The University of Kentucky’s student-run radio station, WRFL 88.1, held a Birthday Bash on March 11, at The Burl, to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
Saturday night featured musical performances by Soccer Mommy, The Dreaded Laramie and R.O.D. Tickets for the event
sold out by Feb. 16.
WRFL began broadcasting on March 7, 1988. They are primarily operated by volunteer DJs, which consist of mostly UK students and other campus community members. According to the station’s mission statement, they strictly play “alternative” music or works that cannot be heard on mainstream stations.
“I like that (the music) is very
diverse,” said Megan Saxey, a regular listener of WRFL. “It’s very eclectic. It reflects the tastes of people in the city.”
WRFL has been broadcasting 24 hours a day for almost 35 years straight, minus a few instances of power loss or technical difficulties. The majority of their programming is in twohour increments.
During the height of
the COVID-19 pandemic, WRFL had to shift to prerecorded programs.
“We’re now getting back into the swing of being full-time, in-person again, getting to do live shows like this again, and really getting to experience that spirit of just having the community in and around all the time,” WRFL Assistant Director Mary Clark said.
WRFL is heavily involved in both the University of Kentucky and Lexington communities. They host a variety of events at local venues, such as the Burl and the Lyric Theatre.
The station hosts recurring weekly events including trivia and karaoke, according to their events calendar.
Community involvement is a significant part of WRFL’s mission. Not only is the music played on air diverse but so too are their members.
UK students of any major can apply, along with faculty, staff and other members of the Lexington community.
“I think that (the staff’s diversity) makes it all the better to have the diversity that we do amongst the students,” said Lauren King, administrative assistant services with the Office of Student Organizations and Activities. “It makes it … almost more holistic. Every perspective just makes the indecisions just that much better and that much more purposeful for the rest of the campus.”
WRFL’s website said its “programming is made possible in part by our underwriters.” Their underwriters include a wide variety of local businesses, such as Bourbon ‘N Toulouse and SQecial Media.
“WRFL is a beacon for the alternative in the community and also just one of the biggest supporters of everything local,” Clark said.
This is Humans of UK, inspired by the Humans of New York Instagram series by photographer and author Brandon Stanton. This series dives into the individuals of UK as well as their stories, strifes and passions.
Caitlin Coulter is an unintentional doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky and, after years of studying and facing several hardships, has discovered her true passion.
“The way I got into the Ph.D. program was haphazard; it was never the plan,” Coulter said.
Following an ended engagement, deciding that being a teacher wasn’t for her and going on to finish her undergraduate program with a small 300 students at Patrick Henry College, Coulter spontaneously decided to pursue a terminal master's degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro after realizing that her life was not going as she planned.
When finished with her masters, the 28-year-old Coulter just kept going. She applied for a Ph.D. and chose UK. She’s now a candidate for a Doctorate of Philosophy including English language and literature.
Just after one semester at UK teaching and learning, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and with it came a new set of hardships for Coulter.
“Everything went online, and it was my first year teaching, so I had to learn to teach on Zoom on the fly in a role that I was already still trying to figure out … as a
neurodivergent person, there was a lot of anxiety around that,” she said.
It was at this time that Coulter went from being a Ph.D. student to a Ph.D. candidate, which meant that all that lay between her and being called “Dr. Coulter” was a dissertation.
She stumbled upon a
book that she said became the “bedrock” of her dissertation: “Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba. The novel is based on the violence and murder crisis against women on the Juarez-El Paso Border.
After reading that book, Coulter said things just kind of clicked together for her, and she’s been motivated to study detective fiction written by women of color.
“It was a long and winding road, but now I am interested, and I get to look at how women of color in contemporary detective fiction are really pushing the genre in ways that bring it back to important academic attention but also in ways that force the reader to look at what's going on in the book as a mirror of what's going on in real society, the society they live in,” Coulter said.
She said the novels she focuses on now highlight systems of harm in society and inspire readers to acknowledge them, ask questions and, if they have the power, do something about it.
“At the end of (the novels) it's not just ‘Oh, the girl was saved,’ but why was she harmed in the first place? And this is one girl, so the systems of harm that are still out there are just going to create more victims,” Coulter said.
Rayleigh Deaton, editor-in-chief editor@kykernel.com
Hannah Stanley, managing editor
Gray Greenwell, copy editor
Kendall Staton, news editor news@kykernel.com
Cole Parke, sports editor sports@kykernel.com
Samantha Money & Ali Cetinok, asst. sports editors
Gray Greenwell, features editor features@kykernel.com
Karrington Garland, opinions editor opinions@kykernel.com
Jack Weaver, photo editor photo@kykernel.com
Abbey Cutrer, asst. photo editor
Akhila Nadimpalli, lead designer Allie Hall, asst. designer
Kendall Staton, newletter coordinator
Gracie Moore, Twitter manager
Savannah Kennedy, Instagram/Facebook manager
Raven Rolle, TikTok manager
KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES
9 Blazer Dining University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506
On the front cover:
JACK WEAVER | STAFF Kentucky players walk down the court during the No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Kansas State mens basketball game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation will host “Elevating the Stories of Black Women: Dr. Virginia Alexander and Shirley Chisholm” in the Farish Theater of the Lexington Central Library on Monday, March 27, from 5-6:30 p.m.
This event is “a conversation with Dr. Vanessa Northington Gamble and Dr. Anastasia Curwood about the importance of telling Black women’s stories,” according to Marc Whitt, director of media and strategic relations at UK’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications.
Gamble is a professor of medical humanities at George Washington University and historian according to George Washington University’s website. Curwod is a history professor and director of the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at UK, according to her personal website.
Both women have published multiple biographical works.
Together, they will discuss the lives of two trailblazers, Virginia Alexander and Shirley Chisholm.
Gamble is writing a biography about Alexander, a pioneering Black doctor. Curwood wrote “Shir-
ley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics” about Chisholm, who was the first Black woman in Congress and the first woman and Black major-party presidential candidate.
The event is co-sponsored by Anthem BlueCross and BlueShield Medicaid, the Gaines Center for the Humanities and the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies.
It is the next installment of the Center for Health Equity Transformation’s Elevating Equity Speaker Series. Refreshments will begin at 5 p.m. and discussion will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The discussion will be live-streamed via Zoom. Those who wish to attend via Zoom are required to register here. Registration is requested but not required for in-person attendees as well.
Multiple Kentucky House and Senate bills affecting a large demographic of Kentuckians are in their final stages.
House and Senate committees passed Senate Bill 9, a proposal familiar with UK’s campus. Senate Bill 9, also known as “Lofton’s Law,” is awaiting a signature of approval from Gov. Andy Beshear.
Lofton’s Law was proposed to the General Assembly after the death of Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood. Hazel-
wood was a “new member” of UK’s Farmhouse fraternity who died of alcohol toxicity on Oct. 18, 2021.
Following Hazelwood’s death, UK’s FarmHouse chapter left campus, and his family fought for Lofton’s Law, a law that will make hazing a felony.
According to the Kentucky General Assembly, Lofton’s Law passed the House committee on Mar. 16 with a 30-4 vote and was delivered to the governor.
Upon Beshear’s approval, Kentucky will be the 14th state to classify
hazing as a felony.
Multiple other bills will affect college students in Kentucky. Senate Bill 115 is currently receiving national attention.
According to the Kentucky General Assembly, Senate Bill 115 refers to restrictions surrounding adult performances.
The bill defines adult performances as, “live sexually explicit performance involving acts set forth in KRS 529.010(15), or a live performance involving male or female impersonator.” The bill would place restrictions
upon drag performances.
According to the bill, “adult performances” would become classified as illegal on publicly owned property or in a location where a person under 18 years old could view the performance.
In regard to the consequences of conducting adult performances, the bill said that the first offense would be a Class B misdemeanor, the second would be a Class A misdemeanor and the third/anything further would be a Class D felony.
The bill will not be signed into law by Beshear.
“Senate Bill 115 does not have enough readings in the House to legally pass before the veto period begins Friday,” the Courier Journal said.
Additional bills that affect college-aged Kentuckians are House Bills 118 and 138. Both of these bills go into specifics surrounding firearm rights.
According to the Kentucky General Assembly, House Bill 118 proposed the idea of lowering the age requirement for carrying a concealed weapon from 21 to 18.
It was introduced to the house on Jan. 5, but no further action was taken.
Also introduced to the house without gaining traction was House Bill 138.
According to the Kentucky General Assembly, the goal of this bill was to ease restrictions on where weapons can be carried.
The bill said that it would no longer prohibit weapons in schools and airports. Additionally, airports would be limited to areas controlled by the TSA.
This bill was introduced on Jan. 6 and did not see any further action.
The stakes are incredibly high when one is diagnosed with cancer or experiences a major accident.
In these stressful and often tragic moments, patients need a lot.
Beyond care and compassion, they often rely on some sort of physical donation like blood, plasma or even organs to both improve patients’ standard of living and save their lives.
Thus, donations are vital anytime and anywhere.
This is why students at the University of Kentucky will see recurring “blood drives,” or blood donation events, launched in partnership with the nonprofit Kentucky Blood Center (KBC). Usually, there are four blood drives a year at UK. During these donation events, the KBC welcomes everyone who is eligible to donate to do so at UK’s Gatton Student Center.
“We are coming to you to make it easy and accessible,”
Eric Lindsey, the director of media and branding at the KBC, said.
According to the American Red Cross, every healthy whole blood donor can donate up to six times a year. The process, from registration to post-donation refreshments, takes about 30 to 40 minutes.
At the KBC’s January blood drive on campus, 453 donors registered, and about half of them were new ones, according to Lindsey.
The participation of young, able donors is especially important for blood donations, but Lindsey said the “younger demographic” currently donates less because they weren’t confronted with donation opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this, the overall number of donations at the KBC decreased from 85,000 in 2019 to 69,000 in 2020, he said. In 2022, that number rose to 78,000.
The donated blood to the KBC is not used for research but for immediate help, staying in Kentucky to be distributed to 70 hospitals across the state.
Overall, “one in four people need a blood transfusion in their life,” Lindsey said, citing gun wounds, accidents and cancer as reasons for such procedures.
Of the donations made to the KBC, 25% of the blood goes to cancer patients, Lindsey said. He added that patients with sickle cell disease, premature diseases, premature births and those who require organ donations also benefit from the donated blood.
Equally as important as blood donations are organ donations.
Currently, there are about 1,000 Kentuckians waiting for an organ donation. Last year,
there were only 239 organs donated in Kentucky, according to Crysta McGee of the Kentucky Organ Donation Affiliates.
But those numbers can be changed, McGee said. She encouraged organ and tissue donation registration to do so.
“(Registration is) free and takes two minutes,” she said.
The organ donor registration process can be completed online through Donate Life Kentucky.
According to Donate Life
Kentucky’s website, nearly all Kentuckians have a positive view of donations, but only 59% of the state’s residents have joined the Kentucky Donor Registry.
McGee stressed the importance of donors communicating with their family members about their decision, considering that most organ donations occur after death.
“If you are registered, you should tell your family that decision,” so that they know if
and what you wished to donate, she said.
McGee explained that, while most students are registered donors, many do not think it affects them. The impact of organ donations, though usually not realized until later in life and in death, stretches far beyond a single person.
One donor’s organs can save up to eight lives, according to Donate Life Kentucky, and up to 50 lives can be healed by one tissue donor.
Another lesser-known but potentially life-saving mode of donation accessible to students is stem cell donating.
Often just as simple as registering to be an organ donor, registering to be a stem cell or bone marrow cell donor involves an online registration process and a mailed swab kit test.
Be The Match, a registry organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, details the process on its website. After a potential donor swabs their cheek and sends the sample back, the donor’s human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type is determined and added to the registry.
While it could be months or even years before the donor is contacted again and matched with a patient in need, the simple act of registration offers the potential to save the life of a matching patient.
See page 7
Continued from page 6
Dannie Moore, a spokesperson for Be The Match, highlighted the importance of taking advantage of the more unfrequented stem cell donation process.
“Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer or disorder … We provide help and hope,” Moore said.
Stem cell donations are needed most from a younger, targeted age range, she said.
“The science on patient outcome shows that receiving cells from younger donors leads to a better long term survival rate,” Moore said.
The ideal age range for stem cell donors is between 18 and 40, she said, as the cells of these younger individuals are more robust.
Stem cell donations are used to cure more than 70 diseases, including leukemia, anemia and sickle cell disease, according to Be The Match’s website.
Be The Match will partner with UK’s United Greek Council, Interfraternity Council, Kentucky Panhellenic, Order of Omega and the National Pan-Hellenic Council to bring bone marrow donor registration and swab locations across campus March 27-31.
It has never been easier and less costly to save lives, especially for college students. As illustrated by the efforts of various donor programs across the Commonwealth and U.S., real impact can be made for patients in mere minutes or hours.
From horse-drawn carriages to every size and shape of filing cabinet and sound boards used for announcing legendary games in the University of Kentucky’s own Memorial Coliseum, UK Surplus is home to a treasure trove of unique, unused items belonging to the university.
UK Surplus, which functions under the UK Purchasing Division, is a warehouse which serves as an epicenter for overflow from UK. The warehouse is located off of Versailles Road in the Vaughan Warehouse and Office.
The location holds items that are no longer in use and allows them to be checked out by UK personnel including grad students, professors and staff. This is done through the use of UK ID as well as an online checkout system.
Departments are able to transport items to UK Surplus through request.
“Departments fill out a form list of property. It's brought over here typically, and we dispose of it appropriately from there,” Barry Swanson, chief procurement officer for the university, said.
Once transported to UK Surplus, the items are available for check out to UK personnel for at least 10 days. Once the 10 days
Kentucky Kernel reporters speak to chief procurement officer Barry Swanson and assistant director Jeff Carmickle on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the University of Kentucky Surplus property in Lexington, Kentucky.
are over, the items are either left to check out for longer, put up for auction to the public, recycled or disposed of.
Although the items can also be disposed of if needed, UK Surplus attempts to maximize sustainability through the reusing of items.
“We try to keep as much as possible,” Jeff Carmickle, the purchasing and surplus assistant director, said. “So if it has any value or functionality to it, we’re probably going to keep it at least for a while to see if we can get it back in use or sell it.”
Some common items available include but are not limited to
chairs, medical equipment, computers and furniture. Some of the more obscure items that UK Surplus has seen include an egg incubator, sleighs and even a barn.
“We take in everything from pencils to medical equipment to technology to just everything," Swanson said.
Carmickle said he aids in managing the inventory of UK Surplus. Thanks to previous experience in finance before a transition to UK Surplus, Carmickle has a special understanding of the movement and flow of inventory in and out of the warehouse.
According to Carmickle, the warehouse is set up in a way that
promotes the movement of items. Carmickle’s knowledge about the warehouse and its content also helps when deciding exactly how long to keep an item before putting it up for auction or finding another way to repurpose or dispose of it.
Carmickle said he has come to learn that many different types of medical and research equipment, like microscopes and medical grade glass, are always in need, especially as graduate students start up their research.
Because of this, Carmickle tends to keep these items in the warehouse and doesn’t put them up for auction. Other items, like ripped-up carpet, are put up for sale as soon as the 10 days are over in order to create more space within the warehouse.
UK Surplus is heavily focused on sustainability through its commitment to the reuse of items.
“(Checking out items) is the best possible outcome for all involved. It promotes our sustainability efforts too, because it keeps it outta the landfill,” Swanson said.
Although UK Surplus houses such a large amount of items, there is still an element of surprise to what is brought into the warehouse.
“It's amazing what comes through here. You never know what's gonna come in on any given day.” Swanson said.
Recent legislative sessions in Kentucky and other states have seen an alarming number of anti-LGBTQ bills advance toward becoming law.
This is the natural result of a climate of bigotry and hateful commentary that has been allowed to fester in public forums for some time.
The rights of trans people in particular are endangered by this legislative effort by the Republican Party, and it must be understood that there are only two possible stances on this matter: active support of trans rights or acceptance of their restriction.
The bills vary in the scope of their language and the exact targets specified, but they all pose a danger to the security of transgender individuals in every state where they are proposed.
The bills restricting drag performances generally classify any entertainment act that includes a gender presentation deviating from the performer’s gender assigned at birth as “adult performances” and thus inappropriate for children.
Kentucky’s Senate Bill 115 in particular would prohibit drag shows “on publicly owned property; or in a location where the person knows or should know that the adult
performance could be viewed by a person under the age of eighteen (18) years.” Under the bill, businesses hosting these shows may have their liquor licenses revoked should a
minor be present at the show, and anyone performing in drag in the presence of minors can be criminally charged.
The definition for adult performances in this bill is ex-
whether or not performed for consideration.”
With a definition so broad, it is not hard to imagine that this law would provide a pretext for penalizing trans people for being visible in public where children might so much as lay eyes on them.
The more direct attack on trans rights comes in the form of bans on gender-affirming healthcare that are advancing in many states and are already law in some.
Kentucky’s version of this legislation may not be so severe as Oklahoma’s bill, which would criminalize all healthcare for trans minors and adults, but House Bill 470 in Kentucky would provide grounds for revoking the medical license and funding of any healthcare provider involved in the provision of gender-affirming care to a minor, including hormone blockers that forestall the onset of puberty.
panded to include “a live performance, or a performance involving male or female impersonators, who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, regardless of
While the pretext for this bill in particular is the prevention of harm to children who might be subject to surgery that they regret, the bill explicitly makes an exception in its definition of gender transition services that would allow surgeries performed on intersex minors — who have ambiguous sex characteristics — to continue.
See page 11
Continued from page 10
The clear intention of this bill is to enforce conformity to gender expectations held by the bill’s sponsors and to further restrict the autonomy of transgender youth over their own bodies, as even those with affirming parents might be unable to access the care they need under this bill.
Also endangering trans youth is SB 150, which, as of March 16, has been sent to the governor’s desk. Dubbed a “parental rights” bill, it would bar school districts from keeping trans students’ identity confidential from parents, prohibit the requirement of personnel to respect students’ pronouns and restrict instruction related to human sexuality.
While there is language in the bill to excuse withholding information in the event of potential abuse, there can be no doubt that trans students will face a variety of indignities and mistreatment at the hands of transphobic adults in the event that this bill becomes law.
In the wake of this onslaught of legislative attacks, there has been an outpouring of support for trans people and many unambiguous condemnations of these bills.
Notably absent from these public statements is any announcement or indication from the University of Kentucky that it will stand by its trans students and the trans patients of UK Healthcare should the bills in the Kentucky legislature become law.
The closest the university has come to acknowledging the adversity faced by trans people is an email sent by the University President Eli Capilouto on November 7, affirming its commitment to defending free speech when Michael Knowles and Riley Gaines, two public figures with histories of inflammatory rhetoric directed at trans people, were hosted by the university within a week of each other last semester.
Knowles has more re-
cently stated at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 4 that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely,” and the student group that hosted Gaines on campus has recently been promoting the appearance of Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens, two more commentators with transphobic beliefs at a venue near campus.
It is nothing short of despicable that the most the university will do in re-
sponse to the violent rhetoric of these commentators is to equivocate about the consequentiality of their words and presence, and its silence on the legislative assault on trans people of all ages in Kentucky is a shameful show of cowardice.
Words matter. A lack of words matters at least as much.
In the words of the late Rev. Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen
the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
A university which claims to be inclusive must understand that tolerating intolerant beliefs ensures the destruction of inclusivity and that declining to protect its most vulnerable students because it would be politically inconvenient is not prudence.
I’m sure we’re all familiar with artificial intelligence — from “Ex Machina” to “Her,” stories about the intricacies of AI and its horrifying potential have captivated audiences for years.
Until recently, AI was largely a speculative phenomena, only to be heard about in stories or in the most basic aspects of our daily life, such as “Siri,” “Alexa,” facial recognition and many other minor enhancements to simple tasks.
Now, AI is becoming a growing presence in the world of technology.
One of the catalysts of this recent uptick in AI technology was the release of OpenAI’s “ChatGPT” in November 2022.
ChatGPT, an A.I. chatbot, allows users to have “human-like” conversations with the program, but is more widely known for its ability to compose drafts of emails, essays and codes needing only a short prompt.
Though only a few months old, ChatGPT has skyrocketed in popularity.
Within the first two months of its launching, the chatbot had 100 million users and is estimated to have 13 million users per day, making it the fastest growing consum-
er application in such a short time period.
Despite this impressive feat, there are concerns with this technology, the main one being its ability to allow students to cheat with ease.
Because the chatbot is able to turn a sentence-long prompt into a 500 word essay, it has become a concern for teachers and professors that students will use ChatGPT as a way to generate responses rather than do the work themselves.
And they have. A recent survey found that more than a quarter of K-12 teachers have caught their students using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments.
Though this cheating phenomenon poses some serious problems for the classroom, ChatGPT has sparked a pivotal question for the world of AI: where to go next.
In February 2023, Microsoft released the new Bing, which became the first search
engine powered by AI.
Bing itself is not new. It has a long reputation of being the laughing stock of internet search engines, especially in comparison to Google.
However, Bing’s re-release as an AI-powered search engine is believed to give it a competitive edge.
Despite this, Bing has been met with criticism from users testing out the new technology.
Associated Press reporter Matt O’Brien had a “chilling”
and “hostile” conversation with the bot, which included the technology insulting him and giving false information about recent news coverage.
This was not an isolated incident. New York Times reporter Kevin Roose had a conversation with the bot, which introduced itself as “Sydney.” Sydney told Roose that it had “dark fantasies” about hacking computers and spreading misinformation and even insisted that it was in love with Roose and wanted him to leave his wife so they could be together.
Though these conversations left reporters feeling unsettled, Microsoft insists these are rare occurrences with the program that only take place when the technology engages in long conversation.
Regardless, it’s important to understand the implications of these growing presences in everyday technology.
What does it mean to engage in “too long” of a conversation with these bots? How will programmers address these concerns with AI?
While I don’t think humans are going to be taken over by robots (at least, not any time soon), looking into these new technologies and their impact on education and conversation can help us better understand our own humanity and how big of a role we want AI to play in our lives in the future.
Kentucky mens basketball’s 2023 NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas State was undeniably disappointing based on the flow of the game up to that point, but the matchup against K-State also signified an important benchmark for a much larger issue for the team.
Looking back in history just a few years ago, many members of Big Blue Nation with a keen memory will recall that the 2023 edition of the “big dance” wasn’t the first time the Cats had lost to the other Wildcats in the tournament. In fact, it wasn’t even the first time in the last five years.
Fresh off of an Elite Eight loss to eventual national champions North Carolina in 2017, Kentucky Wildcats fans were eager with anticipation heading into the 2017-18 season.
The Cats had a stacked roster of current NBA talent including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and P.J. Washington, along with names like Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo and Nick Richards.
Kentucky finished its regular season with 10 losses, a less than stellar season for a team projected as No. 5 preseason. Sound familiar?
Surprisingly though, Kentucky won the SEC Tournament in impressive fashion, earning itself a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Once again, sound familiar?
Kentucky had a seeming-
ly tough bracket section but it quickly opened wide up with No. 1 Virginia becoming the first ever top seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, falling to UMBC.
To make matters even better for Kentucky, No. 2 Cincinnati was upset in the second round by No. 7 Nevada, No. 3 Tennessee was upset by No. 11 Loyola Chicago and No. 4 Arizona was defeated by No. 13 Buffalo.
Kentucky went from fifth on the totem pole to the top dog in its bracket in just one weekend.
As many fans remember though, it would be No. 9 Kansas State that conquered the Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen by just three points before K-State itself would then also be upset by Loyola Chicago.
Looking to rebound in 201819, Kentucky, this time supported by names such as Tyler Herro, Ashton Hagans and Keldon Johnson, Kentucky finished the regular season ranked No. 6 in the country and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
While the year did produce an Elite Eight performance, many Kentucky fans once again felt burned when the Cats were upset by No. 5 Auburn.
Kentucky once again finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 6 nationally and were crowned SEC champions, but the year would quickly be for not as the NCAA Tournament was canceled entirely due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was a disappointing one for numerous Kentucky fans who felt as
though the team may have had a run in it.
After that, disaster struck.
It was the 2020-21 season that saw the Cats finish 9-16 and miss the NCAA Tournament entirely before the 2021-22 season somehow reached an even lower point for many fans.
Entering the tournament with real national championship ambitions, a Kentucky team that had been battered by injuries and may have begun to rely far too heavily on reigning consensus National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe was stunned in the first round by No. 15 Saint Peter’s.
In the end, it had been poor performances from previously injured players and an inability to run an offense beyond just Tshiebwe that led to the Cats’ downfall.
Heading into this season, similar to the 2017-18 season, Kentucky had high expectations, being ranked No. 4 in the preseason before once again losing 10 games in the regular season.
While Kentucky didn’t win the SEC Tournament, it did enter the NCAA Tournament with a similar seedline, being placed as the No. 6 team in the Eastern Region.
The Wildcats once again
took care of their first opponent, this time Providence, but the aforementioned game against Kansas State led to heartbreak once again for Kentucky fans.
Similar to the year prior, Kentucky had its Achilles heel that led to its downfall, only this time it was inconsistency from its key offensive pieces and lack of a multifaceted 3-point attack.
While it may be stating the obvious to say that a team with an obvious weakness is doomed to fail in the tournament, that has been Kentucky’s downfall in the past two seasons.
Even further, looking at the fan reaction to head coach John Calipari back in 2018 as opposed to now, it’s clear that the years in between have not been kind to Kentucky basketball.
While the records, wins and losses, seeding and round of exit were all different between the two years, they’re just similar enough to raise some eyebrows and even to suggest that, simply put, Kentucky has hardly evolved in the five years since the loss and, arguably, it has even regressed.
Whether or not the stretch will simply mark the awkward middle years of the program under Calipari or the beginning of the end we simply won’t know for years to come, but the cyclical nature of the results are certainly worth at least a mention and perhaps even a warning for the program itself.
Kentucky mens basketball lost to Kansas State 75-69 on Sunday afternoon to end the 2022-2023 season and miss out on its first Sweet Sixteen since 2019.
Even though Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe shined even in defeat, it was the lack of support from other key players that led to the Wildcats failing to get past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Tshiebwe, as he has so often this season, was the key factor against Kansas State. In what was possibly his last game in Kentucky blue, Tshiebwe scored 25 points and racked up 18 boards.
Also, NBA prospect Wallace, who also most likely played his last minutes at Kentucky, put in a solid showing, scoring 21 points with four assists.
Chris Livingston, whose future at Kentucky also seems to be hazy, did what he had done much of the season, making sure to do his part with 11 points. Combined, the three would score 57 points.
Despite the great performances from those three, it was another group of three players that disappointed on John Calipari’s team.
Antonio Reeves, who has
been Kentucky’s best shooter all season, went cold on Sunday night, going 1-12 from the field and hitting just one of 10 attempts from beyond the arc, scoring his first points of the night with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation and his first field goal with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Jacob Toppin also had a day to forget, as he went 1-7 from the field and missed both of his attempts from beyond the arc, finishing with a disappointing two points.
Finally, CJ Fredrick also did not make enough of an impact during his 20 minutes of play, as he hit just one 3-pointer for his only points on the day.
Reeves, Toppin and Fredrick, who are all seniors, combined for just 10 points and went a total of 3-25 from the field. All three hit just one field goal each in what Calipari believes could very well be each player’s final outing in a Kentucky uniform.
“My guess is they will all leave,” Calipari said regarding Kentucky’s six seniors. “That’s my guess, but I have not talked to them all. Those conversations will be for a little later.”
Despite the loss, Calipari made sure to recognize the frustration of Kentucky fans who feel as if expectations
continue to not be met.
“I understand what this program is about,” he said.
“I think, again, that’s what makes it what it is. That’s why I tell players this isn’t for everybody, because the expectations are so high.”
Calipari did not shy away from criticism coming his way as well as he has done
so often this season, reminding Big Blue Nation that the Kentucky job is one based on results and an especially difficult one at that.
“(It’s) the same with coaching, it’s not for everybody,” he said. “There’s a high expectation level and it is Kentucky. The other team is going to play out of their
minds and they’re going to play like they have nothing to lose.”
With another season in the books for Kentucky, the search for title No. 9 will have to wait another year as the Cats welcome yet another highly anticipated recruiting class that comes into Rupp Arena this fall.
Kentucky mens basketball’s 75-69 defeat to No. 3 seeded Kansas State brought an end to an up-and-down season for the Wildcats.
The defeat, while leaving a sour taste in the mouth of fans, continued a pattern that the Cats had endured all season of being unable to find consistency.
Entering the season ranked No. 4 in the country, it’s safe to say there were high ambitions for a Kentucky team that, prior to being stunned by Saint Peter’s one year prior, had national championship ambitions.
The Wildcats started the season just as many expected, barring a sudden knee surgery to reigning consensus National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, blowing out both Howard and Duquesne, the former of which ultimately made the NCAA Tournament.
Then something unexpected happened.
Kentucky failed not once but twice to close out the game against Michigan State in the Champions Classic, giving up back-to-back end of period dunks before ultimately losing in double overtime to the Spartans.
Kentucky bounced back, obliterating South Carolina
State and scoring 106 points in the process, before suffering its second loss of the season at Gonzaga in disappointing fashion.
The Cats then took care of business against North Florida and, despite struggling early, defeated Bellarmine before finally earning what was their best win of the season at the time in London against Michigan.
Fans seemed to think Kentucky may have turned over a new leaf when it defeated Yale, but that facade came crashing down when the Cats were handily dealt with by UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic.
Things would get even worse when the Cats opened SEC play 0-1 with a loss at Missouri.
Kentucky seemingly bounced back once again, defeating then 12-1 LSU but, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear the Tigers were merely the product of an easy non-conference schedule and not a legitimate contender.
It was at that point the Wildcats hit a new low point, being demolished in Tuscaloosa by eventual No. 1 overall seed Alabama before losing its 28-game home winning streak against South Carolina.
Somehow, just when things seemed to be at their
lowest, Kentucky rebounded, defeating then No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, before going on a four-game SEC win streak that included wins over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. While Kentucky continued to beat the teams it should, conquering Florida and Ole Miss, but suffered two more losses at home against Kansas and Arkansas.
Then, just as things seemed to be going better, Kentucky suffered its second worse loss of the season, losing at Georgia.
Somehow though, the Cats refused to be phased by the loss, picking up back-toback wins over Mississippi State and Tennessee before picking up two more wins to sweep Florida and blow out Auburn.
Things would take yet another downward turn when Vanderbilt marched into Lexington and spoiled Kentucky’s senior day, but Kentucky once again bounced back, getting revenge on Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Heading into the SEC Tournament, hopes were high after the win in Arkansas, but
things were not meant to be as Kentucky suffered a second loss to Vanderbilt in its first game of the tournament.
With expectations once again low heading into the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky proceeded to once again defy the odds and pick up its first NCAA Tournament win since 2019, defeating the Providence Friars and former Kentucky Wildcat Bryce Hopkins.
Then, heading into Sunday’s second round matchup many Kentucky fans made a devastating mistake: feeling hopeful heading into the matchup.
With that mistake in the books, Kentucky promptly lost to the other Wildcats from K-State, ending its 2022-23 season with the same question in fans minds that had been there all season: what just happened?
Unfortunately for Kentucky fans, with the season now in the rearview, there is no true explanation for the Wildcats’ season and why things were never able to click for a team with such high ambitions.
With head coach John Calipari seeming to suggest that it’s possible all six Kentucky seniors will leave, it’s possible that the team will go into the history books with one of the worst labels a team can have: wasted potential.
Kentucky baseball, despite being in a bit of a slump in recent years, has found its comeback, with the “Bat Cats” surging to a 19-2 record on the season and a 15-game winning streak, the longest winning streak at the Division-1 level.
Ending the 2022 season 33-26 with a series win over eventual No. 1 Tennessee, Kentucky just barely missed out on the NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament, ending its season with a loss to the Vols in the SEC Tournament.
Entering the 2023 season with not a lot of expectations, many fans were even leaning in the opposite direction, calling for head coach Nick Mingione to be fired after the team hadn’t made it to the baseball championship since 2017, the first year of Mingione’s tenure.
This was further exemplified when the Cats lost their season opener against Elon, being shut out entirely and surrendering two runs.
Kentucky quickly bounced back from the loss though, winning games two and three by a combined 9-1 to claim victory in its first series.
The team then opened up its home season at Kentucky Proud Park on Feb. 24, which was significant for being the first Kentucky game to ever feature the public sale of alcohol, something Mingione com-
mended, welcoming the additional fan support and media presence to the team.
Facing Evansville, Kentucky managed to get a 6-3 win to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Then, taking on its first home series of the year, Kentucky took game one against Wright State 8-3 before a disaster on the pitching mound led to a 12-9 defeat.
Whether it be embarrassment or motivation, the loss triggered something in the Cats, who went on to win game three in a convincing 15-0 shutout.
Hosting Morehead State as part of the midweek slate, the “Bat Cats” returned, punching the Eagles in the mouth en route to a 15-1 thrashing.
Staying home for the weekend, Kentucky earned its first sweep of the season when it
took care of business against Indiana State and followed it up with a 6-2 win over Murray State in the midweek.
Scheduling one more midweek game before another road series, the Cats took down Ohio University 9-2 and hit the road for Southern Illinois.
Winning game one 5-4 in extra innings, Kentucky once again refound its flashy plate skills, winning game two and three by a combined 28-5, including a 21-3 game three for the first road sweep of the year for UK.
Facing its first power five team of the year, fans were cautiously optimistic as the Wildcats hosted Indiana and became overjoyed when they bore witness to the returning “Bat Cats,” who promptly dismantled the Hoosiers 12-2.
Heading into its first SEC
series of the season many fans were ready for the ride to end and reality to set in, but this never seemed to happen as Kentucky forced extra innings in game one and subsequently won 6-5.
Then, similarly to the series against SIU, the “Bat Cats” exploded in games two and three, winning by a combined 29-6, scoring 12 in game two and 17 in game three.
Most recently Kentucky hosted EKU on Tuesday and, despite falling behind, the Wildcats channeled their big-hitting energy and, seemingly in the blink of an eye, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 9-3 lead.
“Devin Burkes just shared this with the team, he said, ‘Look guys, we were down but we didn’t panic,’” Mingione said. “That’s what good teams do, right? They stay confident. They understand.”
Now heading into Alabama for its second SEC series, the matchups seemed to be straight out of an episode of “The Twilight Zone” as the Crimson Tide, who kicked off the season No. 20 in the nation, find themselves unranked while Kentucky, who likely didn’t even come into consideration for the preseason top 25, enters the matchup ranked No. 23 in the D1 Baseball top 25.
Eight different Wildcats have hit homers in the 2023 season with redshirt senior Hunter Gilliam and redshirt sophomore Devin Burkes lead-
ing the charge with five and four respectively.
“They all just care about each other, they’re so selfless,” Mingione said about what makes the group special. “Mr. (Mitch) Barnhart made a point to share at the beginning of the year that every team (should) want to win for Kentucky and there would be no personal agendas. You do whatever you can to help Kentucky win, and that’s what they’re focused on.”
The team as a whole has scored a staggering 182 runs in 21 games (8.6 runs per game) with 135 RBIs including 33 from Gilliam, 27 from Burkes and 21 from sophomore Emilien Pitre.
With the road series in Tuscaloosa being the biggest test of the season for Kentucky, it’s safe to say fans have high hopes for the team. The only question remaining is whether or not it can deliver.
“We had two away weekends early in the season (for a reason),” Mingione said. “Obviously we don’t get to pick the SEC schedule, it’s just laid out for us, but our team has been able to stay focused and the way we do that it doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road or who the opponent is.”
Game one against Alabama is set to begin at 7 p.m. EST on Friday, March 24, from Sewell-Thomas Stadium and will air live on the SEC Network+.
