Moeller two-sport star Matt Ponatoski committed to Kentucky earlier this month. Hear from Ponatoski on his college decision, state title itch and more.
Until he threw for 57 touchdowns, led his team to the Division I state championship game and won just about every individual football accolade in the book in 2024, Moeller star quarterback/shortstop and (sometimes) righty pitcher Matt Ponatoski didn't take the idea of playing both baseball and football at the next level very seriously.
Ponatoski's football career at Moeller started when the Crusaders shocked the Southwest Ohio football community by starting him as a freshman for the first time in a regional final matchup against Lakota West, which the Crusaders won 38-20 behind Jordan Marshall's 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Ponatoski was 4-for-5 passing in that game for 66 yards and a touchdown. He got his "welcome to varsity" moment the next week, struggling and throwing an interception in a 28-24 loss to Springfield in the state semifinal.
"I don't think I would be in the position I am if I didn't get those reps early," Ponatoski said. "I think that coaching staff took some heat for it. It's built who I am as a player, the maturity level and calmness I've played with."
After starting his career at one of the nation's most revered programs getting thrown into a regional final game as a 14-year-old against Tom Bolden's Lakota West Firebirds, it's no surprise Ponatoski plays with such poise years later.
At that time, he was a Missouri baseball commit, a decision he made as an eighth grader early in 2022 and cancelled between his sophomore and junior football seasons after Missouri overhauled its coaching staff.
Moeller's Matt Ponatoski had football breakout as a sophomore
As a sophomore in 2023, Ponatoski threw for a Moeller single-season record 3,344 yards and totaled 29 touchdowns. He followed that up by earning All-Greater Catholic League-South first-team honors on the baseball diamond in his first varsity baseball season, slashing .391/.500/.552 with three home runs, 33 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Even with that success, it's hard to imagine anyone would've predicted the dominance Ponatoski would enjoy in both sports as a junior in 2024.
On the football field, he completed 70.7% of his passes for 4,107 yards and threw for 56 touchdowns to just three interceptions, helping Moeller to the Division I state championship game, where the Crusaders lost to Olentangy Liberty 28-14. On Sept. 20, the 22nd game of his high school career and five games into his junior season, he became the Crusaders' all-time leader in career passing yards (4,959) and touchdown passes (50) with a six-touchdown performance against rival St. Xavier. For his accomplishments, Ponatoski earned Ohio Mr. Football honors and the Gatorade Ohio Football Player of the Year award.
On the diamond as a junior, Ponatoski slashed .440/.538/.690 with seven doubles, four home runs, 38 RBIs and 12 steals and hit 96 mph off the mound in a playoff appearance against Lakota West. He earned GCLS Player of the Year honors and the Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year, becoming the third player in the award's history to win it in two different sports in the same school year, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss and National Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer.
For Ponatoski, that's all great, but he knows there's still a hole on his resume.
"I don't want to be the guy who came through Moeller and was really good but never won a state championship," Ponatoski said. "At the end of the day, it's about the team."
It has been a summer of baseball for Moeller's Matt Ponatoski
This summer has been a frenzy for Ponatoski. On the baseball showcase circuit for much of June and July, he finally returned to practicing with the Moeller football team last week. He even met baseball superstar Aaron Judge, who was recruited by Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA and more as a tight end before choosing to play baseball at Fresno State, when the Yankees came to Cincinnati in June. Judge didn't give Ponatoski any former multi-sport star to current multi-sport star advice, but he hopes to meet the two-time MVP again in the future.
"It was just a quick conversation, but my advisor is in the same agency he has, so there's a connection there," Ponatoski said. "I love the swing. I try to mimic his swing in mine."
Shortly after that, Ponatoski made his long-awaited college decision, committing to play both baseball and football at the University of Kentucky, over other finalists Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon, in a July 6 ceremony at his family home in Hamilton that included blue and white fireworks. He's excited to have that decision out of the way so he can "just be a kid" and focus on his last high school football and baseball seasons. He said that in the weeks following his commitment, it's been weird not having to worry about his recruiting.
"Not that it was stressful, but it was really time consuming and you want to make everyone happy but you can only pick one school," Ponatoski said. "I have so much time now, it's like 'What do I do?'"
He said that it was four or five months ago when he really decided he was going to play both sports at the next level. When he started talking to colleges again after that, Ponatoski made it clear that he wanted to play both baseball and football. A couple of schools told him he would have to choose one or the other, and they got crossed off his list. He said that he's not going to force any decisions in the future — he plans to let both sports come to him.
Kentucky was attractive in football and baseball for different reasons
Ponatoski settled on Kentucky for different reasons for each sport. On the baseball side, head coach Nick Mingione made an impression by appealing to Ponatoski's faith. He feels extremely comfortable that the UK baseball program is centered on Christ. It also doesn't hurt that Mingione's contract runs through 2029 or that the Wildcats made their first-ever College World Series run in 2024 and finished with a winning record in 2025.
For football, Kentucky's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan made it clear that Ponatoski was their guy from the beginning. Either they were going to get him, or they probably weren't going to sign a class of 2026 quarterback. He also liked the idea of competing against the best of the best in the Southeastern Conference.
Most players who put up stats as gaudy as Ponatoski's were in 2024 do it as seniors. Ponatoski has the tough task in 2025 of topping a record-breaking and almost picture-perfect junior season. There is one more piece of hardware, however, that Ponatoski will look to grab to cement himself among the best high school athletes in local history: A state title.
Ponatoski and the Crusaders start their quest for glory with a game against Princeton High School on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. at West Clermont.
Moeller 2025 football schedule
Saturday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. - vs. Princeton at West Clermont High School
Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. - vs. Mt. Carmel (Illinois) at Ironton High School
Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. - vs. Trinity at Mount St. Joseph University
Friday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. - at Christ Presbyterian Academy (Tennessee)
Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. - vs. St. Xavier at West Clermont
Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. - vs. La Salle at Mount St. Joseph
Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. - at Elder
Friday Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. - vs. St. Ignatius
Saturday, October 18 at 3 p.m. - at St. Edward
Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. - vs. Muskegon (Michigan) at West Clermont
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Recruit profile: Hear from record-breaking Kentucky commit Matt Ponatoski
Category: General Sports
