Up until the last month, much had been made about Kentucky Football’s recruiting, or lack thereof. Mark Stoops’ class ranked somewhere near the 100s for 2026. After securing top 30 to 40 classes for most of the last decade, the BBN wondered what was going on. However, over the last month, the staff has been on a heater and Sunday night got a significant commitment. Let’s introduce you to him and show you how he’ll benefit two programs as Kentucky lands quarterback Matt Ponatoski.
Two Sport Star Picks The Cats
Beating Some Heavy Hitters
The Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller product had offers from over 20 schools before whittling his final list down to five. He chose the Cats over Alabama, Oregon, Arkansas, and the hometown Bearcats. However, he had been considered a Kentucky lean for a while and pledged to the Cats.
Like most players from Ohio, Vince Marrow was his primary recruiter early in the process. In recent times, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan took over the recruitment.
Continuing on let’s show you some of his impressive numbers as Kentucky lands quarterback Matt Ponatoski.
Eye-Popping Numbers
The 6′-1″, 195-pound Ponatoski plays for powerhouse Moeller High School. 247 Sports ranks him as the 21st-best quarterback in the country. Furthermore, he’s the 12th-best player in Ohio and 280th in the nation.
A season ago, he threw for 4,200 yards and 58 touchdowns to only three interceptions. As a result, he was named Ohio’s Mr. Football and Gatorade player of the year. This was while playing in one of the top leagues in Ohio, the Greater Catholic League.
During last year’s playoffs, he led his squad to a win over rival St. Xavier and their quarterback, Chase Herbstreit, the son of College Gameday’s Kirk Herbstreit. In the state semi-finals, Ponatoski completed 13 of 17 passes for a whopping 431 yards and six touchdowns. That was just in one half of a 49-10 win. The Fighting Crusaders ultimately fell 28-14 in the championship to Olentangy Liberty.
This summer, he was one of the standouts in the Elite 11 Camp. He won the pro day competition at the camp and was named to the 12-man Elite 11 finalist list.
As we mentioned earlier, he won’t just help the football program. Let’s show you what we mean as Kentucky lands elite quarterback Matt Ponatoski.
Two-Sport Star
Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione deserves a lot of credit for Ponatoski’s commitment. The Bat Cats hosted him for a visit this spring. Prior to his trip to the Elite 11 camp, he stopped in Lexington to meet with Hamdan.
Ponatoski is an All-American shortstop and is one of the top 20 baseball recruits in the nation. In addition, he hit .467 and added Gatorade player of the year honors in baseball to go along with his football one. He plans on playing both sports in Lexington.
Statement Recruit
There’s no denying that Kentucky snagging Ponatoski is huge for the program. Some say he’s the best quarterback recruit headed to Lexington since Tim Couch. Furthermore, it’s a big win in the Buckeye State, the first since Marrow left the Cats for Louisville. The Cats now sit 44th in the national rankings, where they were close to 100 only a few weeks ago.
Kentucky lands quarterback Matt Ponatoski, a huge pickup for the Cats. Thanks for learning more about him here at Last Word On College Football.
Main Image: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
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