What is Kentucky baseball getting in two-sport star Matt Ponatoski?

The Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in football and baseball, Ponatoski is a sizable recruiting win for both Kentucky programs.

Graphic courtesy of Moeller High School Athletics

Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops and baseball coach Nick Mingione received good news on Sunday night when two-sport star Matt Ponatsoki announced his commitment to the Wildcats over Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon.

Named the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in football and baseball, Ponatoski is a significant recruiting win for both programs as he became the highest-ranked player in each class according to various recruiting services. On3.com ranks Ponatoski as the No. 100 player overall in the 2026 recruiting class, and Prep Baseball Report has him as the No. 14 player overall. Ponatoski’s PBR rating makes him one of the highest-ranked players to ever verbally commit to the Kentucky baseball program.

Ponatoski, if he elects to play baseball, could be next in an impressive line of alumni from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin hail from the school, as well as 13 other players who made it to the big leagues, including former Kentucky lefthanded pitcher Zach Logue.

Although Kentucky has had dual-sport athletes in the past, I don’t recall one as talented as Ponatoski in both. Ponatoski’s stature as a baseball prospect will lead to questions on whether he’ll enroll at Kentucky next year or if he’ll bypass college for a career in professional baseball. That will be a question that’s decided roughly a year from now.

To learn more about Ponatoski as a baseball player, Bat Cats Central spoke with Prep Baseball Report Ohio Scouting Director Kyle Weldon. Weldon said Ponatoski’s combination of tools makes him one of the top-ranked players in the 2026 class.

“Matt has elite arm strength,” Weldon said. “He has a plus hit tool with the potential to be a plus power guy eventually. He’s a winner profile, which has been seen on the football field too. This is a guy that’s highly competitive, highly skilled and has a lot of natural talent. When you combine all those things, it makes him a really sought after prospect.”

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ponatoski hit .462 as a junior with seven doubles, four home runs, 37 RBIs and a .556 on-base percentage. Ponatoski projects as a shortstop at the college level, although Weldon added that he might eventually wind up at third base at the professional level, but “if all else fails, he throws 95 to 97 off the mound.”

When asked if Ponatoski reminded him of any other prospects he’d scouted in recent years, Weldon mentioned 2023 first round pick Colt Emerson. Emerson signed for $3.8 million with the Seattle Mariners after being selected No. 22 overall out of John Glenn High School in New Concord, Ohio. Neither are plus runners, Weldon said, but they’re similar in the sense that their advanced hitting ability and projection to play shortstop make them elite baseball prospects.

Weldon said Ponatoski’s physical development has been noticeable over the past year, and that’s helped him solidify his standing among the top players in his class.

“He’s gotten stronger over the past 12 to 18 months,” Weldon said. “He has tweaked a few things in his swing that’s kept his ability to drive the baseball operating at a high level. It’s elite. Strike zone awareness, his ability to recognize pitches and work an at-bat is a professional level approach every time that I’ve watched him play. It’s very consistently spitting on good pitchers’ pitches at a young age from guys with good stuff. It’s not like he’s always facing your average high school arm, he’s facing the best arms in the country and approaching those at-bats really well.”

Following Ponatoski’s commitment, Kentucky now has nine commitments in its 2026 class. Read more for a full breakdown of the Wildcats’ 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes.