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Kentucky QB commit Matt Ponatoski breaks down MLB Draft decision

Kentucky QB commit Matt Ponatoski breaks down MLB Draft decision

April 23, 2026

Source: Yahoo Sports · Read on source site

Kentucky QB commit Matt Ponatoski breaks down MLB Draft decision originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>Matt Ponatoski is one of the best high school athletes in the country.

>He's a high-level QB capable of heading to the University of Kentucky and being a quarterback for the Wildcats. He also is in line to be a high-end MLB Draft pick in July.

>That creates a decision, because he can't do both, at least right now.

>If Ponatoski wants to sign with the MLB team that drafts him, he won't be able to go to Kentucky.

>If he wants to play for the Wildcats, he'll have to pass on his MLB draft pick.

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>Ponatoski could then play baseball at UK and conceptually be drafted again in three years, but that's a long way away.

>Right now, he's finishing out his senior season at powerhouse Archbishop Moeller in the Cincinnati area.

>He spoke with Spectrum News about what will go into his eventual choice.

>“I’m going to be fully prepared to go to school and go be at Kentucky and enroll and go compete for a quarterback battle when I get there," Ponatoski said. "But at the same time, like going and putting my best foot forward to these MLB teams and showing them like I have what it takes for you to draft me.”

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>Essentially, Ponatoski isn't giving anything away. And he probably genuinely doesn't know which path he'll end up taking.

>“It’s one A and one B,” Ponatoski said. “I’m going to go have a great career at Kentucky, or I’m going to go be a professional baseball player. It’s like you can’t draw it up much better.”

>That's a positive way of looking at it.

>It's a good problem to have for Ponatoski. For Kentucky, though, it's got to be at least a bit stressful waiting to see if their QB recruit ever shows up on campus.

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