Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide lost out to the Kentucky Wildcats for Class of 2026 QB Matt Ponatoski.
Alabama Misses on 2026 Two-Sport Star originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide failed to earn the commitment of one of the best athletes in the Class of 2026, Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) quarterback Matt Ponatoski. He's headed to join Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats instead.
“BREAKING: Four-Star QB Matt Ponatoski has Committed to Kentucky, he tells me for @rivals,” Hayes Fawcett wrote Sunday on X. “The 6’2 195 QB from Cincinnati, OH chose the Wildcats over Oregon, Alabama, & Arkansas. Will play baseball as well. ‘All Glory to God…Big Blue Nation, let’s do it.’”
Ponatoski has 17 total offers, according to 247Sports. He’d visited Oregon and Alabama last month. The Crimson Tide were hoping to slot him into the same offense with recent commits Cederian Morgan and Ezavier Crowell.
“Stocky pocket passer with eye-popping production that bring accuracy and intelligence to the position,” 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote in a May scouting report. “More importantly, can get the ball out fast and push the tempo. Moves like a middle infielder and will deliver some off-balance dimes.
"Projects as a potential multi-year starter at the Power Four level that can fit into a variety of different systems with his quick wet up and decision-making.”
Ponatoski was Ohio’s Mr. Football, Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the Year on the gridiron in 2024. He completed 282 of his 406 passes for 3,456 yards, 57 touchdowns and three interceptions.
The former Missouri baseball commit also won Ohio’s Gatorade Player of the Year in that sport, posting a .429 batting average with 29 RBIs and 10 stolen bases late into the season.
Related: Nation's No. 2 WR Commits to Alabama
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
