By BRENT INGRAM

With a schedule featuring 30 games in the top conference in college baseball and a challenging non-conference slate, the Kentucky baseball team has had its schedule ranked as the 22nd-hardest schedule in college baseball, according to calculations done by BoydsWorld.com.

Kentucky, coming off its fourth consecutive winning season, checks in as the fifth-hardest schedule of teams in the Southeastern Conference, coming in behind Georgia (No. 8), Arkansas (No. 15), Tennessee (No. 16) and Auburn (No. 21).

Notable UK opponents to also have their schedule ranked among the 301 Division I teams that BoydsWorld.com analyzed including conference foes Mississippi State (No. 24), Alabama (No. 27), Florida (No. 28), LSU (No. 33), Ole Miss (No. 34), Vanderbilt (No. 46) and South Carolina (No. 47). Early season foe San Diego (No. 4) is tabbed as the UK non-conference opponent with the highest strength of schedule, with Western Kentucky (No. 82), Lipscomb (No. 112), Virginia Tech (No. 116), Louisville (No. 117), Indiana (No. 123), Evansville (No. 124), Coastal Carolina (No. 133) and Xavier (No. 147) all checking in the top 150.

BoydsWorld.com is a comprehensive college baseball ratings source with up-to-date RPI, strength of schedule and NCAA-leading statistics calculated throughout the season.

The Wildcats will open the 2010 season Feb. 19 at the Caravelle Resort Invitational in Myrtle Beach, S.C. UK will face off with Virginia Tech at noon ET, before facing West Virginia Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. ET. On Feb. 21 UK will face host and 12th-ranked Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m. ET.

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