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UK Earns NCAA Tourney Bid; Cats to Face Wake Forest on Friday
INDIANAPOLIS – The field of 64 teams competing for the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Subcommittee. The national top 16 seeds are UCLA (51-6), Georgia Tech (48-9), Georgia (46- 12), Auburn (38-19), North Carolina (45-11-1), Texas (40-13), Alabama (37-19), Florida (39-19), Southern Mississippi (44-15), Florida State (38-17), Oregon (40-16), Texas A&M (39-14), Nebraska (42-15), Mississippi State (40-17
KySportsStyle.com
1 day ago1 min read
WAYNE KNUCKLES: The Last Bad Call
Baseball didn't kill the umpire this spring. It just put him on probation. The 2026 season opened with something called the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System. Human umpires still call every pitch. But now each team gets two challenges a game. Don't like the call? Tap your helmet. A camera system called Hawk-Eye checks the math and the scoreboard tells 40,000 people whether the man behind the plate got it right. Which is a polite way of calling him a liar in front of ever
KySportsStyle.com
1 day ago3 min read
OUTDOOR TRUTHS: My Blanket
By Gary Miller I have a favorite blanket. Don’t laugh. You probably do to. And if you don’t now, you once did. Deny it and I’ll just ask your momma, and she’ll show me picture after picture of you with your thumb in your mouth and your blanket over your shoulder. My own son was not only attached to a certain blanket, but he also had a favorite corner of the blanket. I can remember that blanket having to be restored several times and ultimately becoming a series of knots that
KySportsStyle.com
1 day ago2 min read
PHOTO GALLERY: Gala Parade at 2026 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival
Photos by Jamie H. Vaught
KySportsStyle.com
2 days ago1 min read
PHOTO GALLERY: Queen's Coronation at 2026 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival
Video and Photos by Jamie H. Vaught VIDEO PHOTOS
KySportsStyle.com
2 days ago1 min read
PHOTO GALLERY: LMU Nursing Student Nadia Layne Smith Chosen 2026 KMLF Queen
Nadia Layne Smith, representing Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., has been selected the queen of the 2026 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival. She was selected over 17 queen candidates from different colleges and universities on Saturday afternoon in a beautiful Laurel Cove Amphitheatre ceremony held at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. A native of Barbourville, Ky., Smith is a junior in the LMU Caylor School of Nursing. Kentucky Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman
KySportsStyle.com
2 days ago1 min read
UK & Gonzaga to Discontinue Six-Year Series
Kentucky coach Mark Pope (File Photo) LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky and Gonzaga men’s basketball programs jointly announced the discontinuation of their six-year series on Wednesday. The decision was mutually agreed upon by both programs, to allow each program freedom to reevaluate future scheduling priorities, including conference obligations and nonconference opportunities. The series originated in Spokane in 2022 and has seen the teams play in Lexington, Seattle and Nashv
KySportsStyle.com
6 days ago1 min read
UK's Tyler Bell, Jaxon Jelkin Earn All-SEC Honors
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell and ace pitcher Jaxon Jelkin each were named to the All- Southeastern Conference Team on Monday. Bell was named first team and Jelkin second team. Bell, a sophomore from the Chicago area, shined in 2026 despite getting injured in the opener and missing 14 games. Overall, he ranked second on the team with a .347 average during the regular season with 39 runs, eight doubles, one triple, six home runs, 26 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a
KySportsStyle.com
May 192 min read
OUTDOOR TRUTHS: Plan B
By Gary Miller It was the last few days of the season, and this gobbler had outwitted me for days. He roosted in the same place nearly every night. Almost every morning he would let me know he was there. And in turn I would let him know I was there too, even though I would hide my true identity with a soft cluck, purr, or yelp. Because he was older, he never got out of character. After all, it was the hen’s obligation to come to where he was. Therefore, he never moved from hi
KySportsStyle.com
May 193 min read
WORDS FROM FATHER YOHANES: No Neutrality in the Ascension
By Father Yohanes Akoit Carl Jaspers once said that those who study history cannot remain neutral. They are called to carry the moral burden of history. He said this to remind people of the cruelty of Nazi Germany. For him, the cruelty of Nazi Germany was a tragedy; therefore, those who study that history cannot be neutral. If they remain neutral, that tragedy could happen again in our time. By saying this, Jaspers indirectly wants to tell all who are learned to carry the mor
KySportsStyle.com
May 193 min read
STEVE FLAIRTY: Hall of Fame Broadcaster Chuck Mraz Aims to Foster Children's Love of Reading with New Book
By Steve Flairty NKyTribune columnist As a child, I read voraciously, biographies of noted Americans were my first pick, but I also enjoyed reading relatable fiction stories, especially baseball. I enjoyed playing the game and following my beloved Reds. Absorbing baseball stories piqued my imagination, and being a former fourth-grade teacher, I noticed the same by some of my students, especially boys. So, when I heard about radio sportscaster Chuck Mraz’s book, Baseball Stori
KySportsStyle.com
May 135 min read
WKU Signs South Carolina Transfer EJ Walker
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky University has signed 6-foot-8 rising sophomore EJ Walker to its 2026-27 basketball roster, it was announced by coach Hank Plona. The former No. 2 high school player in the state of Kentucky arrives on The Hill after spending the 2025-26 season at South Carolina. EJ Walker (USC Athletics Photo) "EJ is going to be a great Hilltopper,” said Plona. “He’s a Kentucky kid with a bright future ahead of him. EJ is a versatile player who can score
KySportsStyle.com
May 131 min read
OUTDOOR TRUTHS: Watch or Worry
By Gary Miller About a month ago, I hunted this same area. I was able to take a big gobbler that morning. I had not been back since. So, I knew, after a month, I could go back and see if I could get another one of those toms to come to my call. It was a beautiful, crisp, and quiet morning. My set up turned out to be about textbook. Before I made my first call, a tom belted out a loud gobble over the small hill, about 150 yards away, and directly in front of m
KySportsStyle.com
May 133 min read
WORDS FROM FATHER YOHANES: The Transforming Power of Fidelity
By Father Yohanes Akoit Fidelity is an essential aspect of life. It helps human beings form and shape their lives. Without fidelity, life has no structure and no proper direction. This happens because we have inner drives that inspire us to begin something, make commitments, plan for the future, and more. Yet all these inspirations will never reach fulfillment or come into existence without the virtue of fidelity. Therefore, fidelity plays an important role in making possible
KySportsStyle.com
May 133 min read
WAYNE KNUCKLES: The Week the Tomahawk Stopped Chopping
Ted Turner died Wednesday, May 6. Bobby Cox died Saturday, May 9. Same week. Same franchise. Two pillars of the same church, gone before the month is half over. I don't know what you do with that. I'm not sure anybody does. I came to the Braves late, and I came to them sideways, and I came to them because of a cable wire strung by a Baptist preacher to a house in the hills of eastern Kentucky where a man who had spent his whole life listening to baseball on the radio suddenly
KySportsStyle.com
May 134 min read
KMLF Queen Gracie Conway Shares Passion for Helping Animals
By Jamie H. Vaught KySportsStyle.com Magazine The queen of the 2025 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival loves spending time with animals. If given an opportunity, she will even think about picking up a helpless stray dog from the highway. And Gracie Conway is even studying animals in college. A graduate of McCracken County High School in Paducah and Murray State University, Conway recently completed her first year at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “After th
KySportsStyle.com
May 105 min read
Ousmane N’Diaye Signs to Play at UK
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ousmane N’Diaye (OOSE-mahn EN-jye), a 6-foot-11 forward from Senegal, has signed an agreement to join Kentucky men’s basketball for the 2026-27 season, it was announced on Thursday. N’Diaye has experience playing across Europe including in Germany, Italy and Spain. His most recent team was Vanoli Cremona, which competes in Italy’s top division, Liga Basket Serie A, the same league which is currently home to Kentucky products Nate Sestina (2020) and Kyle Wiltj
KySportsStyle.com
May 71 min read
BOOKSHELF: Exciting Sports Books Released
Compiled by Jamie H. Vaught KySportsStyle.com Magazine --Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird by Keith O'Brien (Atria Books, $30) offers a stirring account of the improbable rise of Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores during the late 1970s with exclusive, in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and staffers. It's the story of a group of young men who achieved the greatest feat of all: immortality. In the fall 1974, Larr
KySportsStyle.com
May 74 min read
Kentucky Signs 6-foot-4 European Star Ajša Sivka
Ajsa Sivka (Photo Submitted) LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program inked a 6-4 guard to its incoming class in Ajša Sivka (Eye-Shah SEEV-kah), head coach Kenny Brooks announced Wednesday. She will join the team for the upcoming season. “I am delighted to welcome Ajša to our program,” Brooks said. “Her combination of size and skill will fit into our system seamlessly. Ajša is a tremendous shooter, scorer, and playmaker from the wing position and
KySportsStyle.com
May 62 min read
WAYNE KNUCKLES: They Broke College Sports & They Did It Fast
I've been watching college athletics for a long time. Long enough to remember when a kid's scholarship, room, board, tuition, books, was considered a pretty good deal. Long enough to remember when the term "student-athlete" wasn't a punchline. That was over four years ago. In 2021, the NCAA opened the door to NIL, Name, Image and Likeness, deals. The idea was reasonable enough. Let kids profit off their own brand. Sign some autographs, do a local car commercial, maybe shill p
KySportsStyle.com
May 63 min read