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.”

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Sophomore guard Collin Chandler is one of the players that coach Mark Pope anticipates making a big jump in production this season, but Chandler is just as anxious to see what new teammates Mo Dioubate and Denzel Aberdeen add to the team after playing against them last season.

Dioubate transferred from Alabama to UK while Aberdeen won a national title at Florida but left for Kentucky.

“Mo is awesome. He’s kind of a jack of all trades,” Chandler said. “He’s obviously very physically gifted, and so that comes in handy on defense but he can also force his will on offense.

“He’s also a very good shooter. I don’t think he shot a big volume of shots last year, but he’s a very good shooter which actually makes him very dangerous and is going to make him a big asset to our team.”

Kentucky played Alabama three times, but only played Florida once to open Southeastern Conference play. However, Chandler saw more than enough to be impressed by Aberdeen.

“I remember his role at Florida. He was coming off the bench and providing those very impactful minutes for Florida,” Chandler said. “He’s a very good scorer. He’s also a very good shooter. He shoots the ball really well. He has the ball on the string, which makes him very dangerous as a guard, and as a ball handler.

“That’s going to be very valuable to us as well. I don’t know exactly the role that Denzel is going to play, but I know he can contribute in so many different factors.”

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Kentucky senior tight end Josh Kattus has played in 33 games with 15 starts in his three seasons and has 21 catches for 310 yards and five touchdowns. However, he said he felt “honored and very blessed” when Kentucky coach Mark Stoops took him to SEC Media Days to represent UK.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was a freshman getting to see some of the older guys,” Kattus said.

Kattus said he “instantly” called his mother to tell her when Stoops let him know he would be making the trip to Atlanta for SEC Media Days.

Kattus knows he’s changed an “incredible amount” maturity-wise under Stoops the last three years.

“He doesn’t always develop you as a football player, but he develops you as a young man and looks forward to sending you off into your future career,” Kattus, a Cincinnati native, said. “They’ve done a great job. I think I’ve gotten better in every aspect as a player. And they obviously challenge you to be the best man you can be.

“Thankful that I’m in a leadership position now. When I look back at my Kentucky experience and career, I’m just super blessed to be able to wear the blue and white.”

Kattus has been active in community service during his time at UK. He recently participated in the Dancing with the Lexington Stars event that raised over $34,000 for the Lexington Rotary Club Endowment Fund and Surgery on Sunday, a nonprofit providing free outpatient procedures for those in need.

Kattus and teammates have visited the Kentucky Children’s Hospital each week during the spring and fall football seasons. He also actively volunteers at Lexington’s Ronald McDonald House and Scott County Humane Society.

He’s been recognized in various ways for his off-field contributions at UK.

“In Lexington, they take care of their athletes. Everything thrives around the University of Kentucky. I feel obligated to do so (charity-wise). Lexington means so much to me. It has a special place in my heart. It’s like a home to me. So anything I can do to give back to the city of Lexington, I’ll do,” Kattus said.

“Whether it’s with the children’s hospital or doing Dancing With The Stars, which is raising money for charities that they have selected, I love to do that stuff. I love to give back. I’m super thankful for Lexington and all the Kentucky fans.”

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Growing up in Albury, New South Wales, Australia, Amelia Hassett played a lot of different sports.

The 6-foot-3 Kentucky senior played cricket for a few years and then started rhythmic gymnastics.

“I really loved it (gymnastics) and wish it went further, but I was getting a little too tall,” Hassett said. “The other main sport I played was netball. It’s like basketball except you are not allowed to dribble and there is no backboard on the ring.”

Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players who try to shoot a ball through the defender’s goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls, and it remains primarily played by them. According to World Netball, the sport is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries.

“I did it until I actually came over to the States, so I probably played from around 12 to like maybe 16, 17 and it is a very popular sport in Australia,” Hassett said. “I think playing probably helped my shooting, but it also took my mind off basketball by playing multiple sports.”

Hassett’s brother played rugby, but she did not. She did play Australian rules football. She said it was “fun,” but she did not play against boys like former UK teammate Georgia Amoore did growing up in Australia.

“For me, it was just playing against girls, but it was a lot of fun,” she said. “There are no pads and no stoppage between plays. It can be kind of tough at times.”

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Kentucky safety Jordan Lovett was asked at the Southeastern Conference Media Days if he had a teammate who fans may not appreciate enough for all he does for the team.

Lovett’s immediate choice was Ty Bryant, a junior safety who started every game last season.

“Everybody feeds off his energy. He’s a God-fearing man. When anybody wants to pray, he’s the first person I’m going to,” Lovett said. “Ty B was there because I recently lost my father to a stroke. He was one of the first people to help me out, one of the guys to sit me down, just pray with me.

“I feel like he’s a playmaker, of course, as well. On the football field, he gets it done. I feel like he practices like a pro. If everybody feeds off that energy, everybody looks at him … he leads by example. If everybody does what Ty Bryant does, we’ll be good.”

Lovett also added that cornerback DJ Waller is “slept on” by fans.

“His height and fluidity, just his size, it will be a problem this year,” Lovett said.

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Quote of the Week: “He knows so much about the game, it’s been really interesting to pick his brain and talk to him about what he feels I need to work on and how I can improve my game. He’s very passionate when he talks about basketball. It’s been cool to lean on that and see through his eyes what he sees in me,” Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance, on playing for coach Mark Pope.

Quote of the Week 2: “I’m not in the NBA. I’m not hooping anymore. So I’m going to end up having to turn into, like, a businessman and really find other opportunities to make money. I think just having that degree gets you through some of those doors,” former UK basketball player Willie Cauley-Stein, on why he’s taking classes at UK to finish his degree.

Quote of the Week 3: “I think one of the things you have to feel good about if you are a Kentucky fan when it comes to Mark Pope is this: many players in the transfer portal are being evaluated by their overall talent and what they can do from a production standpoint. Mark Pope thinks about putting together a team. He does not look and try to just accumulate talent,” CBS Sports College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein, on one of Mark Pope’s undervalued talents.