Kentucky
Starting professional baseball journey now is ‘Option 1A’ for Kentucky signee Matt Ponatoski
The MLB Draft is just a month away. Numerous Kentucky players will be selected. Shortstop Tyler Bell will likely come off the board in the first round. However, there is one prospect that both Will Stein and Nick Mingione will be watching closely. What will Matt Ponatoski decide? No one really knows.
The Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller quarterback and pitcher sat down with Over-Slot’s Joe Doyle over the weekend to discuss his upcoming draft decision. This two-sport star wants it known that his top goal is to become a professional baseball player sooner rather than later.
“The goal has always been how do I get drafted…It’s what I want to do. I want to be a professional baseball player,” Ponatoski said. “And I don’t know who I need to sell myself to, but I want to be a professional baseball player. That’s been my dream since I was a little kid.’
Matt Ponatoski called his commitment to Kentucky last July “a baseball first decision” with the plan always being to become a Major League Baseball player. Ponatoski said he fell in love with baseball when he was a t-ball player and that passion has not gone away. The football opportunity presented itself late. While a great option, Ponatoski plans on making a baseball-first decision.
“I came on late with the recruiting in football, and now I think it portrays that I want to be a football player. And yes, that’s a great option if I don’t go to the draft,” said Ponatoski. “But I want to be a professional baseball player as fast as possible. That’s where my heart’s been and where it’s always been.”
“Option 1A is to go be a draft pick.”
Matt Ponatoski has been sitting between 92-95 while reaching 96 mph with his fastball this baseball season. Ponatoski says this was accomplished without ever having full-individual instruction from a pitching coach. Ponatoski believes he has a ton of room to improve as a pitcher and that upside will be met once he begin a professional baseball journey.
This has been a long waiting game for Ponatoski, Kentucky football, and Kentucky baseball. A final decision will be made once the draft arrives in July. If Ponatoski likes where he’s drafted and what an organization is financially offering, it sounds like he will jump at the opportunity to begin a minor league career. If that doesn’t occur, there is the fallback option of playing two sports at Kentucky.
Ponatoski currently sounds like a prospect that is ready to make the jump to professional baseball this summer.
Kentucky
Secretary of State launches statewide Kentucky Time Capsule Project commemorating America's 250th
In the dog days of the summer, there’s not a whole lot going on across college athletics. We are currently receiving some fun, short clips highlighting the upcoming team practices.
One recent piece of news that caught our attention is that all the main recruiting sites have updated their high school rankings recently. 247 Sports updated their rankings a few weeks ago, while ESPN and Rivals updated theirs on Monday.
Several notable names for Kentucky have moved around slightly, so let’s take a look at where they are now.
Kentucky’s lone commit in the 2027 class to this point comes in at No. 20 on ESPN, No. 19 on Rivals, and No. 12 on 247 Sports. He was also bumped down to 4-star status at ESPN and Rivals.
Hampton has been a polarizing player: Some are very high on him and think he could be the best scorer in the class, while others believe he will be a project piece and has some big-time growing to do before he gets anywhere close to his ceiling.
It appears Hampton will need a strong end to the AAU season if he wants to regain 5-star status at Rivals and ESPN.
Spears is the cousin of Kentucky commit Ryan Hampton, son of an NFL great, and a highly sought-after forward in this class. He’s still slotted at No. 1 on ESPN and 247 Sports, but shockingly, Rivals dropped him down to No. 7 overall as a 4-star prospect. Their new rankings only have a pair of 5-star prospects.
Still, Spears is one of the players that people are most confident in overall and see a pretty high ceiling for. With the 6’9 frame and a super versatile offensive bag, Spears Jr. is being pursued by almost every coach and program in the entire country so far.
Remember the guy that Mark Pope and Mikhail McClean went fishing with? Well, here he is. Rosser, similar to Spears with position and size, is a big-time target for the entire country. He’s 6’9 with a strong build and is very capable of translating right away at the next level with his physicality.
Rosser is now No. 4 on ESPN, No. 1 on Rivals, and No. 3 on 247 Sports.
Kentucky cast a pretty wide net for this class of 2027, across many positions. Some other notable names that Mark Pope and this staff have reached out to and talked to are PG Beckham Black (No. 2 on ESPN, No. 3 on Rivals, and No. 2 on 247 Sports), SF Demarcus Henry (No. 3 on ESPN, No. 5 on Rivals, and No. 5 on 247 Sports), CG Adan Diggs (No. 5 on ESPN, No. 2 on Rivals, and No. 4 on 247 Sports). That’s just a few of the top names that Kentucky has shown interest in, and has gone to watch play a time or two.
It’s only July, but the recruiting never stops, especially in Lexington.
Enter your email and we’ll send a secure one-click link to sign in.
WKRN is provided by Nexstar Media Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Nexstar Media Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
-
Minnesota1 minute agoMan accused of attacking woman in Midwest Bank parking lot at gunpoint
-
Mississippi4 minutes agoJabil to invest $119 million in Marshall County, create 2,200 jobs
-
Missouri16 minutes agoExplosion reported after Missouri school employee hits firework with lawn mower
-
Montana19 minutes agoSurreal trail-cam footage shows giant, ‘big-headed’ grizzly bear
-
Nebraska24 minutes agoJudge sentences Northeast Nebraska man for sexual assault of a minor, faces possible deportation
-
Nevada31 minutes agoVOTE: Do you think Northern Nevada has enough resources to support family caregivers?
-
New Hampshire34 minutes agoTidemark, BOD Holdings Complete 135-Unit Multifamily Project in Somersworth, New Hampshire
-
New Jersey39 minutes agoAuthorities offer $1,000 reward for tips in brutal stabbing of New Jersey mom | Fox News Video
