UK Baseball commit Cole McLean’s mother is a big fan of Nick Mingione

Cole McLean was the 2025 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year when he struck out 127 batters in 65 1/3 innings and went 9-1 on the mound for Taylor County. The left-handed pitcher originally committed to Tennessee but later flipped his commitment to Kentucky.

In 2026 he was 9-1 with a 0.23 ERA. He had 125 strikeouts in 60 innings and gave up just 15 hits. He walked eight and allowed only two earned runs all season. McLean also hit .453 with 11 home runs, 43 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 33 games.

McLean’s mother, Farrah McLean, was a standout high school athlete and is now an assistant coach for the Taylor County girls basketball team. She is already a huge fan of Kentucky coach Nick Mingione.

“He is an amazing human,” Farrah McLean said.

She remembered how her son decommitted from Tennessee on a Thursday and the next day he went on his visit to Kentucky.

“We told Cole, ‘We’re not committing this weekend. We’re going to go check out your opportunities.’  We wanted him to take his time in the process and really make sure we had the right fit  because he’d been committed to Tennessee for several years,” Farrah McLean said.

“But when you sat and you talked to coach Minge, I mean how can you say no to him? He is an amazing coach, an amazing Christian. As a mom, I am not only excited about his baseball opportunities, but also just as a human being from being around coach Minge and the program. Just what he expects and how he runs things is just first class and I am glad my son gets to play for a man like that.”