Kentucky baseball fans knew exactly what they were getting with Ben Cleaver coming back to the rotation this season.
But the emergence of Jaxon Jelkin? That has been an absolute revelation.
Jelkin took the mound on Friday night against St. John's and delivered another absolute pitching masterpiece in the series opener. He tossed 7.1 innings, allowing zero earned runs on just two hits while striking out eight Red Storm batters. Backed by a Tyler Cerny home run and a two-RBI night, Kentucky secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory to improve to 7-2 on the year.
But it wasn't just a one-off performance. Jelkin has been virtually unhittable to start the 2026 season.
Against Evansville last week, he struck out seven batters over five innings to secure the win. And in his debut against UNC Greensboro? A ridiculous 10 strikeouts in just four frames of work.
Jaxon Jelkin is building a massive College Baseball award resume
When you add it all up, the numbers are truly staggering.
Through his first three starts, Jelkin has racked up 25 total strikeouts in just 16.1 innings pitched. He has allowed only seven total hits and a single earned run.
Through his first 3 starts, his ERA is a microscopic 0.55, WHIP is an elite 0.61, (for context, anything under 1.00 is considered dominant). Stretch that over a 9 inning game? His K per nine innings is at 13.8, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 8.33. That is domination personified on the mound.
If he continues pitching anywhere near this elite level, Kentucky can look forward to having a massive advantage in every single series opener this year. In fact, if this level of dominance continues, do not be surprised if Jelkin's name starts popping up for major national awards.
He has been exactly what the Cats needed on Friday nights.
And Big Blue Nation doesn't have to wait long to see the rest of the rotation. Game 2 of the series against St. John's is happening right now, with the first pitch happening at 1 pm. Fans can stream the action live on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app, or listen to the UK Sports Network radio broadcast right here.