Baseball Cats with Superpowers Improve Mental Toughness

When it came to assembling his 2023 baseball team, Kentucky baseball head coach Nick Mingione had a specific set of criteria in mind. He was looking for players that possessed a team-first mentality, had experience, and most importantly, the “dog” mentality. The “dog” mentality refers to players that are confident in themselves and their teammates and this contagious condition has certainly caught on in the UK locker room. In the words of Mingione, “This is a special team. A bunch of competitive people… they’re a bunch of dogs and I love being their coach.”
Shortstop Grant Smith agrees with his head coach regarding the team’s competitive drive. Smith first noticed it during the team’s fall practices, where he felt like it was just a bunch of really competitive people that were really driven to improve their own abilities, while still focusing on the team aspect. This competitive drive has brought the team to a 40-19 record and a regional championship in just the second time in school history.
For Mingione, having such a special bunch of players makes him want success for them even more. He knows that this is the last collegiate season for several of these players, and he wants them to have experiences they’ve never had before. He stated, “For those guys who will never have that opportunity again, that’s all you could ever ask for. Now, it’s up to them to go and do it.”
Kentucky will be heading to Baton Rouge to face LSU. In addition to the “dog” mentality, Smith believes that another factor that has driven Kentucky’s success this season is their hunger to win, stating that “not a lot of us have had this opportunity before so we’re trying to make the most of it… just put our heads down and really get after it”. From the mentality to the hunger to win, this team has certainly been cooking up a special recipe of success this year.