The Kentucky Wildcats have come close to reaching the men’s College World Series in recent years, and this season’s “Bat Cats” are hoping this is the year when they break through across Kentucky sports betting.
Despite a short stay in last week’s SEC Tournament, when they lost two of their three games, the Cats still earned the No. 2 national seed for the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which starts Friday at 16 sites across the country. Because of their high seed, the Wildcats will host a regional for the second straight season, starting with Western Michigan at noon ET.
UK has yet to get through a regional unscathed, but the Wildcats have won their last two, which they also happened to host. Caesars Kentucky Sportsbook has the Cats as the favorite to get through their regional, with odds of -160. Kentucky also has the fourth-lowest odds for the national title at +1000, the same price as LSU.
Kentucky Regional History (*-Won Regional)
Year | Site | Record |
1988 | New Britain, Conn. | 3-2 |
1993 | Austin | 0-2 |
2006 | Lexington | 2-2 |
2008 | Ann Arbor | 2-2 |
2012 | Gary, Ind. (Purdue) | 2-2 |
2014 | Louisville | 2-2 |
2017 | Lexington | 4-1* |
2023 | Lexington | 4-1* |
Super Regional History
Year | Site | Record |
2017 | Louisville | 0-2 |
2023 | Baton Rouge | 0-2 |
Super Regional Kentucky’s Next Obstacle To Overcome
While UK has fared well in the program’s most recent regional appearances, it has yet to post even a single win in the best-of-three super regionals. Last year, the Cats traveled to LSU and lost the two games by a combined score of 22-3 to the team that would eventually become the national champions.
However, one thing that will work in UK’s favor should they get that far is that the Wildcats would almost assuredly host the Super Regional round because of their seed. Kentucky would play the winner of the Corvallis, Ore. region, which is hosted by No. 15 seed Oregon State.
Should the Beavers and the Wildcats both advance, it would be a matchup featuring two of the top 11 teams on FanDuel Kentucky's College World Series futures board. UK is available at +1200, the fourth lowest price on the board. OSU, meanwhile, has odds of +2500.
UK Exceeding Expectations
Kentucky returned seven starters from last year’s team, but in a very deep SEC, they were not projected to be among the top teams on Kentucky betting apps. It wasn’t until the middle of the season that they emerged as a top 10 team in the national rankings. However, once they got there, the Cats stayed there. As recently as a couple weeks ago, UK was No. 1 in the RPI.
Because of the lower expectations, there was value to be had for Kentucky’s title chances. Two months ago, DraftKings Kentucky sportsbook offered the Wildcats at +6000. This week, those odds have shortened to +1000, tied for the fourth-lowest price on the futures board with Arkansas.
USA Today photo by Cyndi Chambers.
