff for
just a minute because I'm curious what the national perspective
is like for people who viewed Dan Roselle and the
job he does recruiting and developing pitchers, even going back
to his days in the at Major's East Carolina Florida
Gulf Coast College at Charleston. Since he's come to Kentucky,
we've seen him take Tyler Gilfoyle whose name wasn't really known,
(08:08):
and then he became a big time draft pick. We
saw that with Trey Pooser last year. There's other guys too,
but this year Nick McKay has jumped into the rotation.
He's dealing with a freshman on Friday night, a sophomore
on Sunday. That's not an excuse, but those guys are
excelling though in those roles.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
At the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
What's the national perspective like for coach Minjeon and Dan
Roselle in terms of being those recruiters and developers of pitchers.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, So first in the big picture with this, this
whole apparatus that Minge has put together, is I hear
all the time from other coaches, and this is absolutely
a compliment what I hear from coaches all the time,
coaches in and out of the league. By the way,
it's not just sec coaches say, I don't always love
some of the stuff they get up to in the dugout,
but man, are they well coached, And like, that's to me,
(08:52):
that's an extremely high compliment where coaches are able to say, look,
that's not the way I would do it, but clearly
it works there and so that's the big picture thing
I hear. And then on Roselle specifically, really going back
to his time at East Carolina, he's been known as
a guy who is extremely good at finding guys who
are I don't want to say diamonds in the rough
even because that comes off as a little derisive, but
(09:14):
guys who just aren't necessarily on the radar of other
big name programs, finding those guys and understanding what he
has to where Okay, look this guy's maybe maybe he's
not a complete pitcher, but I really like this one
pitch he has, and I think if he throws it more,
he can have a lot of success or for whatever reason,
he's not throwing this pitch and I think he should
be throwing it a lot more, or you know, just
(09:36):
finding their strength and really bringing it out of that
of that pitcher. Because the situation, especially in East Carolina. Look,
he was that's a in East Carolina. We see all
the success and assume that maybe it's it's easy to
succeed there, but they're recruiting against North Carolina and NC
State and South Carolina and Clemson, and they get their
fair share of decent. In the end, they have their
(09:58):
fair share of draftees on the and that goes back
to what Dan Roselle did there, which is developing those
guys to where you might not have been a big
name coming into school, but by the time you left,
you were going to get drafted right alongside guys with
those those big name, bigger schools. I think it's similar
at Kentucky, where look, the reality the situation is in
terms of recruiting, Kentucky's not the history is not there
(10:19):
in recruiting in terms when you compare it to LSU
and Texas A and M and Texas. But in terms
of results, Kentucky is right there with them because he's
just a master at figuring out how to get the
most out of the pictures he has. And we've seen
that year after year where you look at the transfer
class and it's guys that are like, okay, His numbers
aren't great, so how's it going to translate? Or he's
(10:40):
coming from a much lower level like Nick McKay, how
is that going to translate? And more often than not,
the answer is that it does translate, and it's because
they've just maximized what that picture has.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I will give him a lot of credit.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I mean, I was about say, I'm sitting here with
a guy that's a product is.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Like November December of my first year here, so this
had to be November twenty one. He had like a
two page report on all my pitches at Eastern Kentucky,
my school.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I went to before like what worked and what counts?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
You know, what pitches I need to throw to Righty's
what pitches I need to throw a whole breakdown essentially,
and said, Okay, here's what you're here's how you're going
to pitch when we come back in the spring, so starting,
you know, starting in the spring in January inter squads.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
You know, it was a whole scattering point.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
You need to pitch exactly like this to a left
handed batter or this this to a right handed batter.
So Joe hit the nail on the head right there, Joe,
I got a question about a couple of freshmen we'll
definitely get to. I know Darren Hendricks dying to talk
about Tyler Bell, but I want to talk about Nate Harris,
who's our Friday night starter right now. And obviously you
cover a ton of SEC. I just want you to
(11:51):
speak for a minute about how hard it is for
a true freshman to pitch on the weekends in the
league pero Friday nights and then on Friday nights, you know,
as a whole nother level.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, I mean, just just to be able to get
up there and compete and not freak out out there
on the mound. I almost use a phrase that y'all
probably would have had to bleep out, but like, you know,
to not go up there and just losure your wits
is a lot for a freshman in the SEC. And
then for him to have shown the flashes that he had,
And this is kind of where we talk about. We
(12:25):
just got talking about, got done talk about coach Rozelle
and like he's clearly not a finished product yet, but
he's a freshman, right and so you know what we've
seen the flashes where you know, you get really excited
about not only what he can do this year down
the stretch, but also subsequent seasons. It reminds me a
little bit of you know, clever last year with the injury,
we didn't see a ton of them, but when we
saw him, it was like, oh, boy, like this raw
(12:46):
materials are here for him to be for him to
be really good. And that's kind of how I feel
about Nate Harris. That The hope though, is that you know,
Harris has been healthy and so therefore he's a guy
who can help a little more down the stretch. And
that's going to become really important as you go to
and you're facing the reality of we may have to
play you know whatever. It is four games here in
four five days games and that's right, and they're all
(13:10):
elimination games, Like there's no games where you can just
kind of pitch off like you gotta you know, you
got to be locked in every game. And so it's
huge when you can have the younger guys be ready
to go like that because it just adds, you know,
it adds a lot more lenked to what you have
on the mound.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It's got to be frustrating and exciting at the same
time when you play this many young guys because they're
going to make their mistakes, but then they show you
flashes like Nate Harris and Tyler Bell has done. Ryan
Schwartz is another guy Texas commit they made a change,
he reopened his recruitment, came to Kentucky. You just look
at that young man and he's got the body of
(13:45):
a guy. He's a dude and he has shown that
since he's got more playing time down the stretch. And Joe,
I guess my question for you is when you see
Kentucky playing all these young guys and they're starting to
find their footing in the SEC, it's got to be
kind of exciting to think of, oh, what can Kentucky
be if they make the postseason, but especially going into
next year.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, I mean I've been telling people, if you know,
it might be too late to get a good value
on buying Kentucky stock for twenty twenty six, but I
would if you can still get a good price on it,
I would buy it because, Yeah, I mean, you've got
these these young guys and it you know, it's a
little like the twenty twenty three season where you know,
it was like, boy, it was a great season, but
(14:25):
you start, you looked at what was coming back and thought, Okay,
there's actually something to build on here. And so I've
said it all season two that we shouldn't overlook the
importance of just getting to the postseason. Do you want
to make a deep run, yes, But for this program
to get to the postseason for a third year in
a row, one year after they got their back to
back seasons for the first time, like, we should not
overlook the value in that, because that's how you create
(14:47):
a program that people associate with the postseason. You know, Like,
think of it this way. If you're a kid that
Kentucky's recruiting right now who's sixteen years old, you make
the postseason again, Well, that kid had probably only no
in Kentucky is a successful program in the SEC, right, So,
like that that's how valuable that kind of that kind
of thing can can be. And so, but to get
(15:08):
back to the young player's point, what's impressive to me
about it too, is is it shows that this coaching
staff does a really good job of using its entire roster.
Where Harris and Schwartz are we're not necessarily heavily in
the mix early on, but then as the time came,
and some of its injury related, sure, and you don't
want to see that, but just in general, the coaching
(15:30):
staff circles back to him like they're never lost on
the roster, they're never set aside, put on a shelf.
It's hey, you need to stay ready because we we
might need you at some point. And so those guys
have come in and been able to compete right away
because they've they've stayed ready. And I love watching Ryan
Schwartz play because I love a guy who comes up
to the plate and you look at his batting stance
(15:51):
and we're like, are we sure this guy knows what
he's doing, because like that, that is an unconventional way
to get up to the plate and stand there, and
yet like it's an you know, I've not seen him
take like an in person VP this season because I
haven't been to KPP this season, But like the scouts
I've talked to are like, yeah, it's real, but like
you just you wouldn't teach anyone to stand like that,
and yet the results are there.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
All right, let's talk about him.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I mean, yep, Tyler Bell, you know, I mean, we're
talking about a lot of freshmen that could contend for
SEC Freshmen of the Year.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
This young man is right up there, Joe.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
No freshman has been more important.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I mean, I mean that that was a good swing.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Gosh, yeah, no kidding, Yeah, get your best swing off.
I think we Yeah, look out inflatable slide out there
on the concourse. Yeah. It just he's the most important
freshman in the country now, just because the complexion of
this lineup is totally different without him. He's he's already
a guy that opposing pitching coaches are having to plan around.
(16:54):
He's already someone who feels like he's right in the
middle of everything this lineup is doing. And by the way,
like he's he's as good defensively as we were told
he was going to be. The concern coming in, you know,
talking to scouts, was you know, he didn't hit grade
his last trip through kind of the showcase circuit, and
and so how will the bat translate? And you know,
we've heard that about other middle infielders in the SEC
(17:16):
and sometimes that that knock is correct, but with him.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
It's translated that that knock was wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And he's just he's just a baller, like he's been
a superstar for a minute one. And look, you know,
barring something unforeseen over the end of this year and
into next year, like he's going to get he's going
to to get drafted probably higher than he was. That
the chance he took on coming to Kentucky has absolutely
paid off. And again, barring something unforeseen, it is going
(17:48):
to pay off for him in the end.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Good for that kid. And I mean, yeah, he works
his tail off. You know, he deserves it, and.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
He's mature beyond his years. I love is just even
keel approach no matter what's happening. We've just got a
couple of minutes left here, Joe, so let's kind of
look forward.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
The SEC tournament you mentioned it new format. All sixteen
teams get in. It's single elimination. I'm a fan of
this format. But what are your thoughts on the SEC
changing and going away from double elimination.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah, I love it because it adds stakes to every
game in a way that very necessarily in the previous format.
It also allows coaches to really kind of let their
teams go out there and play, because y'all know this,
especially if you're a team that already kind of has
a host or a national seed locked up, you go
to Hoover and it's like, well, yeah, we're not going
to go out here just to you know, puts around
(18:35):
and whatnot. Like we want to win games, we're competitive,
but at the same time, you don't necessarily want to
get trapped in Hoover for the whole week, right so,
because you want to rest up before Regionals, And so
it was always this delicate dance of how hard do
we push to win games here? This With this format,
you already know the maximum number of games you're gonna
have to play. There's no loser's bracket you have to
(18:56):
claw your way out of, so you can really you
can map it out and you can push and try
to win a trophy. And there might actually be a
little bit more of a competitive fire at this tournament
and teams actually gunning for that trophy, which I think
is a great thing for a great thing for the
league and a great thing for the event.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
In terms of what Kentucky needs to do to make
that field of sixty four. As we record, they're sitting
here with ten wins fourteen losses. In SEC play, always
feel like thirteen's the magic number to be a real
contender to get in So Kentucky's got seven games left
in the regular season. You need to take care of
business against Northern Kentucky. But you've got six league league
(19:34):
games Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and then the tournament. Joe, what do
you feel like Kentucky really needs to accomplish here down
the stretch to make that field of sixty four for
the third straight year.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
It feels like you got to split the last six
SEC games, you know, three and three. You got to
find them somehow. Obviously, the series against Oklahoma this weekend
is huge because that's a winnable series. Oklahoma is good,
but Oklahoma is also not so good that you think
Kentucky's going to have to do something above and beyond
its ability level to win the series. Like, if Kentucky
plays well, it'll win the series. Being at home helps.
(20:07):
They're built, teams are built very similarly, so I think
that there's some comfort there where it's it's a pitching defense,
make you know, make make all the routine plays kind
of operation. But yeah, it's it's a couple of things.
Split those last six SEC games. Do not lose to
know othern Kentucky, you know, that's that's a non negotiable, and
then you know, and Hoover, like, if you want to
(20:28):
go in there and say, you know, grab a game
just to feel good about it, like obviously you'd feel
a little bit better about that. But if you get
to thirteen, I don't even necessarily think that's a must have. Now,
I will give the disclaimer at the end of this
that the committee throws curveball. Sometimes it is a brand
new committee this year. You know, the committee changes every
two years, and so what they value changes basically every
(20:50):
two years. So that's always the caveat I give for
for people listening is this is what I think will
get you there, but that is certainly no guarantee. So
just win is many game as you can. But as
a as a general rule, getting to thirteen tends to
be the magic number for the SEC. And obviously that's
right there in front of Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Take care of business.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Let's have a good practice today when Friday night against Oklahoma,
wake up Saturday and figure it out. You know, it's it, Joe,
how do you feel like that number has been thirteen
fourteen the last couple of years, now that you've had
Texas and Oklahoma did that and obviously Missouri's having the
year they're having, Like, are.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Those numbers skewed at all because of that?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Yeah, I think that is an interesting question we don't
yet know the answer to. I do think there is
a future in which twelve win teams could get in,
But your RPI better be in really good shape, right,
you know, we're talking top thirty kind of RPI, top
twenty five even kind of ourpi. Alabama's done that before,
back in twenty nineteen they won twelve SEC games, but
(21:54):
it was it was twelve and seventeen because they had
to get canceled, right, and their RPI was twenty six
or something like that. So that can happen, but I
think that's an eventuality. I do think a twelve win
team will get in at some point. I am fascinated
by the Missouri of at all too, Like, does the
committee wait whether or not you played Missouri when we're
stacking teams up together, right, and Kentucky did not, So
(22:16):
their their intra conference strength of schedule is going to
be stronger than most that played Missouri. And I mean,
I think to see how the committee handles that.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I thought they had something Sunday on the at the
Mississippi State game on TV is like Strength of Schedule
eight or something. We played an insane SEC schedule. Yeah yeah,
quality wins over big time teams. So I wonder just
how much they'll wait that, But good answer, yep.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
It is interesting as these power conferences are getting bigger,
are we going to see more teams in with only
twelve wins or something in the future because the ACC
is getting better. The Big Ten obviously has gotten deeper
with the West Coast schools like we talked about earlier
in this show, and the Big twelves always solid in baseball,
so it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
If this is our first go around with it.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
So who knows what's going to happen here on Selection
Monday here in a couple of weeks, that's right.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, I think the big Conferences are going to get
a higher percentage than they ever have, but I do
think sometimes it will come at the expense of another
power conference. I look at the Big twelve this year,
and there's really not a great team. West Virginia has
a great record, but they've yet to win a series
against a team that I think is going to be
a regional team. And so we don't really know if
(23:25):
they're great, and so I think that the Big twelve
is a league that has a bunch of good teams,
but not a lot of teams that are great, and
that could lead to them getting fewer bids than I
think they think they deserve. And so, yes, the mid
majors are going to hurt in this system where these
leagues are so big, But also I do think it
can sometimes come at the expense of the weakest of
the power conferences as well.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Joe, I want to finish with a fun question. Looking
at the field of sixty four, give me two or
three mid major teams that you think are a lock
regardless of whether or not they win their conference tournament.
Who are some of these mid major teams you think
could have some fun in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Northeastern is one. They're just I mean the idea that
a team from that part of the country can be
as a mid major from that part of the country
can be that consistent as impressive. They recruit guys who
could play in Power conferences. Dalley don't have the depth
of the Power conferences, but their high end talent is
extremely good. I'll lump this in as one thing pick
(24:23):
your sun Belt team, so they're missed. Coastal Troy like
pick one of those three. I like Coastal the most
out of those three, but any of the three could
potentially be dangerous. And then a little of a wild
card for me is, well, I'll skip Western Kentucky. Y'all
know Western Kentucky. You don't need to y'all don't need
to be told how good, how good they are. But
cal Poly is another one. Okay, really respected coaching staff
(24:45):
that they're really They've historically been really good at playing
spoiler in the Big West. There are pis never good
enough to get in the field, but they're talented enough
to beat u C r Vine, to beat UC Santa
Barbara and knock their RPI down this year. Cal Poly
actually does have a postseason resume, and they're a tough out,
especially you know when you get a team that is
(25:06):
used to seeing high end velocity and just seeing that
kind of that kind of pitching staff. They're not that
they throw a ton of strikes. They're competitive, but the
stuff is not the same, and when they go up
against competition from these bigger leagues, that can sometimes throw
things off a little bit, and they do a fantastic
job just playing defense and playing to that pitch to
contact method that they have, and they're just physical enough
(25:29):
to where I think they can really give some people
some problems if they end up making a postseason run.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
God knows ball man, he does.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Man, That's why I wanted to ask you who we
need to look out for.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
It is always great to visit with you, my friend.
Thanks for taking some time and hopefully we'll run into
you somewhere down the road, either in Hoover or perhaps
in a regional somewhere.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Joe, you're the man. Appreciate you, brother.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I appreciate you. Guys, always have time for you.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
All right.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
That's Joe Healey from D one Baseball Behind. Kentucky Baseball
is presented by American Trust Wealth. They are a proud
Kentucky wealth services firm offering financial planning and investment management
for over forty years. Find out more at American Trustwealth
dot com. And that's going to be our show for
this go around. Darren. We'll talk to you down the road,
but let's.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
See at KPP for Senior Day. My man, Let's go
get a few wins this weekend.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Let's do it for Joe Heally of D one Baseball
and Darren Williams. I'm Darren Hedrick. This has been behind
Kentucky baseball here on the UK Sports Network.
When you see Kentucky playing all these young guys and
they're starting to find their footing in the SEC, it's
got to be kind of exciting to think of, oh,
what can Kentucky be if they make the postseason, but
especially going into next year.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, I mean I've been telling people if you know,
it might be too late to get a good value
on buying Kentucky stock for twenty twenty six, but I
would if you can still get a good price on it,
I would buy it because yeah, I mean, you've got
these these young guys and it you know, it's a
little like twenty the twenty twenty three season where you know,
we would like, well, it was a great season, but
(00:32):
you start you looked at what was coming back and thought, Okay,
there's actually something to build on here. And so I've
said it all season two that we shouldn't overlook the
importance of just getting to the postseason. If you want
to make a deep run, yes, but for this program
to get to the postseason for a third year in
a row, one year after they got their back to
back seasons for the first time, like, we should not
overlook the value in that, because that's how you create
(00:54):
a program that people associate with the postseason.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hello everyone, welcome into another edition of Behind Kentucky Baseball.
We are presented by American Trust Wealth. I'm Darren Hendrick,
joined by my co host, Darren Williams. And Darren, we
got a special guest with us today. The folks watching
on social media can see him behind us here. It's
Joe Healey from D one Baseball.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Good to see Joe again.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Joe, you fella's good to be back. Yeah, man, it's
great to have you on the show again. I know
you have been traveling the country. You were out to
Oregon recently. How much fun have you had watching this
season of college baseball and all the great talent that's
on the field this year.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah, it's it's been a special season from a couple
of different standpoints. Standpoints one for me is we were
talking about this before we came on, like, I've been
doing a little bit of extra help with D one
go into some different parts of the country, and that's
kind of nice because I love the SEC. It's it's
the best college baseball there is, but it is kind
of nice to go other places and get a feel
for what the style of game is like in other places,
(02:08):
what the atmospheres are like in other places. As someone
who's a college baseball nerd like myself, that's just a
really cool opportunity. But within the context of the SEC,
because that is still where my bread is buttered. That's
where I spend most of my time. It's been a
wild season where, you know, right up until last weekend,
at least it was, we had this weird deal where
Texas was running away with things, but everyone else was
(02:31):
kind of in the middle, and I couldn't tell who,
you know, what was what, and the teams were all
jammed up and just a couple of games apart from
each other. And it feels like maybe now we're getting
some clarity. But week to week in the SEC, y'all
know this. I mean, it's it's already unpredictable to begin with,
but I don't know that I've ever covered a season
that has been quite this unpredictable in this league.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
It's gonna make a lot of fun over the next month,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
We're all itching for the postseason for that very reason, Joe,
and looking at the SEC itself, you mentioned Texas, they
have been one of the best, if not the best
team all year, but we just saw them get swept
by Arkansaw, who when they're clicking on all cylinders, looks
like they could be the best Texas A and M's
got the talent to be the best Tennessee does. And
(03:15):
let's turn it back to Kentucky now the focus of
this podcast. This is a group that's in the could
easily be a top twenty five team, but they've just
come up a couple of runs short here and there
throughout the season. They just got to put it together.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, I think it's a Honestly, I think it makes
me appreciate the team that's been on the field for
Kentucky the last two years even more because I think
this year we've seen when those margins are as thin
as they are in the SEC things like what we
saw last two years were every double play got turned,
every routine play got made, every base running decision was
(03:49):
the right one. You know. It was very fundamental baseball
with very few mistakes in the game. And so when
you play like Kentucky does, that's kind of the way
you win. This team is built similarly, has had. It's
got a great deal of talent on it. They when
they're playing well that they're still succeeding like they had
the last two years, but the difference is teams a
little more experienced. The team's not quite as sharp in
(04:11):
some of those places, largely because of that inexperience in
that youth. And as a result, we've seen just seemingly
one run loss after one run loss, where you know,
you flip that coin, typically you get about half and half,
and it feels like the coin has always gone the
opposite way of Kentucky this season in terms of those close,
low scoring games, and if the result of half of
(04:32):
those change, we're having a very different conversation now we're
focused on, Hey, Kentucky's trying to make sure they get
into the field if you know, just a handful of
those games go the other direction. We're talking about kin
Kentucky host for a third year in a row.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I mean, it's very close.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
We've already we've had a few conversations on the last
few pods of how you know some of these games
have gone. I want to go back to what you
saw in some of the high moments of this season.
You know, a win over Number one Texas, win over.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Georgia, series win, Knox win in Knoxville in College Station too.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Series winning college station and a brutal schedule, and and
they're still right there, win over Louisville, you know. So
the highs are there with this team. When you see
and think about Kentucky this year twenty twenty five, what
stands out to you?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
What do you like with with what you say from
a national.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Perspective, Yeah, with no disrespect to to the pitching staff
to the last couple of years, I think the high
end talent on the pitching staff is better this year.
Like I think when when McKay and Cleaver in particular
are at their best, there they can be anybody in
the country and and they're not always going to have that.
You know, there are very few pictures in the SEC.
(05:44):
You count them on less than one hand, the number
of guys you can set your watch to just just
being shut down guys every every week. You know, Liam
Doyle of Tennessee's one of them. Kyson Witherspoon at Oklahoma's
one of them. But once you get past those guys
like McCain, clever right there for Kentucky in terms of
what they can do on the high ends, that's the
first thing, they're going to be dangerous assuming Kentucky gets
(06:06):
into the postseason. They're gonna be dangerous in a regional
because they're gonna have two guys that can beat anybody.
And y'all know what the format being what it is,
winning those first two games in a regional is basically,
I don't want to say all that matters, but that
gets you ninety percent of the way there is winning
those first two games, and Kentucky's set up to do that.
So there's that. I also think, much like the last
couple of years, I think one of the positives of
(06:28):
the way this program has been built, with the success
they've had in bringing in transfers, is you've got a
hungry team like these guys came to Kentucky because they
wanted to play for play, wanted to prove themselves in
the SEC. A lot of them came up from lower
levels of college baseball. They want to prove themselves here.
They want to win big, they want to give themselves
an opportunity to play professional baseball. They felt like they
(06:48):
may not have gotten at other places. So it's a
group that we've seen it all year, that has scratched
and clawed and fought, and I think that's part of
the reason why. Look, they're not as talented in terms
of raw talent as Tennessee. They're not as talented as
Texas A and M in terms of draft prospects things
like that, but they're in just about every game against
every team they've been up against because they just refuse
(07:10):
to give up the fight. And that's gonna get you
a long way, especially when we get to this part
of the year where look, I watch the games, the
lot of the team does look like they're starting to
get a little bit worn out, like it's been a
long season. They've been fighting every single game, and yet
they're still competitive more often than not because they just
they refuse to kind of lay down in those types
(07:31):
of situations. And that's a that's a great testament to
the roster.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Again, it's a great week to be Finals week and
have a couple of days, Guys, this is a team
that needs that. Yeah, you study for a little bit,
take a load off, you know, get ready for Oklahoma
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Joe, I want to stay with the pitching staff for
just a minute because I'm curious what the national perspective
is like for people who viewed Dan Roselle and the
job he does recruiting and developing pitchers, even going back
to his days in the at Major's East Carolina Florida
Gulf Coast College at Charleston. Since he's come to Kentucky,
we've seen him take Tyler Gilfoyle whose name wasn't really known,
(08:08):
and then he became a big time draft pick. We
saw that with Trey Pooser last year. There's other guys too,
but this year Nick McKay has jumped into the rotation.
He's dealing with a freshman on Friday night, a sophomore
on Sunday. That's not an excuse, but those guys are
excelling though in those roles.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
At the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
What's the national perspective like for coach Minjeon and Dan
Roselle in terms of being those recruiters and developers of pitchers.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, So first in the big picture with this, this
whole apparatus that Minge has put together, is I hear
all the time from other coaches, and this is absolutely
a compliment what I hear from coaches all the time,
coaches in and out of the league. By the way,
it's not just sec coaches say, I don't always love
some of the stuff they get up to in the dugout,
but man, are they well coached, And like, that's to me,
(08:52):
that's an extremely high compliment where coaches are able to say, look,
that's not the way I would do it, but clearly
it works there and so that's the big picture thing
I hear. And then on Roselle specifically, really going back
to his time at East Carolina, he's been known as
a guy who is extremely good at finding guys who
are I don't want to say diamonds in the rough
even because that comes off as a little derisive, but
(09:14):
guys who just aren't necessarily on the radar of other
big name programs, finding those guys and understanding what he
has to where Okay, look this guy's maybe maybe he's
not a complete pitcher, but I really like this one
pitch he has, and I think if he throws it more,
he can have a lot of success or for whatever reason,
he's not throwing this pitch and I think he should
be throwing it a lot more, or you know, just
(09:36):
finding their strength and really bringing it out of that
of that pitcher. Because the situation, especially in East Carolina. Look,
he was that's a in East Carolina. We see all
the success and assume that maybe it's it's easy to
succeed there, but they're recruiting against North Carolina and NC
State and South Carolina and Clemson, and they get their
fair share of decent. In the end, they have their
(09:58):
fair share of draftees on the and that goes back
to what Dan Roselle did there, which is developing those
guys to where you might not have been a big
name coming into school, but by the time you left,
you were going to get drafted right alongside guys with
those those big name, bigger schools. I think it's similar
at Kentucky, where look, the reality the situation is in
terms of recruiting, Kentucky's not the history is not there
(10:19):
in recruiting in terms when you compare it to LSU
and Texas A and M and Texas. But in terms
of results, Kentucky is right there with them because he's
just a master at figuring out how to get the
most out of the pictures he has. And we've seen
that year after year where you look at the transfer
class and it's guys that are like, okay, His numbers
aren't great, so how's it going to translate? Or he's
(10:40):
coming from a much lower level like Nick McKay, how
is that going to translate? And more often than not,
the answer is that it does translate, and it's because
they've just maximized what that picture has.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I will give him a lot of credit.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I mean, I was about say, I'm sitting here with
a guy that's a product is.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Like November December of my first year here, so this
had to be November twenty one. He had like a
two page report on all my pitches at Eastern Kentucky,
my school.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I went to before like what worked and what counts?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
You know, what pitches I need to throw to Righty's
what pitches I need to throw a whole breakdown essentially,
and said, Okay, here's what you're here's how you're going
to pitch when we come back in the spring, so starting,
you know, starting in the spring in January inter squads.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
You know, it was a whole scattering point.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
You need to pitch exactly like this to a left
handed batter or this this to a right handed batter.
So Joe hit the nail on the head right there, Joe,
I got a question about a couple of freshmen we'll
definitely get to. I know Darren Hendricks dying to talk
about Tyler Bell, but I want to talk about Nate Harris,
who's our Friday night starter right now. And obviously you
cover a ton of SEC. I just want you to
(11:51):
speak for a minute about how hard it is for
a true freshman to pitch on the weekends in the
league pero Friday nights and then on Friday nights, you know,
as a whole nother level.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, I mean, just just to be able to get
up there and compete and not freak out out there
on the mound. I almost use a phrase that y'all
probably would have had to bleep out, but like, you know,
to not go up there and just losure your wits
is a lot for a freshman in the SEC. And
then for him to have shown the flashes that he had,
And this is kind of where we talk about. We
(12:25):
just got talking about, got done talk about coach Rozelle
and like he's clearly not a finished product yet, but
he's a freshman, right and so you know what we've
seen the flashes where you know, you get really excited
about not only what he can do this year down
the stretch, but also subsequent seasons. It reminds me a
little bit of you know, clever last year with the injury,
we didn't see a ton of them, but when we
saw him, it was like, oh, boy, like this raw
(12:46):
materials are here for him to be for him to
be really good. And that's kind of how I feel
about Nate Harris. That The hope though, is that you know,
Harris has been healthy and so therefore he's a guy
who can help a little more down the stretch. And
that's going to become really important as you go to
and you're facing the reality of we may have to
play you know whatever. It is four games here in
four five days games and that's right, and they're all
(13:10):
elimination games, Like there's no games where you can just
kind of pitch off like you gotta you know, you
got to be locked in every game. And so it's
huge when you can have the younger guys be ready
to go like that because it just adds, you know,
it adds a lot more lenked to what you have
on the mound.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It's got to be frustrating and exciting at the same
time when you play this many young guys because they're
going to make their mistakes, but then they show you
flashes like Nate Harris and Tyler Bell has done. Ryan
Schwartz is another guy Texas commit they made a change,
he reopened his recruitment, came to Kentucky. You just look
at that young man and he's got the body of
(13:45):
a guy. He's a dude and he has shown that
since he's got more playing time down the stretch. And Joe,
I guess my question for you is when you see
Kentucky playing all these young guys and they're starting to
find their footing in the SEC, it's got to be
kind of exciting to think of, oh, what can Kentucky
be if they make the postseason, but especially going into
next year.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yeah, I mean I've been telling people, if you know,
it might be too late to get a good value
on buying Kentucky stock for twenty twenty six, but I
would if you can still get a good price on it,
I would buy it because, Yeah, I mean, you've got
these these young guys and it you know, it's a
little like the twenty twenty three season where you know,
it was like, boy, it was a great season, but
(14:25):
you start, you looked at what was coming back and thought, Okay,
there's actually something to build on here. And so I've
said it all season two that we shouldn't overlook the
importance of just getting to the postseason. Do you want
to make a deep run, yes, But for this program
to get to the postseason for a third year in
a row, one year after they got their back to
back seasons for the first time, like, we should not
overlook the value in that, because that's how you create
(14:47):
a program that people associate with the postseason. You know, Like,
think of it this way. If you're a kid that
Kentucky's recruiting right now who's sixteen years old, you make
the postseason again, Well, that kid had probably only no
in Kentucky is a successful program in the SEC, right, So,
like that that's how valuable that kind of that kind
of thing can can be. And so, but to get
(15:08):
back to the young player's point, what's impressive to me
about it too, is is it shows that this coaching
staff does a really good job of using its entire roster.
Where Harris and Schwartz are we're not necessarily heavily in
the mix early on, but then as the time came,
and some of its injury related, sure, and you don't
want to see that, but just in general, the coaching
(15:30):
staff circles back to him like they're never lost on
the roster, they're never set aside, put on a shelf.
It's hey, you need to stay ready because we we
might need you at some point. And so those guys
have come in and been able to compete right away
because they've they've stayed ready. And I love watching Ryan
Schwartz play because I love a guy who comes up
to the plate and you look at his batting stance
(15:51):
and we're like, are we sure this guy knows what
he's doing, because like that, that is an unconventional way
to get up to the plate and stand there, and
yet like it's an you know, I've not seen him
take like an in person VP this season because I
haven't been to KPP this season, But like the scouts
I've talked to are like, yeah, it's real, but like
you just you wouldn't teach anyone to stand like that,
and yet the results are there.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
All right, let's talk about him.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I mean, yep, Tyler Bell, you know, I mean, we're
talking about a lot of freshmen that could contend for
SEC Freshmen of the Year.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
This young man is right up there, Joe.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
No freshman has been more important.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I mean, I mean that that was a good swing.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Gosh, yeah, no kidding, Yeah, get your best swing off.
I think we Yeah, look out inflatable slide out there
on the concourse. Yeah. It just he's the most important
freshman in the country now, just because the complexion of
this lineup is totally different without him. He's he's already
a guy that opposing pitching coaches are having to plan around.
(16:54):
He's already someone who feels like he's right in the
middle of everything this lineup is doing. And by the way,
like he's he's as good defensively as we were told
he was going to be. The concern coming in, you know,
talking to scouts, was you know, he didn't hit grade
his last trip through kind of the showcase circuit, and
and so how will the bat translate? And you know,
we've heard that about other middle infielders in the SEC
(17:16):
and sometimes that that knock is correct, but with him.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
It's translated that that knock was wrong.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And he's just he's just a baller, like he's been
a superstar for a minute one. And look, you know,
barring something unforeseen over the end of this year and
into next year, like he's going to get he's going
to to get drafted probably higher than he was. That
the chance he took on coming to Kentucky has absolutely
paid off. And again, barring something unforeseen, it is going
(17:48):
to pay off for him in the end.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Good for that kid. And I mean, yeah, he works
his tail off. You know, he deserves it, and.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
He's mature beyond his years. I love is just even
keel approach no matter what's happening. We've just got a
couple of minutes left here, Joe, so let's kind of
look forward.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
The SEC tournament you mentioned it new format. All sixteen
teams get in. It's single elimination. I'm a fan of
this format. But what are your thoughts on the SEC
changing and going away from double elimination.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah, I love it because it adds stakes to every
game in a way that very necessarily in the previous format.
It also allows coaches to really kind of let their
teams go out there and play, because y'all know this,
especially if you're a team that already kind of has
a host or a national seed locked up, you go
to Hoover and it's like, well, yeah, we're not going
to go out here just to you know, puts around
(18:35):
and whatnot. Like we want to win games, we're competitive,
but at the same time, you don't necessarily want to
get trapped in Hoover for the whole week, right so,
because you want to rest up before Regionals, And so
it was always this delicate dance of how hard do
we push to win games here? This With this format,
you already know the maximum number of games you're gonna
have to play. There's no loser's bracket you have to
(18:56):
claw your way out of, so you can really you
can map it out and you can push and try
to win a trophy. And there might actually be a
little bit more of a competitive fire at this tournament
and teams actually gunning for that trophy, which I think
is a great thing for a great thing for the
league and a great thing for the event.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
In terms of what Kentucky needs to do to make
that field of sixty four. As we record, they're sitting
here with ten wins fourteen losses. In SEC play, always
feel like thirteen's the magic number to be a real
contender to get in So Kentucky's got seven games left
in the regular season. You need to take care of
business against Northern Kentucky. But you've got six league league
(19:34):
games Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and then the tournament. Joe, what do
you feel like Kentucky really needs to accomplish here down
the stretch to make that field of sixty four for
the third straight year.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
It feels like you got to split the last six
SEC games, you know, three and three. You got to
find them somehow. Obviously, the series against Oklahoma this weekend
is huge because that's a winnable series. Oklahoma is good,
but Oklahoma is also not so good that you think
Kentucky's going to have to do something above and beyond
its ability level to win the series. Like, if Kentucky
plays well, it'll win the series. Being at home helps.
(20:07):
They're built, teams are built very similarly, so I think
that there's some comfort there where it's it's a pitching defense,
make you know, make make all the routine plays kind
of operation. But yeah, it's it's a couple of things.
Split those last six SEC games. Do not lose to
know othern Kentucky, you know, that's that's a non negotiable, and
then you know, and Hoover, like, if you want to
(20:28):
go in there and say, you know, grab a game
just to feel good about it, like obviously you'd feel
a little bit better about that. But if you get
to thirteen, I don't even necessarily think that's a must have. Now,
I will give the disclaimer at the end of this
that the committee throws curveball. Sometimes it is a brand
new committee this year. You know, the committee changes every
two years, and so what they value changes basically every
(20:50):
two years. So that's always the caveat I give for
for people listening is this is what I think will
get you there, but that is certainly no guarantee. So
just win is many game as you can. But as
a as a general rule, getting to thirteen tends to
be the magic number for the SEC. And obviously that's
right there in front of Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Take care of business.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Let's have a good practice today when Friday night against Oklahoma,
wake up Saturday and figure it out. You know, it's it, Joe,
how do you feel like that number has been thirteen
fourteen the last couple of years, now that you've had
Texas and Oklahoma did that and obviously Missouri's having the
year they're having, Like, are.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Those numbers skewed at all because of that?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Yeah, I think that is an interesting question we don't
yet know the answer to. I do think there is
a future in which twelve win teams could get in,
But your RPI better be in really good shape, right,
you know, we're talking top thirty kind of RPI, top
twenty five even kind of ourpi. Alabama's done that before,
back in twenty nineteen they won twelve SEC games, but
(21:54):
it was it was twelve and seventeen because they had
to get canceled, right, and their RPI was twenty six
or something like that. So that can happen, but I
think that's an eventuality. I do think a twelve win
team will get in at some point. I am fascinated
by the Missouri of at all too, Like, does the
committee wait whether or not you played Missouri when we're
stacking teams up together, right, and Kentucky did not, So
(22:16):
their their intra conference strength of schedule is going to
be stronger than most that played Missouri. And I mean,
I think to see how the committee handles that.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I thought they had something Sunday on the at the
Mississippi State game on TV is like Strength of Schedule
eight or something. We played an insane SEC schedule. Yeah yeah,
quality wins over big time teams. So I wonder just
how much they'll wait that, But good answer, yep.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
It is interesting as these power conferences are getting bigger,
are we going to see more teams in with only
twelve wins or something in the future because the ACC
is getting better. The Big Ten obviously has gotten deeper
with the West Coast schools like we talked about earlier
in this show, and the Big twelves always solid in baseball,
so it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
If this is our first go around with it.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
So who knows what's going to happen here on Selection
Monday here in a couple of weeks, that's right.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, I think the big Conferences are going to get
a higher percentage than they ever have, but I do
think sometimes it will come at the expense of another
power conference. I look at the Big twelve this year,
and there's really not a great team. West Virginia has
a great record, but they've yet to win a series
against a team that I think is going to be
a regional team. And so we don't really know if
(23:25):
they're great, and so I think that the Big twelve
is a league that has a bunch of good teams,
but not a lot of teams that are great, and
that could lead to them getting fewer bids than I
think they think they deserve. And so, yes, the mid
majors are going to hurt in this system where these
leagues are so big, But also I do think it
can sometimes come at the expense of the weakest of
the power conferences as well.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Joe, I want to finish with a fun question. Looking
at the field of sixty four, give me two or
three mid major teams that you think are a lock
regardless of whether or not they win their conference tournament.
Who are some of these mid major teams you think
could have some fun in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Northeastern is one. They're just I mean the idea that
a team from that part of the country can be
as a mid major from that part of the country
can be that consistent as impressive. They recruit guys who
could play in Power conferences. Dalley don't have the depth
of the Power conferences, but their high end talent is
extremely good. I'll lump this in as one thing pick
(24:23):
your sun Belt team, so they're missed. Coastal Troy like
pick one of those three. I like Coastal the most
out of those three, but any of the three could
potentially be dangerous. And then a little of a wild
card for me is, well, I'll skip Western Kentucky. Y'all
know Western Kentucky. You don't need to y'all don't need
to be told how good, how good they are. But
cal Poly is another one. Okay, really respected coaching staff
(24:45):
that they're really They've historically been really good at playing
spoiler in the Big West. There are pis never good
enough to get in the field, but they're talented enough
to beat u C r Vine, to beat UC Santa
Barbara and knock their RPI down this year. Cal Poly
actually does have a postseason resume, and they're a tough out,
especially you know when you get a team that is
(25:06):
used to seeing high end velocity and just seeing that
kind of that kind of pitching staff. They're not that
they throw a ton of strikes. They're competitive, but the
stuff is not the same, and when they go up
against competition from these bigger leagues, that can sometimes throw
things off a little bit, and they do a fantastic
job just playing defense and playing to that pitch to
contact method that they have, and they're just physical enough
(25:29):
to where I think they can really give some people
some problems if they end up making a postseason run.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
God knows ball man, he does.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Man, That's why I wanted to ask you who we
need to look out for.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Joe.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
It is always great to visit with you, my friend.
Thanks for taking some time and hopefully we'll run into
you somewhere down the road, either in Hoover or perhaps
in a regional somewhere.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Joe, you're the man. Appreciate you, brother.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I appreciate you. Guys, always have time for you.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
All right.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
That's Joe Healey from D one Baseball Behind. Kentucky Baseball
is presented by American Trust Wealth. They are a proud
Kentucky wealth services firm offering financial planning and investment management
for over forty years. Find out more at American Trustwealth
dot com. And that's going to be our show for
this go around. Darren. We'll talk to you down the road,
but let's.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
See at KPP for Senior Day. My man, Let's go
get a few wins this weekend.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
Let's do it for Joe Heally of D one Baseball
and Darren Williams. I'm Darren Hedrick. This has been behind
Kentucky baseball here on the UK Sports Network.
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