Hagenow’s arm helps key UK surge of record success
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Ryan Hagenow, University of Kentucky Baseball senior standout relief pitcher and former Farragut Admirals staff ace/All-state arm who helped lead FHS to the 2019 Division I-AAA state title, fires plateward for the Wildcats during a record-breaking 2024 season for the program. - Kentucky photos provided courtesy of Matt May, UK Baseball Sports Information director
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Hagenow takes charge of a situation during a UK game. - Kentucky photos provided courtesy of Matt May, UK Baseball Sports Information director
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Ryan Hagenow hugs FHS head coach Matt Buckner after Hagenow, starting staff ace, was the winning pitcher in the 2019 state title game versus Bradley Central. - Kentucky photos provided courtesy of Matt May, UK Baseball Sports Information director
LEXINGTON, KY — Statistically the top pitcher for a Southeastern Conference team that just enjoyed its best season in program history, Ryan Hage said he’ll carry lots of special memories from his senior season on the mound for a Kentucky Wildcats team having just experienced the College World Series in Omaha.
“Yeah, it was surreal,” said this former Farragut High School staff ace and All-state right-hander —who pitched in Omaha roughly five years after leading the Admirals to the 2019 Division I-AAA state title — about being a top relief pitcher on the first UK team to play in the College World Series.
He also helped “Big Blue” earn an SEC regular season co-championship, a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and a program-best 46 wins.
“It felt like throughout my four years here, we slowly got closer and closer and closer to that goal,” he said. “But being part of something ground-breaking here and getting our fans behind us and just getting everybody’s support, it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.”
Going to Omaha “was a dream come true,” Hagenow said.
Led by head coach Nick Mingione, “We were predicted to finish fifth in the (SEC) East, and we weren’t supposed to have the year that we did, but we knew we were very, very capable of having the year we did from the start, from (last) fall when we were scrimmaging,” he added. “… I knew this team had a lot of potential.”
His season, UK career, future
Though he only worked 18.2 innings, Hagenow, 22, finished with a team-best 2.41 earned-run average and a 2-0 record with three saves (17 strikeouts and eight walks, with opponents hitting just .222).
“I’d say I was really happy with my season,” the ex-Admiral said. “I embraced my role. … The coaching staff trusted me in some of our really, really big situations this year. So I may not have thrown as many innings as I originally thought, but I felt like my role was really important, whether that be coming in and getting out of jams or coming in the ninth inning and closing out a game.”
Moreover, “I feel like I was able to perform in some of the toughest situations we had this year,” said Hagenow, a Media, Arts and Studies major at UK who hopes “to do something in the sports world” with his degree.
Dealing with injuries during his four seasons in Lexington, Hagenow evaluated his UK career.
“Obviously, everybody has this dream plan, and they’re going to go in and be the Friday guy, be the Friday guy for three years and get drafted,” the ex-Admiral said about aspiring to be the staff ace starting pitcher on the most import SEC day. “But I’ve battled through a lot throughout my time here. And although my career didn’t pan out how I originally thought it would, I was really happy because every time I had a setback or an injury, I ended up coming back and performing in some big situations.”
About the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft, “I haven’t really thought about it,” Hagenow said. “I don’t plan on going in the draft unless it just happens.”
Looking back to FHS
Looking back more than four years after his playing days ended at FHS, “I think I just appreciate it more,” Hagenow said. “I’m more grateful for it, and I could have been more grateful in the moment.
“As more time goes on, you realize how big of an impact certain things had on you, like (head) coach (Matt) Buckner, coach (Daniel) Sharp, coach (Bill) Mink, coach (Mark) Newby, coach (Garrett) Copeland — all of them, just how thankful I am,” he added.
“It takes a lot of sacrifice on their end to spend as much time at the field developing us as people and as players. They sacrificed a lot of their time.”
Final thoughts
Despite the Wildcats falling short of playing for a national championship, there were a lot of good things to absorb in 2024. “Knowing it was my senior year, I tried to take in every single moment from the start of the season because I knew how fast it would go by,” Hagenow said.
