In-depth with Nick Mingione's first 2017 UK baseball commitment
Nick Mingione is putting together his baseball staff in Lexington. He's also putting together his first recruiting class.
Cats Illustrated spoke at length with the newest commitment for Kentucky's baseball program, and their fourth overall.
Thomas Bennett is a 5-foot-10, 165-pound shortstop from Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills, and on Thursday afternoon he announced his verbal commitment to Mingione's program.
Bennett isn't exactly a new name in the world of Kentucky baseball recruiting. Former coach Gary Henderson had offered the shortstop just about a week before he announced he was stepping down as head of the Cats' program.
Henderson's departure left Bennett in a state of limbo. It's not as though he should have felt like he missed his opportunity, because when there's a coaching change even current commits have to find out what their status is with the program moving forward.
But Bennett was hoping that he would again have the opportunity to commit to the Cats, and it didn't take long for him to find out he would have that chance. He didn't wait long when Mingione offered.
"I was set on another school when they released Coach Henderson," Bennett told Cats Illustrated. "And it turned out that same day I was set on another school, that's when they hired Coach Mingione. I did my research, I got information on him, and I asked coaches in the area (about him). From what I heard, that got my attention."
Mingione made it clear he wanted Bennett to join the program, and the Class of 2017 prospect agreed that it would be the right fit.
Part of that is due to the fact that Bennett has always been a big Kentucky fan.
"I've grown up looking at Kentucky baseball my entire life," Bennett said, noting that he's been to games and that he "bleeds blue."
"I actually play for the Kentucky baseball club (over the summer). I know they used to have a good relationship with Kentucky baseball, even though they've fallen off here in the last few years," Bennett explained.
Bennett wasn't going to base his decision entirely on joining the program he grew up a fan of, however. After all, he hadn't committed to Kentucky in the week following Henderson's offer.
It had to be about more, and Bennett found what he was looking for in Mingione.
"He's a very, very strong Christian and that's something I looked for with the school I chose," Bennett said. "He's very high energy and somebody who is very positive. I think he's very honest and he's the kind of (coach) I would want to be around on a baseball team.
"I asked him a question about the FCA (the Fellowship of Christian Athletes), because that's a big thing to me. He said, 'I'm glad you asked that,' and he told me about him starting the chaplain (position) at UK when he was there in '07. He talked about how much his faith means to him and how that's the most important thing in his life," Bennett added.
Bennett is expected to play shortstop for Kentucky. That's the position he's played his entire life, so he's got plenty of experience and barring an unforeseen position change he'll have less of a learning curve with that continuity.
His father played college baseball, so whenever Bennett has needed advice, special coaching or some help - such as during a slump resulting from not seeing the ball well at the plate - that's the man he's often turned to. The help has obviously paid off.
Last year at Western Hills, Bennett batted .405 with six home runs, nine doubles, three triples and 21 steals. He had roughly a .900 fielding percentage from his spot in the infield, and defense will obviously be at a premium as a future shortstop in the SEC. Kentucky had a pair of players honored for their defense with various national awards following their 2016 season, but as a whole the team struggled at times when it came to making routine plays and avoiding errors. Cleaning up those things will be a big part of Mingione's task, as he inherits a program that hasn't had trouble recruiting in recent years, but has had trouble finishing seasons and playing clean baseball from start to finish.
Baseball scouts measure players' performance in the 60-yard dash (as opposed to the 40-yard dash common in football scouting), and Bennett's best time in that has been 6.88 seconds.
He can probably improve on that, in spite of the fact that he was a threat on the base paths. That's because Bennett knows he has certain habits to improve, and improving those habits should have a big ripple effect on his overall athletic performance at the plate and in his speed.
"One thing I need to work on is my diet," Bennett said, although at 165 pounds he's not exactly overweight from those questionable eating choices. "I'm not the healthiest kid. From talking to Mangione he's said that's a very important thing if I'm going to play SEC baseball."
That's one glaring area for Bennett to address, and Mingione has been upfront with him about not getting complacent.
"He said just because I'm committed that doesn't mean the work stops," Bennett noted.
As far as Bennett's strengths, he does certain things at the plate that can help a team move runners, extend innings and put pressure on the opposite defense and pitcher.
"One thing I think I do well is I hit behind runners well," Bennett said. "I can hit a ground ball to the right side with a runner on second to move him over to third base. I can hit a deep fly ball to score a run. I can get a bunt down. I can maybe hit the gap."
Bennett is good friends with Kentucky's other 2017 baseball commitments, including pitchers Ben Jordan (Olive Hill, Ky.), Trip Lockhart (Lexington, Ky.), catcher Tanner Johnson (Louisville, Ky.) and outfielder Cam Hill (Scott County).