Colorado Rockies draft UK’s Tyler Bell in top 10 of MLB Draft
Tyler Bell’s Kentucky baseball tenure went according to plan.
Two years after becoming the highest-drafted player in the 2024 MLB draft to elect to attend college, Bell made good on his bet on himself. The Colorado Rockies selected Bell with the No. 10 pick in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday. That’s 56 picks earlier than when the Tampa Bay Rays selected him at No. 66 overall out of high school.
Bell is the first Kentucky player picked in the first round since Zach Thompson in 2019. He is the eighth UK player ever picked in the first round. Chad Green (Brewers, No. 8, 1996) is the only UK player ever picked earlier than Bell in the primary MLB draft.
As a sophomore, Bell hit .343 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs and 49 runs scored in 41 games for Kentucky. He injured his shoulder on Opening Day, causing him to miss several weeks.
Bell eventually played through the injury, even though multiple reports before the draft suggested he would need surgery once he joined an MLB organization.
SEC coaches voted Bell first-team All-SEC at shortstop as a sophomore.
Bell arrived at Kentucky shortly after the Wildcats reached the College World Series for the first time in program history in 2024. Nick Mingione’s squad did not return to Omaha in Bell’s two seasons, but did reach an NCAA Tournament regional both years.
“The thing that I’ve appreciated about Tyler is just his work ethic and the way he’s treated people,” Mingione said before the season. “It’s definitely helped (the program), because when you’re one of the premier players in all of college baseball, people want to know why. All you got to do is spend time with him, and you realize this guy’s wired differently in a good way.”