The Nick Mingione era of Kentucky baseball opens up in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Wildcats will take on North Carolina, a consensus top 15 team in preseason rankings.

Cats Illustrated has been providing in-depth coverage of UK baseball during the offseason and will continue to do so once the season kicks off. To get you ready for the season, we’ve put together a projection of players who are likely to see significant time this season.

This team returns a lot of players in the field but must replace over 300 innings on the mound.

Catchers: Kole Cottam, Troy Squires

Cottam and Squires split catching duties in 2016, but Cottam is the projected starter going into this season. It’s a position with solid depth for Kentucky; Squires, a lefthanded batter, started 31 games last season while Cottam started 23. However, Cottam hit over .300 in SEC play and hit .278 for the season while Squires batted .205.

Cottam didn’t hit any home runs as a freshman but he flashed plenty of potential pop during fall practice. He’ll hit in the middle of the order for the Wildcats this season.

First base: Evan White

What more can be said about White? Nearly every publication has listed him as a preseason player of the year candidate. On Wednesday he was named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List. D1baseball.com ranks him as a Third Team All-American at first base. He hit .376 as a sophomore with five home runs and 40 runs batted in. White then spent the summer playing with Team USA.

White projects as the No. 3 hitter in the order and is also UK’s best defensive player.

Second base: Riley Mahan

Mahan is one of the best hitters on this Kentucky team and likely the leadoff man this season. He hit .313 last season with five home runs, 32 RBI and 13 doubles. Mahan played for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod League over the summer and hit over .300 in 176 at bats.

Offense is not the question in Mahan’s game; it’s his defense. Mahan committed 30 fielding errors last season. He spent the majority of his time at shortstop -- and played shortstop during a scrimmage last week while Cats Illustrated was on hand -- but he projects as a second baseman right now.

Shortstop: Connor Heady

Heady came to Kentucky as a highly-touted recruit -- Baseball America ranked him as the Preseason 12th best freshman in the SEC in 2014 -- but his career hasn’t gone as planned. He only collected eight hits and hit .186 as a junior while battling injuries. He only started 15 games last season, but has started in 84 games during his career.

He had a solid summer at the plate in the Northwoods League, batting .257 with eight home runs (second most on the team) and 12 doubles.

“Connor Heady is on a mission,” Mingione said at media day. “He’s a senior, who has not maybe had the career that he has wanted, but he is a premier defender and has a knack for finding his way to first base. He’s done that this fall and continues to do that this spring.”

The coaching staff thinks Heady is a better hitter than his career numbers indicate. He’ll get a chance to prove them right this spring.

Third base: Luke Becker, Tyler Marshall

Becker played second last season but moved to third in the offseason. It’s not a fault of this coaching staff, but this marks the third straight season where an infielder of a different position was moved to third base. Becker is a switch-hitter who batted .241 last season.

Becker projects as the starter, but junior Tyler Marshall will likely get an opportunity to play. Marshall played in 23 games last season and hit .233.

Starting outfield: Zach Reks, Tristan Pompey, Storm Wilson

In left field, Reks is one of the great comeback stories in college baseball. After playing at Air Force in 2013, Reks transferred to Kentucky and made the team in 2015. He was the second-leading hitter on the team last year (.331 average) and could fit nicely as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup this season.

Pompey will play center field this season and is in line for a big jump from his freshman year to sophomore season. Mingione had his team fill out questionnaires and Pompey’s teammates ranked him as the most talented player on the team along with White.

“Tristan is special,” Mingione said. “When you go through the five tools, the run tool is there, he’s physical. The hit tool, last year his average was down but he’s going to hit better. He possesses a feel for the (bat) barrel. The fielding part, our guys say he looks like a gazelle running balls down in the outfield. He’s really grown, especially as a person. We definitely need him to be a key piece for us to be great this year.”

In right field, senior Storm Wilson brings lots of experience to the club. He batted .267 last season in 37 starts. Marcus Carson, another senior, is likely the fourth outfielder on the club. He’s made several starts during his career and has great speed. He’ll be a valuable piece off the bench for this club.

Designated hitter: Gunnar McNeill

McNeill had major slumps in 2016, but he is a solid power threat who looked good at times last season. He hit five home runs with 38 runs batted as a junior.

Starting rotation: Sean Hjelle, Zach Logue, Justin Lewis, Zack Thompson

Hjelle was UK’s closer in 2016 but fits the mold of a starter. The 6-foot-11 righthander has a fastball that sits between 90-95 miles per hour. He was 4-1 with a 3.74 earned run average. Logue’s start in the SEC tournament against Alabama last season is the the only SEC start for any pitcher on UK’s staff this season. He’s a lefthander who switched from a curveball to a slider this season. He was UK’s midweek starter last season and one of the most experienced pitchers on the staff.

Lewis might have the best pure “stuff” as a starter. He was 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 21 appearances last year. Pitching coach Jimmy Belanger said Lewis has one of the best changeups he’s ever coached. His fastball sits in the low 90s and throws lots of strikes.

Thompson, a lefthander, is the best freshman on the team and someone who could also see some time at the plate. Right now he projects as UK’s midweek starter. He was drafted in the 11th round by the Tampa Bay Rays last season but turned down the offer.

“I’m so happy he’s here,” Mingione said. “He’s got a plus fastball. He’s beyond his years, as far as a freshman goes, when it comes to his poise and fastball command.”

It will be interesting to see if Thompson finds a way into the weekend rotation at some point this season. If not, he’ll have a chance to grow during the midweek and should give UK a good chance to win when he pitches.

Bullpen: Logan Salow, Zach Pop, Brad Schaenzer, Josh Smith, Chris Machamer, Brett Marshall, Colton Cleary

This is the toughest position to project on UK’s team. Salow, the most veteran pitcher in UK’s bullpen, has improved his velocity in the offseason and also has a good breaking ball. He’s likely to be the closer this season. Pop is one of the top draft prospects on the team. His fastball is in the upper 90s and his slider is improving. He’s battled some consistency issues and will need to throw more strikes this season.

After those two it gets tougher to project. Schaenzer, Cleary and Smith are lefties but none have pitched much for UK. Cleary is a transfer from Cincinnati. Schaenzer started a few games his freshman season while Smith only pitched in four games last season.

Freshmen Chris Machamer and Brett Marshall have impressed in fall practice and will likely get some innings.

You can follow Cats Illustrated reporter Derek Terry on Twitter @DerekSTerry