SerpApi.Org
It’s one of the more poignant questions going into this season: Will Matt Ponatoski play quarterback for the Kentucky Wildcats this fall?
Kentucky head coach Will Stein spoke on that question today with reporters at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida.
“He’s on campus,” Stein said of Ponatoski. “He showed up, and he’s excited to be a Kentucky Wildcat. I’m fired up for him and his family to get started. I still know there’s days ahead that we’re kind of waiting on. All indications are he’s going to be with us.”
Ponatoski is a tremendous athlete. Not only is he great at football, where he was named Mr. Football as a Junior at Moeller High School in Cincinnati and was a finalist this past season, but Ponatoski is also an 18th-round MLB Draft pick by the Reds. It looks like he is going to be at Kentucky for multiple years for now, but he is expected to play baseball at Kentucky in addition to football.
Moeller’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes, Ponatoski was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio in both football and baseball as a Senior. There are only two other athletes to win the award in two different sports in the same season. The other two: Randy Moss and Joe Mauer. How about that?!
The fact that Ponatoski is on campus and going to be with the Wildcats for the 2026 season is intriguing. It’s no secret that Kenny Minchey is QB1, but after him, it’s a lot of unproven guys with limited, if any college snaps.
Ponaotksi may be a true freshman, but there’s a very real scenario where he’s the next man up this season if Kentucky is able to hold off the Reds and keep the two-sport standout in Lexington.
