Nick Mingione, Will Stein expect two-sport star Matt Ponatoski to play for UK
There may be a new coaching staff running the Kentucky football program, but the plan for two-sport star recruit Matt Ponatoski remains the same.
Ponatoski, who won Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in football and baseball as a junior while playing as a quarterback, shortstop and right-handed pitcher, quickly reaffirmed his commitment to UK after Will Stein was hired as football coach. Ponatoski told reporters after Mark Stoops was fired he had never planned to sign scholarship papers until February, but he deviated from that plan and signed with the Wildcat football program in December, on the same day Stein was introduced as coach.
While Ponatoski is one of just four December signees who did not enroll at UK in January, he remains on track to join both the UK football and baseball programs next year.
“The game of baseball and football has not told Matt Ponatoski to stop playing one or the other,” UK baseball coach Nick Mingione said Tuesday. “So, we’re just super excited about the ability. And I’ve had multiple conversations with Will (Stein) already and his staff. … It’s been fantastic. We’re fully ready for him to do both, and we have a plan to make that happen.”
Ponatoski’s decision to sign with the football program in December was made easier because he already had a relationship with Stein.
Oregon, where Stein worked as offensive coordinator, was the other finalist for Ponatoski’s commitment. Stein and Oregon coach Dan Lanning ended up taking a commitment from four-star quarterback Bryson Beaver before Ponatoski made his decision, paving the way for Ponatoski to pick Kentucky.
Mingione and the baseball staff played a key role in the recruitment of the Cincinnati native even when Stoops was still at Kentucky.
The baseball staff needs only to point to current shortstop Tyler Bell, the highest-drafted high school player in 2024 who chose to attend college, as proof it can showcase top prospects like Ponatoski. Stein’s track record of developing quarterbacks into NFL draft prospects includes current Ducks star Dante Moore, who is projected as one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country for 2026.
“I recruited Matt at Oregon,” Stein said. “He was somebody that we were super high on, really wanted. Ended up taking another kid just because of the timing of it out at Oregon, but had the relationship with him and his dad and mom. Great people. He is extremely accurate, throws the ball on time.”
Both coaching staffs have insisted they expect Ponatoski on campus next fall, but there will be at least some tense moments waiting for the MLB draft to play out in July.
MLB.com does not currently include Ponatoski on its top 100 draft prospects list, but Baseball America ranks him as the 56th-best 2026 draft prospect entering the spring.
Ponatoski’s draft stock could go up or down based on his performance as a senior at Moeller High School, but he is clearly already on the radar of baseball teams. Signing with a professional baseball team would not technically end his chances of playing college football, but it is extremely unlikely any team that signed Ponatoski as an early round draft pick would agree to let him play SEC football due to the increased injury risk.
“Everything that he said to me is that he wants to be a big-time college football player,” Stein said. “So is it concerning? No. I mean, I’m just really grateful to be able to have the chance to coach Matt. And I think his best years are to come in football.
“He is obviously an outstanding baseball player, and I would love to get him on the diamond here at Kentucky, too, and let’s do this thing together.”
If Ponatoski does make it to Kentucky as planned, his first impact is likely to come on the baseball diamond.
Stein and his staff signed Notre Dame transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, as the presumptive starter in 2025. Redshirt freshman Brennen Ward and Marshall transfer JacQai Long will compete for the backup job in spring practice while Ponatoski is still playing high school baseball.
Ponatoski would be the most highly rated recruit of the backup options as a freshman, but missing practice and not focusing on football full-time might make it more difficult for him to win that job immediately. With Bell projected as a first-round draft pick this summer, Ponatoski could replace him as the baseball team’s starting shortstop as a freshman.
“What a special talent,” Mingione said. “...Think about this: As a junior in the state of Ohio – a junior – he goes out and is named the Gatorade Player of the Year in football, the greatest honor you can win. Well, then what does he do? He just follows that up, he goes out in the spring and dominates, and he’s named the Gatorade Player of the Year as a baseball player. So, like, what do you think he’s going to do? Play both.”