Keith Madison Gave Advice to Kentucky Coach Nick Mingione That he Still Remembers

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Vicky Graff Photo

Nick Mingione needed a father figure when he arrived at the University of Kentucky nearly seven years ago.

The Kentucky baseball coach spent 14 years as an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast, Embry-Riddle, Kentucky, Western Carolina and seven seasons at Mississippi State before answering the call from Mitch Barnhart to take over the Wildcats’ baseball program.

Former Kentucky coach Keith Madison, who spent 25 seasons at the helm, offered a helping hand to the first-year head coach shortly after Mingione left Starkville for Lexington for his first head coaching opportunity.

“He said, Nick, if there’s ever anything I can do for you, will you please let me know, I’ll do whatever,” Mingione said after the Wildcats defeated Indiana 4-2 to win the Lexington Regional Monday night.

At the time, Mingione didn’t hesitate and told Madison, “nobody knows Kentucky baseball better than you.”

“He said, Nick, I want to help. I want to serve, I’ll do whatever,” Mingione recalled.

Mingione suggested a weekly Bible study for his staff and Madison was back as a part of a program that he led from 1979-2003.

“He’s been leading our coaches in a Bible study every week for seven years,” he said. “And I’ll never forget this. And that very first time we ever met, in 2017, he told me — he said, ‘Nick, if you do this, I’ll guarantee you you’ll have a great year.’

“I’m a first-time head coach. I’ve never been a head coach at any level. I’ve never been a T-ball head coach, a high school head coach, a summer ball head coach — Mitch Barnhart gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. And I perked up. I said, what do I have to do? Coach, I’m all ears.”

Now a spiritual leader for the program he once led, Madison urged Mingione to “do three things.”

“He said, you have to pray for your players every day,” he said. “You have to pray for your staff and you have to pray for your players’ parents. If you do that, I guarantee you, you will have a great year. And I’ve done my best job to try to do that. And we’ve had good years. We’ve had some years — we had one really, really bad year, record-wise.

“But we’ve been really close. Two out of three years we’ve been one or two games short. And the parallels — we have a group of people that have prayed. I’ve got a list of people here. I believe in the power of prayer.”

Those prayers haven’t just been led by Madison and Mingione. They have been offered by the team’s inner circle.

“My wife has prayed for seven straight years,” he said. “Her sisters at BSF and her prayer warriors, they pray. Mitch, Connie, Coach, Miss Sharon, Mac, Kirby, Aaron, Jason, Ryan, Matt, KG, Nathaniel, Austin, Mimi, Chris, Glen, Bo, Clayton, Nicki, Jim, Matt, Rick, Matt, Joy, Jason, Sean, Eddie.”

Madison offered a new prayer plan last year after the Wildcats went 33-26.

“He said, all right, Nick, here’s what you need to do. You need to find seven people to pray for you and your program and your players every day — I made my rounds and I called people,” he said.

Mingione said the 2017 that went 43-23 and reached the Super Regional before losing to Louisville and his current squad that will play Southeastern Conference rival LSU in the second leg of the NCAA Tournament in a three-game series beginning Saturday, is similar to his first Kentucky squad in many ways.

“God has had his hands all over this,” Mingione said. “Two tough teams that want to do everything they can for Kentucky. And, coach (Madison), I could not do this without you … He’s been doing this for seven years, he’s been keeping me straight.”

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