The bracket is set. Kentucky Baseball, earning the No. 13 overall seed, will face No. 12 Vanderbilt (32-24, 14-16 SEC) in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday, May 19.

Nick Mingione’s squad finished the regular season with a 31-20 overall record and a 13-17 conference record, going 1-2 in the final series against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who ultimately earned the No. 7 overall seed in the tourney.

These two teams clashed back on April 17-19, where Vanderbilt came into Kentucky Proud Park and stole both game two and three from the Wildcats. Kentucky scored a total of 18 runs in the series, but it let up 23 runs of its own.

In the series-opening win, pitcher Jaxon Jelkin tossed 105 total pitches through eight innings, only allowing two runs and six hits between the 31 batters he faced.

A time is yet to be announced, but it is confirmed that the Bat Cats and the Commodores will play in game two, taking place after game one between No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 16 Missouri at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Kentucky is currently on the “safe” part of the NCAA Tournament bubble, but a win in Hoover, Alabama would have the Wildcats as locks to make yet another appearance in the big dance.

History has been made by former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as he becomes the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP awards. Last season, he became the first Wildcat ever to hoist the trophy, a feat that he still holds with utter dominance.

The Toronto, Canada native averaged 31.1 points per game (second in the league) to go along with 4.3 rebounds per game and 6.6 assists per game. He did this all on 55.3/38.6/87.9 shooting splits and led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the league with 64 wins.

How about this for a stat? Gilgeous-Alexander is now just the fifth guard in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards, joining Hall of Fame guards Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash.

News of the award will officially be announced tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA on Prime, with Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama as the other two finalists.

Gilgeous-Alexander will be back in action on Monday, May 18 to face off against Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, looking to lead his team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.

Big Orange gets peeled for a second straight year.

It’s frankly been a struggle for Kentucky (29-16, 11-13 SEC) this season in more ways than one – from injury and illness being placed on the Cats’ best batters to only winning one conference series this year (a sweep vs Alabama).

It’s been concerning on whether or not Wildcats could make the postseason again. Luckily for Big Blue, Tennessee (31-17, 11-13 SEC) came to town, and when Tennessee and Kentucky meet to play sports, it almost never goes well for the team in orange.

Game 1: Kentucky Wins 9-2

The series opener between the Bat Cats and Ball Vols in Lexington was a game of polar opposite pitching performances. Kentucky wasn’t the team struggling on Friday night, as they won 9-2 in dominating fashion.

For Tennessee, starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns allowed a season-high 10 hits and a season-high six earned runs in his six innings. Ben Cleaver delivered his best pitching performance of the season for Kentucky, throwing seven shutout innings and allowing just four hits.

With Cleaver’s season opus, the Wildcats were able to break out and score their nine straight runs without interruption, including a two-run homer from Ethan Hindle and a three-runner from Braxton Van Cleave.

Game 2: Kentucky Clinches Series, Wins 12-2

I was able to cover Saturday’s game in person, and while the skies remained cloudy throughout all nine innings, it didn’t stop the Cats from shining again as they run-ruled the Vols 12-2 to clinch their second straight series win in the bitter rivalry.

Those sparks of rivalry angst started to show itself immediately after a fastball to the wrist of Tyler Bell spawned a heated exchange between Nick Mingione and the umps.

Miraculously, it wouldn’t stop Bell from launching a two-run homer just two innings later to break out of the pitching duel that jumpstarted the match.

Hudson Brown also broke through with a homer that put Big Blue Nation in a frenzy. The designated hitter had missed 12 games due to illness, but it only took two at-bats to bomb it to the big screen.

Tennessee would quickly start to shift the momentum, as their first three hits of the day would result in two doubles, a home run, and two scores.

It’d prove worrying for Big Blue as the bright orange in the stands started to get louder, but a wack pitching performance from the Vols in the sixth inning would break the doors wide open for the Cats to run with the wind like the horses at Churchill.

An easy run-in from Tyler Bell in the eighth stamped in a Kentucky run-rule win, giving the Cats their second series win in the SEC this year.

Game 3: Tennessee Wins 10-9

First-year Vols head coach Josh Elander emphasized his frustrations in Saturday’s postgame after getting outscored by the Cats 21-4 in the first two games. With that massive concern in mind, Tennessee delivered in the final game with a strong offensive showing, highlighted by two homers from Levi Clark, including a three-run homer in the ninth inning.

Kentucky made it scary for Big Orange after a home-run combo from Bell and Van Cleave cut the deficit to one, but it wouldn’t be enough as Tennessee would be able to close the series on a narrow victory.

What’s Next?

With the regular season coming to an end, Kentucky needs a few more wins to solidify their postseason entry. The Bat Cats will head to Gainesville to take on No. 25 Florida from May 8-10, come back to Lexington to face Northern Kentucky, and close the season at home vs No. 22 Arkansas from May 14-16.

For updates on the rest of Kentucky Baseball’s season, follow KY Insider on socials.