Kentucky Baseball’s Tyler Bell Named a Top Freshman
Kentucky’s Tyler Bell, the highest drafted prepster to attend college from last summer’s Major League Baseball Draft, has been ranked the No. 13 freshman in the country by both Baseball America and Perfect Game. Bell was selected 66th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Frankfort, Illinois native from Lincoln-Way East High School, the same school that produced UK Gold Glove winner Ryan Ritter, is the third-highest rated recruit to arrive on UK’s campus according to Perfect Game, behind Alex Meyer and Ryan Hagenow. Perfect Game ranked him No. 59 overall in the Class of 2024, while Prep Baseball Report is even more bullish on the infielder in ranking him 13th overall.
Bell is expected to contribute immediately to the Wildcats’ middle infield. In UK’s two fall exhibition games he started both and went a combined 1-for-5 with four runs scored, four RBI, two walks, four hit by pitch, two stolen bases and a double.
The Cats are entering their ninth season under head coach Nick Mingione and have won 262 games during his tenure, including last season’s school-record 46-win campaign that featured a SEC regular season championship and Mingione’s second National Coach of the Year honor in seven full seasons at the helm.
