‘We’ve got all the pieces we need.’ Lifelong friends ready for last UK ride together.
When they first joined forces on a Lexington T-ball team as 4-year-olds, few could have predicted Carson Coleman and Jaren Shelby would eventually end up taking the field together at the University of Kentucky. But that’s exactly what the childhood friends will do once again when the Wildcats open their season at Texas Christian University on Friday.
It was a winding path that led Coleman and Shelby back to the same dugout last season. Teammates from the time they first donned cleats, they became opponents in high school. Coleman was an up-and-coming pitcher for Lexington Catholic while Shelby was a hard-hitting speedster for Tates Creek.
“When we started playing T-ball we were on the Indians together over there in Southeastern and ever since then it just so happened that we always came across each other,” Shelby said at media day last week. “But that was our first little rivalry right there, in high school.”
The rivalry remained friendly, as one might expect from a duo whose camaraderie extended well beyond the playing field.
“I’ve got a picture somewhere of me and Jaren when we were like 5 or 6 years old and we’ve both just got our arms around each other and smiling,” Coleman said.
Shelby looks back fondly on those years before the duo reconnected at Kentucky.
“We used to go over to each other’s house all the time. It was just fun. We were just little kids enjoying life and playing ball. I’m just glad it took us to this point.”
After their high school senior seasons, Shelby went the junior-college route. He played two years at the State College of Florida, batting .343 with 11 home runs and 70 RBI as a sophomore. Coleman was originally headed up Interstate 75 for college.
“I wasn’t even coming to Kentucky. I was actually looking at going to Cincinnati. Situations changed and (it looked) better for me to come to Kentucky,” Coleman said. “That’s what I always wanted and when Coach (Nick Mingione) gave me the opportunity it was really big for me. It’s been a really cool, fun journey.”
After two season in Florida, Shelby transferred to UK and the lifelong friends were once again teammates.
Ready to rebound
Coming off a disappointing season in which they went 26-29 overall and 7-23 in the Southeastern Conference, the Cats and Mingione have high hopes for a major turnaround in 2020. Coleman and Shelby will be crucial to that effort.
Coleman was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 33rd round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft but elected to return to UK to work on his game and complete his degree. He’ll enter the season as one of the Wildcats’ most crucial arms out of the bullpen, and he’s added a change-up and slider to his arsenal.
“It’s no hidden secret. Every team knows that I was pretty much just a fastball guy,” Coleman said. “So that was a big part of coming back as well, getting those two more pitches or even just one ... the plan is working out really well.”
Mingione is confident Coleman can help lead a bounce-back season for the Wildcats.
“His maturity is just incredible,” Mingione said. “I have such a peace about him about how much he’s grown ... He’s going to be extremely valuable.”
In his first season at Kentucky, Shelby quickly made a name for himself. He stole five bases against Eastern Kentucky in the inaugural game at Kentucky Proud Park, becoming the first SEC player to accomplish that feat in 25 years. Shelby batted .273 with six home runs and 35 RBI.
Shelby said he wants to improve his game across the board, and he didn’t hold back when asked about the team’s goals this year.
“We expect to win the SEC championship and then take it right on to Omaha,” he said. “We’ve got all the pieces we need.”
An appearance at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., would certainly be a fairy-tale ending to their run as UK teammates for Coleman and Shelby. But Coleman hasn’t given up hope on an outside chance that their paths will remain intertwined.
“We always joke around with each other that maybe hopefully the draft would work out to where both of us might be able to share that opportunity again even out farther,” Coleman said.
Can Shelby see a future where he shares a major league dugout with the friend he made as a 4-year-old T-ball rookie?
“That’s completely out of my control but that would be pretty neat if we could end up on the same team, that would definitely be a story,” he said. “We’d probably have to write a book on that one day.”
This weekend
Kentucky at Texas Christian
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, 3 p.m.
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Radio: WBUL-98.5
Live video broadcasts: All three games will be streamed live for free on the TCU baseball website.
