On Thursday, Feb. 27, Kentucky women’s basketball pulled off a historic night against its rival Tennessee Volunteers. 

Not only did four different Wildcats have double-digit points, but the Cats secured a new program record with 182 team blocks this season and shot 51.5% from the field, scoring over 80 or more points for the 12th time this season. 

Clara Strack broke the single-season block record, dethroning a 15-year record set by Victoria Dunlap in the 2009-10 season. She finished the game with 23 points (11-11 FG), 15 rebounds, three blocks and jogged off of the court with her 13th double-double of the season and a little bit of history for the Wildcats. 

With emotions high after a dominating 82-58 win after previously losing to No. 7 LSU on Feb. 23, Head Coach Kenny Brooks was asked one final question that instantly changed the vibe of the after-game press conference. 

A reporter asked, “Coach Brooks, after every loss this season, like clockwork you’ve answered back with big wins. With one final giant in South Carolina, how do you keep the team humble but also confident at the same time?”

“Man, you tryna kill my vibe, I was excited to go get a steak tonight,” said Brooks as the whole room laughed. “Telling me I got Dawn Staley and them.” 

Brooks admitted that he knew what he and his team were getting into with South Carolina, alluding to something he learned from an NBA legend.

”I taught this particular group, I taught the group before that, one of things that I learned was from Kobe Bryant,” said Brooks. “Kobe said that you have to watch the bad games, you know, just like you watch the good games. You can’t just bring popcorn to try to get better because you played well, you learn more from what you do when you don’t do well.”

Brooks went out of his way to reference the phrasing from the question, admitting how focused his team is.

”Like clockwork, win or lose, both of them (Clara Strack and Georgia Amoore) have texted me after the game what time do you want to watch film tomorrow,” said Brooks. “Regardless of whether they play good or bad, they want to try and get better. That’s how you turn the page regardless of what happens, and you get ready for the next opponent, because this league is too good to let anything linger to bring that into the next game.” 

Now, back in the win column, Brooks and his team will face their last regular season opponent, the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks. The game is set to take place inside of the Colonial Life Arena on March 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will air live on ESPN. 

Before he was able to wear Kentucky blue, pitcher Nic McCay had an illustrious career. Beginning his time at South Dakota State all the way back in 2019, he earned a spot in the starting rotation, finding 6-1 in his first collegiate season.

However, due to injury, he would miss the entire 2020 and 2021 campaigns. He returned in 2022, earning second-team All-Summit League honors and leading the team in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. 

Unfortunately, yet again, McCay would miss the following season due to injury. His final year with the Jackrabbits eventually turned some heads, where he went 4-2 on the season and forced batters to only hit .226 against him. 

Finally, after a roller coaster of emotions and figuring out what was next for himself, McCay was on the mound for the Kentucky Wildcats on Feb. 14, pitching not only his first game for the team, but earning the day one start. 

He finished the game with the win, striking out four batters in five innings, only giving up two hits and walking two batters. Thanks to his performance, the Wildcats would go on to win their first game of the season 11-0 against Lipscomb. 

Exactly a week later, the senior was on the mound again, now going up against the Belmont Bruins. After getting his feet wet, this outing proved that he can be Kentucky’s number one guy on any given night.

He pitched six innings, striking out seven batters and only giving up two hits out of the total 21 batters he faced. McCay received his second win of the season, and Wildcats scraped by with a 2-1 win. 

Recently, we saw McCay pitch his first game in Lexington, Kentucky on Feb. 28, getting his third start of the season against Hofstra. Before this matchup, he hadn’t given up a single earned run and batters facing him were hitting just .105. 

Although Hofstra would score a run in the second inning, McCay would strike out three batters in that inning, leaving runners stranded. Once again in the fourth inning, the RHP and the Kentucky defense would only allow one run and escape another scary inning.

Eventually, after several mound visits, McCay would turn it over to redshirt senior Evan Byers, who ultimately got the win on the day. 

McCay pitched 4.1 innings, striking out six batters, walking four batters and giving up two runs (one earned).

The Wildcats went on to 7-5, improving to 7-1 on the season. 

After the game, Head Coach Nick Mingione admitted McCay could’ve pitched better, but was still proud of his performance. 

“He wasn’t as sharp, but I give him a lot of credit,” said Mingione. “We still got four and a third innings out of him, where he only gave up one earned run, you know what I mean? That’s a good thing.” 

Now, with three starts officially in the books, McCay’s new chapter of his life at the University of Kentucky is in full spring, and he’s just getting started. 

Last year, Kentucky baseball reached new heights, clinching its first-ever Men’s College World Series with a 3-2 win over Oregon State in the 2024 NCAA Lexington Super Regional. 

Now, for the first time since that moment on June 9, the Wildcats return to Kentucky Proud Park on Tuesday, Feb. 25 for a matchup against Evansville.

Last year, on March 19, the Wildcats blew out Evansville 11-3. Now, with more new faces than less, Wildcat fans will get a taste of Nick Mingione’s newly loaded roster.

Trey Pooser, Mason Moore and Dominic Niman, Kentucky’s main pitchers, all departed for bigger and better things in the MLB. Kentucky’s offense also lost seven out of its nine starters. 

However, the Bat Cats bounced back with the ninth-best transfer portal class, with seven out of their 15 transfers ranking in the top 250 in this year’s class.

So far, these transfers have shined bright early on in the season, especially South Dakota State transfer Nic McCay and Milwaukee transfer Carson Hansen. 

McCay needed just 10 pitches in his first inning as a Wildcat to retire the side. Taking the mound in the Wildcats’ season debut, he only gave up two hits in just five innings. He was awarded the win in the 11-0 mercy rule on Feb. 14.

In his first series for the Wildcats against Belmont, Hansen went 4-5, two of those hits being home runs to bring in a total of six RBIs. He’s tied with freshman Tyler Bell for the most on the team. 

With Hansen hitting runners in, and a revived pitching staff boasting a 1.58 team ERA, the Wildcats are off to a 4-1 start, coming into their home opener on a three-game win streak. 

Kentucky and Mingione will look to take down Evansville Head Coach Wes Carroll and the Purple Aces to keep a hot start to the season alive. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m.