WATCH: Kentucky HC Nick Mingione wins the prestigious 2024 NCBWA Mike Martin Coach of the Year Award before CWS showdown
Kentucky baseball head coach Nick Mingione's case, as the coach has won his third Coach of the Year honor this season. The latest addition is the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year Award, which is given annually by the National College Baseball Writers Association.
The No. 2 seed Wildcats are about to embark on their first-ever journey through Omaha in a quest to win the College World Series title. They've gotten here through a combination of excellent talent team-round and great coaching from Mingione and his staff.
Mingione has posted arguably his best coaching season yet
The Wildcats are Mingione's first head coaching stop in his career. He played college baseball at Embry-Riddle University and was an assistant coach for 17 seasons before being named the head coach at Kentucky. Kentucky has consistently improved throughout his tenure at the helm.
They went to the NCAA Super Regional round three times, but this is the first time they've made it to Omaha. They are on a course that could potentially end with the school's first baseball national title.
The Wildcats posted a 45-14 record on the season and shared the SEC regular season title with rival Tennessee (the tournament's No. 1 overall seed). They also dominated their super regional rounds, setting them up for their current position.
Mingione's staff has developed some top talent
All nine of the Wildcats' regular starters have played at least 42 out of their possible 59 games, showing a deep team that also has a healthy amount of reserves.
Emilien Pitre led the team in games played, hitting .298 with nine home runs, 36 RBIs and 25 stolen bases on the season. Pitre led the team in that category, plus attempted steals in 34.
Other team leaders are Nick Lopez (who led the team in batting average with .350) and Ryan Nicholson, who led in the other two Triple Crown categories (21 home runs and 61 RBI). On the mound, Trey Pooser and Mason Moore have led the way, sitting one (Moore with 87.2) and two (Pooser with 83.1) on the team in innings pitched.
In addition to the aforementioned NCBWA Mike Martin Coach of the Year Award, the Wildcats' skipper has won the SEC Coach of the Year (the second time in his career) and the Perfect Game National Coach of the Year. However, it's an honor that he hasn't won yet that would taste the sweetest: national champion coach.