Matt Ponatoski arrived at Kentucky with plenty of buzz, and Will Stein is making sure that buzz hasn’t faded.
The former Kentucky coach Mark Stoops landed the Cincinnati quarterback’s commitment to the Bluegrass as a four-star prospect and the No. 13 quarterback in his class. Ponatoski’s high school numbers backed up the ranking at Moeller High School, where he completed 66.1 percent of his passes as a senior for 2,395 yards, 28 touchdowns and only one interception.
His junior season was even louder: 4,217 passing yards, 57 touchdowns and just three interceptions. That run earned him Ohio Mr. Football honors, and he added another layer to his profile by being named Gatorade Player of the Year for Ohio in both football and baseball.
Kentucky was also trying to pull him in on the baseball side, with Ponatoski wanting to play for coach Nick Mingiione. Even after the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 18th round of the 2026 draft, the hometown pull wasn’t enough to keep him from choosing UK.
Since then, though, his name has not come up as often in the quarterback conversation. Stein moved quickly to add Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey, who could play three years at Kentucky, and he has also signed Illinois prep standout Jake Nawrot in the 2027 class while continuing to host elite quarterback recruits.
Still, Stein made it clear Wednesday night on his weekly radio show that Ponatoski remains very much in the picture.
“He looks really good,” Stein said. “We were actually bragging on him today as an offensive staff.”
Ponatoski has been working against Kentucky’s No. 1 defense in practice, and Stein said both coaches and teammates have taken notice.
“Matt’s out there in front of the entire team, and he can rip it now,” Stein said. “The guy’s got one of the best young arms I’ve seen in a long time, and he’s just wired the right way. He’s got the right mentality.”
His mother, Becky, said he has “adjusted really quickly” to life on campus, even though he got a later start than many of his teammates because of the baseball draft situation.
“The moment he decided the draft spot was not ideal for him he flipped the switch. He is such a resilient kid and has been all-in with football and competing for a job,” the quarterback’s mother said.
“He is working his butt off to show what he can do. He has had some success but he had a lot of catching up to do.
“Everybody at UK has been wonderful to him and he likes the group of guys he is with and they like him. He is itching to play whenever he gets a chance but we will see what happens. He is a freshman in the SEC and he gets that.”
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