Mason County alum and Eastern Kentucky grad Darren Williams announced he is transferring to the University of Kentucky. Williams will be a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. (EKU Athletics)

Mason County alum and Eastern Kentucky grad Darren Williams announced he is transferring to the University of Kentucky. Williams will be a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining. (EKU Athletics)

NCAA BASEBALL

Darren Williams has found his next home and won’t have to go too far to get there.

He’ll head about 30 minutes northwest from Richmond to Lexington to play his final year of collegiate baseball.

The Mason County alum and EKU grad has one season of eligibility left and will be a grad transfer for the University of Kentucky.

Williams played four seasons at EKU after redshirting in 2017 and with COVID in 2020, allowed him to have another year of eligibility. He’s decided to take his talents to the SEC and pitch for the Wildcats.

“Proud to say I’ve committed to The University of Kentucky for one last ride. #BBN Let’s go to work!,” Williams tweeted on Tuesday.

Williams is coming off a 2021 season in which he went 3-8 as a starting pitcher with a 4.10 ERA for the Colonels. After a tough stretch towards the beginning of the season, Williams really found his groove towards the end, compiling a 2.41 ERA over his last eight starts in which he pitched 56 innings, allowed 42 hits, 15 earned runs, struck out 62 and walked 15.

He was EKU’s primary Friday starter in conference games and made the All-OVC’s Second Team for his efforts this past season. In his career in Richmond, he made 62 appearances and primarily pitched out of the bullpen in his first few years of his college career. He logged 163 innings and struck out 184 batters. He finished with a 6-10 record and an ERA of 4.91.

Williams is currently playing summer ball for the Wilson Tobs in the Coastal Plain League. He’s started two games for the Tobs so far, 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight innings of work. He pitched five innings of two-hit ball in his last outing, a 5-2 victory over the Holly Springs Salamanders.

Williams joins a UK team coming off a disappointing 29-23 season in which they went 12-18 in SEC play and missed out on the NCAA tournament.