NCAA Baseball Tournament Preview: Kentucky vs. Wake Forest

GRANVILLE, W.Va. (Interstat) — The 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship opens Friday afternoon at Granville with a playoff matchup between seed Kentucky (31-21) and seed Wake Forest (38-19). The Wildcats and Demon Deacons meet in a single-elimination contest at the regional site.

Kentucky enters on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling 8-5 at Vanderbilt on May 19. Shortstop Tyler Bell went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in that loss, and right fielder Carson Hansen also homered and drove in a run. The Wildcats have dropped five of their last six games, including a series loss to Arkansas and a series defeat at Florida.

Wake Forest is coming off a 7-4 home loss to Pittsburgh on May 20, snapping a five-game winning streak. Third baseman Dalton Wentz homered and drove in three runs in that defeat. The Demon Deacons have won eight of their last 10 and took two of three at Duke in their most recent series.

Pitchers will be a key focus. Kentucky’s Jaxon Jelkin (5.2 IP, 0 H, 4 ER, 4 K in his last outing) has struggled with command but showed ace potential earlier in May with a 12-strikeout performance against Florida and an 11-strikeout win over Tennessee. Wake Forest’s Rhys Bowie has been dominant in relief, tossing 8.2 scoreless innings across his last four appearances, striking out 17 while allowing only three hits.

The interstat game simulator projects a 7-4 Wake Forest victory.

First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT at Granville’s regional stadium. The winner advances to Saturday’s regional final.