There’s just something inherently special about a kid who can light it up under the Friday night lights, then turn around in the spring and fire a 97-mph fastball or turn a slick double play from the infield. That’s the exact vision Will Stein, Nick Mingione, and the entire Kentucky fanbase had in mind when Matt Ponatoski gave his pledge to the Wildcats.
Now, according to reports, that vision is officially coming to life.
KSR’s Drew Franklin has reported that Ponatoski is now enrolled at UK, just in time for the start of football training camp. That means the Wildcats are set to hold onto their prized recruit, even after the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 18th round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Make no mistake Ponatoski is a legitimate two-sport talent. A standout from Archbishop Moeller in Ohio, he inked his name to play both baseball and football for Kentucky. On the football field, he’s a 4-star quarterback who rewrote the school record books and took home Ohio Mr. Football honors.
On the baseball side, he’s a Gatorade Player of the Year with legitimate pro-level ability and a competitor’s edge. The raw talent is plain to see, and he’s got the kind of skill set that could thrive in either sport. But as this year’s MLB Draft drew closer, the big question looming over Lexington was whether he’d ever actually make it to campus.
For those not deeply familiar with MLB Draft rules, the process works very differently from other sports. Once a high school player who has already signed with a college program is drafted, they’re forced into a tough decision. They have a limited window to negotiate and agree to a pro contract with the team that picked them, or they can choose to follow through on their college commitment.
That window shuts on July 27 at 5 PM ET. If they don’t put pen to paper by that exact cutoff, the drafting team loses its rights, and the player is college-bound for at least three years or until they turn 21 at a four-year institution (unless they decide to go the junior college route, which would make them eligible for the draft again the following year).
Ponatoski had previously told Over Slot Baseball that playing professionally was “my dream since I was a little kid.”
Leading up to the draft, MLB.com had Ponatoski pegged as the 206th-best prospect in this year’s class (in a bit of a twist, former Wildcat Tyler Bell checks in at No. 10 on that same list, which also matches where he was taken in the first round by the Colorado Rockies). Even though he wasn’t a top-round pick, Ponatoski brings serious pro-caliber stuff, and evaluators clearly believe in his long-term potential.
That’s precisely why the Reds called his name at No. 542 overall in the 18th round. But as it stands now, it looks like he’s headed to college instead, which should give the Cats a valuable presence under center on the football side and a welcomed arm out of the bullpen for the baseball squad.
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