LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As another baseball season arrives, so too does a familiar name. The Lexington Legends are back in town.
"This team means a lot to me. I'm super excited they're back to the Legends. The shirt that I'm wearing is older than I am. I'm glad to bring back our old merch. It's very special, because it's something that we get to see as a family," said Ayden Powers.
"We've been coming to Legends games since they started, since long before she was actually born. It just gave us something outside of our Cats to root for during the off-season," said Ayden's father, Shane Powers.
Friday night was Fan Fest at Legends Field. Families came out to get their first look at the team, and see the reintroduction of the old team name.
"When I heard they were changing back to the Legends, I was like, it's back!" said Brynleigh Miller.
While Legends fans enjoyed some baseball, they were also excited to talk basketball. There was a lot of buzz about the new head coach for the University of Kentucky basketball team.
"Super-stoked to have Mark Pope. I think he did amazing things at BYU," said Shane Powers.
Pope, a member of Kentucky's 1996 national championship team, was named head coach Friday morning.
"I think Big Blue's going to be pleasantly surprised by what he can do now that he's actually got the full force of Big Blue Nation behind him," he added.
As 2024 brings a new, but familiar, baseball name and a new, but familiar, basketball coach, Shane Power hopes there might be one more familiar name to come.
"You know, him and Jeff Sheppard were college roommates, so I'm holding out a little bit of hope that maybe Reed wants to stick around for one more year, that would be amazing," Powers said.
Opening day for the Legends is April 25 against High Point.
