Kentucky still has an NCAA Tournament to play in, but head coach Nick Mingione and the Wildcats have already added a player from the transfer portal for the 2024 season.
On Thursday, Delaware State third baseman Trey Paige announced via Twitter that he is making the trek from Dover to Lexington to play his final season of college baseball for UK:
Paige had committed to play for Penn State, but head coach Rob Cooper resigned from his post as the Nittany Lions' skipper last week after 10 years in State College. As a result, Paige de-committed and landed in the Bluegrass.
The infielder slashed an impressive .372/.468/.691 for the Hornets this season. He hit a career-high 14 home runs to go along with 15 doubles and two triples, leading to a career-high 53 RBIs. He drew 34 walks and struck out only 30 times while also stealing 10 bags.
It's the third season in a row he's hit over .360 and had an on-base percentage of at least .460. Paige was named the 2022 MEAC Player of the Year after hitting .407 to go with a .507 OBP and .756 slugging percentage. He was also a First Team All-MEAC selection in 2021.
Across four seasons and 154 games at DSU, he's a career .354/.449/.593 hitter with 46 doubles, 32 homers and 138 RBIs. He's accumulated more walks than strikeouts in each of his last three seasons.
Defensively, Paige owns a career .938 fielding percentage and just had a season-high .964 percentage in his last season as a Hornet. He can play all over the infield as well as corner outfield.
Kentucky hit the portal hard last offseason, bringing in 12 players, which was ranked the No. 6 class, per Baseball America. The likes of center fielder Jackson Gray, first baseman Hunter Gilliam and shortstop Grant Smith have added veteran experience that have propelled the Cats to their best season since 2017.
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