Kentucky baseball (15-8, 2-4 SEC) will hit the road to take on Texas A&M (12-12, 0-6 SEC) in a three-game set.

What to watch

Both teams enter the series reeling in SEC play and desperate to get back on track. While it’s hard to consider a series a “must-win” six games into the SEC slate, this series certainly feels that way for both teams.

Texas A&M began the season as the consensus No. 1 team in the country, but it has been a downhill plumet for the National Champion runners-up.

The start of conference play has not been kind to the Aggies as they have been swept by Alabama and Vanderbilt.

Kentucky came into the season looking to build upon its run to the College World Series in 2024 but has also struggled.

While the Wildcats have a few more wins the win column, they have still lost both series’ they have played thus far. The Wildcats have lost two out of three to both Georgia and Auburn.

The two teams last met in Lexington in 2023 where Texas A&M took two of three from the Wildcats by winning the first two games by scores of 6-3 and 8-7 before dropping game three 8-1 to Kentucky.

Offense

Beginning with an overall look, the Aggies come into the series struggling mightily on offense as they rank last in the SEC in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Texas A&M has a team average of .256, an on-base percentage 0f .369 and a slugging percentage at .428.

Kentucky is a little more spread out in most offensive categories as it ranks 10th in the SEC with a .293 batting average, seventh in the SEC with a .431 on-base percentage and 12th in the SEC with a .472 slugging percentage.

Moving onto individual threats, Cole Hage leads the Wildcats into College Station with a .370 batting average, .514 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage.

Patrick Herrera has been consistent despite moving up and down the lineup as he has hit to a .348 batting average while posting a .494 on-base percentage and a .470 slugging percentage.

Rounding out the Wildcats main offensive threats is Devin Burkes, who has been a force at the plate since conference play began. On the year, Burkes has hit to a .297 batting average, .395 on-base percentage and a .531 slugging percentage.

Kentucky will feed off Hage’s all-around hitting, Herrera’s average and Burkes’ hot streak on the road to guide its offensive approach.

Terrence Kiel II leads the Aggies in batting average with a mark of .354. Kiel II is getting on-base at a .411 clip with a slugging percentage of .402.

Wyatt Henseler leads the team in both slugging and on-base percentage with marks of .588 and .488 respectively. Henseler has a .329 batting average coming into the three-game set.

The final threat is Jace Laviolette, who was billed as one of the best players in the country heading into the season, however he has just not gotten going at the plate yet. In fact, Laviolette was named to the 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watchlist.

On the year, Laviolette has hit to a .282 batting average, .432 on-base percentage and a .565 slugging percentage.

Overall Pitching

The Aggies’ arms have been the opposite of the bats as the staff is second in the SEC with a team ERA of 3.06. Texas A&M is 11th in the conference with a .229 batting average against.

Kentucky’s pitching staff has faltered a bit in recent weeks and its team ERA sits at 3.77, which ranks ninth in the conference. The Wildcats batting average against is fifth in the conference at .211.

Pitching Matchups

Texas A&M is set to send three lefties to the mound with the first being Ryan Prager, who enters the series with a 2.17 ERA as he’s allowed nine earned runs in 37.1 innings of work. Prager has struck out 35 batters on the year and allowed 13 walks. Opposing hitters are batting .194 off of Prager.

Like last week, The Wildcats will be making a change in the starting rotation as Scott Rouse is expected to get the start for Kentucky.

The start will be the first for the righty and in his six appearances out of the bullpen he has accumulated a 3.00 ERA in his 21 innings pitched. Rouse has given up seven earned runs and struck out 26 hitters. The right-hander has walked five batters, and hitters are hitting .244 off Rouse.

Justin Lamkin is expected to be on the mound for game two for the Aggies and he leads the team with 44 strikeouts. The lefty has given up 10 earned runs in his 35.2 innings of work, which equates to a 2.52 ERA. Lamkin has allowed nine walks. Batters are hitting .222 off the left-hander.

Typical Friday night starter Nic McCay is expected to go for the Wildcats in game two. McCay has struggled during SEC play, but on the year has pitched to a 2.20 ERA in his 28.2 innings of work.

The righty has given up seven earned runs and struck out 26 hitters. Walks have been an issue lately for McCay as he’s allowed 18 on the season. opposing hitters are batting .144 off McCay.

Myles Patton is expected to round out the lefty trio in the series finale. Patton has a 2.41 ERA as he’s allowed nine earned runs in 33.2 innings of work. The left-hander has struck out 37 batters and walked six. Opposing hitters are hit to a .203 average off Patton.

Ben Cleaver is expected to make his second consecutive game three start, and he leads the pitching staff with 35 strikeouts. The lefty has given up eight earned runs in 30.1 innings of work which equates to a 2.37 ERA. Cleaver has walked 11 hitters and opposing batters are hitting .162 off Cleaver.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and Texas A&M will begin its three-game set on Friday, March 28, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. ET.