Matt Ponatowski with his parents and sisters after making his commitment to Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Danneman)

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Trying to successfully play one sport in the Southeastern Conference is not easy for any athlete. Trying to play two sports successfully is almost an impossible task even though it has been done.

Cincinnati’s Matt Ponatoski hopes to be a two-way performer at Kentucky in football and baseball. He was the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year in both sports as a junior. He became just the third player in the award’s history to win for two different sports in the same year. The other two were Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss and National Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer.

“He was just really open and honest with what he wanted to do when he talked to the Kentucky coaches,” said Matt Ponatoski, Ryan’s father and a former baseball player/coach at Northern Kentucky University. “Basically they were open to and could see the value in a guy who could do multiple things for multiple programs.”

One day after he gave his verbal commitment to Kentucky during a ceremony at his home in Cincinnati, he was in Arizona for a national baseball showcase.

“He is built that way and has done this his whole life. He just has a passion for it,” Ryan Ponatoski said.

Matt Ponatoski, a four-star recruit and Pro Day MVP at the prestigious Elite 11 camp, threw for 4,217 yards and 57 touchdowns, both single-season school records, in 2024 and led Moeller to its first Division I state championship game since 2013. He already has thrown for  7,654 yards and 87 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions.

He hit .440 with seven doubles, four home runs, 38 RBIs and 12 stolen bases last season. The shortstop, a Max Preps All-American, has a .415 batting average, .518 on-base percentage and .620 slugging percentage the last two seasons.

Ryan Ponatowski did not try to influence his son’s college choice when he picked UK over Alabama, Oregon, Arkansas and many others.

“I told him the ins and outs of different schools but I did not try to sway him at all and I knew he wanted to play SEC baseball for sure. You have to let him make his decisions. He has to live his life, not me,” the quarterback’s father said. “My main thing is go where you are loved and wanted and where you want to be. He is not built to be a guy that jumps around. He is a different kind of kid. He’s deep into his faith. He’s just a good young man.”

Ryan Ponatoski, like most fathers, thought his son was “pretty good looking through dad’s eyes” when he was young. When Matt Ponatoski went to his first national baseball tournament in Florida at age 11 and hit .533 against some of the best players in the nation in his age group, his father became a bigger believer.

“He has always been a very good worker. He always puts his time in,” the UK commit’s father said. “He’ll go to football practice but will also hit a couple of times per week even during football. His arm is God blessed. He doesn’t go to pitching lessons. He did not go to football clinics. He has always thrown football in the offseason and that offseason work built his arm.

“The big jump came when he went to Moeller. The coaches there are great and they go on and on about how he sees things and believe his intangibles of the game are off the charts. I give credit to the Moeller coaches for that.”

As a former Division II baseball player, Ryan Ponatoski appreciates the skills his son has but also values the work ethic he continues to show as well as the confidence he has in his abilities.

“He is very self motivated. He does his work on his own. He knows what he has to do and also knows when his body is not feeling good and he has to ease off a bit,” Ryan Ponatoski said. “I think it will be the same thing at Kentucky. They told him if he wants to hit at 8:45 at night there will be a coach available to throw to him.”