On Monday, April 13, the Kentucky softball team lost a third straight game to the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers, completing a sweep at John Cropp Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Big Blue Nation, losing games isn’t a new trend, with this now being the fifth time this season that the Wildcats have been swept by a SEC opponent and marking their seventeenth conference loss.

To begin the series, Tennessee dominated on the mound in Saturday’s matchup, where pitcher Karlyn Pickens threw all seven innings, striking out 12 Kentucky batters and not allowing a single hit. The Volunteers would go on to win 5-0.

Sunday’s game would feature the Wildcats’ best chance to pick up a win, thanks to a solid outing from Abby Hammond on the mound. She only allowed three hits and one earned run, but unfortunately, the offense would fail to generate anything on the scoreboard. Pitcher McKenzie Oslanzi would give up four runs in the seventh inning, resulting in a 6-0 loss.

“I think it’s always just one pitch at a time,” Hammond told KY Insider after the game when asked what her message to the bullpen was. “Just one pitch at a time to do the best I can do, and they’re going to do the same thing behind me.”

The final game of the series on Monday would be Kentucky’s biggest showing of offense on the weekend, scoring three runs in the third, but Tennessee had already scored nine runs of its own up to that point. In the final four innings, we would only see one more run for the Vols, with Hammond stepping in once again for a solid outing.

Despite the horrid play against SEC foes, head coach Rachel Lawson is adamant that her team can shock some as tournament time creeps up.

“Once postseason comes, anything can happen,” Lawson told KY Insider. “You have to stay the course, and have a good attitude about it, but once postseason happens, it’s a clean slate.”

Up next, Lawson and her squad will face Northern Kentucky (16-20, 5-7 Horizon) on Wednesday, April 15 on the road. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.

On Easter Sunday, April 15, the Kentucky Wildcats (23-8, 6-6 SEC) fell to the Missouri Tigers (19-14, 3-9 SEC) by a score of 5-2, losing yet another conference series in the heat of the year.

A single to left-center put the Tigers on the board first, but INF Luke Lawrence homered in the third, putting the Wildcats back up by one.

It seemed to be anyone’s game up until the fifth inning, where starting pitcher Ben Cleaver threw the ball between the legs of the first baseman while fielding a bunt. Afterwards, the Bat Cats had two unsuccessful challenges and two pitching changes.

To pour salt on the wound that the mistake-riddled defense opened up, Missouri scored the eventual game-winning four runs in the fifth inning. Kentucky never seemed out of a comeback because of how well they swung at the ball, and Nick Mingione said so himself.

“I was absolutely pleased with the at bats we had today,” said Mingione.

Nearly every inning saw a player in the blue and white get on base, but in Sunday’s matchup, the Bat Cats only 2-19 with runners in scoring position.

After dropping their third SEC series in a row, the Wildcats will have to look forward to their next game for a momentum boost.

Up next, Kentucky plays in the Battle of the Bluegrass, hosting the rival Louisville Cardinals (19-13, 5-7 ACC) in Kentucky Proud Park. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday April 7 and will be streamed on SEC Network+.

University of Kentucky Athletics has renewed and expanded its long-term partnership with Fanatics, extending the agreement through 2038.

Fanatics Licensing Management, which has served as the University’s trademark licensing representative for more than a decade, will continue to oversee the core of the school’s merchandising, including the operation of the UK Team Shop and distribution of licensed apparel through major retailers such as Kroger, Walmart, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Fanatics will continue to operate the core of Kentucky’s merchandising business, operating the UK Team Shop and serving as the primary apparel licensee partner, distributing team merchandise across major retailers, including Kroger, Walmart, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, among others.

The more notable shift, however, comes in the NIL space.

As part of the expanded agreement, in a first-of-its-kind agreement, Fanatics is making a “significant” commitment to NIL initiatives for select athletes across all programs and teams, with more high-major schools to follow.

Beginning this spring, Fanatics will roll out a two-pronged marketing strategy for select student-athletes.

UK student-athletes will have the opportunity to launch and curate their own personalized storefronts with team gear they select, fostering a connection with fans who want to support both the individual athlete and the program. In addition, through a more traditional marketing approach, student-athletes will be commissioned to promote product collections across digital e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar retail partners.

“NIL in its truest form”, one representative told Kentucky Insider. “Driving retail sales so student-athletes can benefit.”

It goes without saying that this is an opt-in agreement, allowing student-athletes to still pursue NIL deals with third-party merchandisers — such as local brand Kentucky Branded — if they choose. However, a partnership with Fanatics gives athletes the ability to pair their personal brand with official Kentucky branding, which can significantly increase sales potential, and is an option many third-party merchandisers avoid due to the cost of UK marks.

As Kentucky looks to recruit the top athletes, this is also a way to provide above the cap NIL dollars, money exceeding the school’s annual revenue-sharing cap, to build NIL competitive compensation packages. While specific percentage splits are not available, it will be a beneficial figure for the athletes.

“We’re not going to enter into deals that are going to prevent us from being competitive and competing for players on the open market,” a spokesperson said.

On one hand, an athlete’s NIL compensation package can include a projected range of money, incentivized by performance and connection to the fanbase. On the other hand, or in addition to, there can be a set amount of compensation for product promotion.

Given the turbulent landscape of collegiate athletics, it’s important to note that the long-term deal is also designed with flexibility in mind. No numbers are fixed, meaning that figures and percentages will change and incentivize growth.

Furthermore, a lot of this strategy is built post-House settlement, which requires NIL deals to be legitimate business transactions rather than pay-for-play, with the NCAA auditing giant Deloitte hired to vet deals. To be able to lean into an industry leader like Fanatics in that regard is an advantage for the University.

How do we get the best players to want to play for our teams?

That is a question Kentucky Athletics continuously asks itself when evaluating, and that served as a basis for this extended partnership. Extending an already strong relationship, UK has added a sustainable way to deliver legitimate NIL compensation above revenue-sharing limits for years to come, all through one of the largest and most established merchandisers in sports.