Returning player spotlight: Tyler Bell

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The returning player spotlight series resumes with sophomore shortstop Tyler Bell.

Previous player spotlights:

• Hudson Brown
• Ben Cleaver
• Ethan Hindle
• Nate Harris
• Carson Hansen
• Leighton Harris

Background

An elite shortstop prospect out of Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Illinois, Bell originally committed to Pittsburgh before re-opening his recruitment during the summer of 2023. He committed to Kentucky shortly after, giving recently hired recruiting coordinator Austin Cousino his first signature win on the trail. Bell wound up being ranked as the No. 13 player nationally by Prep Baseball Report and entered the 2024 MLB Draft as one of the top high schoolers to watch.

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Bell in Competitive Balance Round B with the No. 66 pick overall. At that point, it seemed unlikely that Bell would end up with the Wildcats since players selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft overwhelmingly sign. But Bell was an exception. He turned down an offer from the Rays and enrolled at Kentucky, giving the Wildcats a massive boost to the 2025 roster.

From the start, Bell was as advertised. He started all but one of the Wildcats' 57 games last year – Bell fouled a ball off his leg against West Virginia in his first at-bat of the NCAA Regional and sat out the next game against USC Upstate – and slashed .296/.385/.522 with 17 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and and a team-leading 46 runs batted in. Interestingly enough, Bell was actually better within SEC play. In 30 conference games, Bell slashed .318/.389/.591 with 11 doubles and seven home runs with a .430 wOBA and 125 wRC+. He reached base safely in 54 of 56 games.

Bell's outstanding season resulted in numerous awards, including the SEC All-Freshman Team and Freshman All-American by D1baseball.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Bell briefly went to the Cape Cod League and had 19 at-bats with the Harwich Mariners before joining the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He was the first Kentucky player to play with the Collegiate National Team since Zack Thompson in 2018.

Projected depth chart spot entering fall

Projection: Starting shortstop