Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione agrees to contract extension

Nick Mingione figures to stay in Lexington for a long time.

Nick Mingione has received a nice reward for leading Kentucky baseball to the program’s first ever College World Series.

Mingione and the school have agreed to a new five-year contract. The news was first reported Friday afternoon by Derek Terry of Bat Cats Central. The new deal runs through the 2029 season and will see Mingione earn an average of $1,435,000 annually.

His 2025 salary will be a reported $1,175,000, with Mingione scheduled to earn an automatic one-year extension every year he leads Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament. The Bat Cats have made the tournament each of the past two years.

In June, Mingione led Kentucky to the College World Series after sweeping Oregon State in the Lexington Super Regional. The Bat Cats defeated North Carolina State on a walk-off home run from Mitchell Daly in the 10th inning for the program’s first win in Omaha.

Kentucky ended the season at 46-16 overall and finished No. 3 in the final USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll behind national champion Tennessee and College World Series runner-up Texas A&M. The 2025 season will be Mingione’s ninth as Kentucky head coach.

 

Seven players from the Bat Cats’ 2024 team were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft: outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 31 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks), second baseman Emilien Pitre (second-round, Tampa Bay Rays), pitcher Trey Pooser (fifth-round, Tampa Bay), first baseman Ryan Nicholson (10th round, Los Angeles Angels), and pitchers Mason Moore (15th round, Chicago White Sox), Travis Smith (15th round, Milwaukee Brewers) and Dominic Niman (18th round, Tampa Bay).

All seven players who were drafted signed with their respective MLB clubs. Daly and infielder Grant Smith were senior members of Kentucky’s 2024 team and signed separately as undrafted free agents.

RELATED: Kentucky cracks Baseball America way-too-early Top 25 rankings

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