Kentucky signee Tyler Bell announces plan to play for Wildcats after Round 2 selection by Rays

The Kentucky baseball team will get one of its top signees to campus despite him being selected early in the 2024 MLB Draft, with infielder Tyler Bell announcing he will head to Lexington this fall.

Bell was selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft with the No. 66 overall pick, a pick that had a listed slot value of $1.26 million.

So the talented infielder is turning down considerable money to play for Nick Mingione and the Wildcats. It’s a huge coup in the sport, right on the heels of one of the best seasons in Kentucky’s program history.

Tyler Bell is regarded as one of the top shortstops in the 2024 high school class. The switch hitter was the No. 2-ranked player in his home state of Illinois, which slotted him as a top-30 overall recruit by the end of his junior season.

As a junior, Bell logged a batting average of .446 to go with nine home runs, 46 RBIs, 54 runs and 32 stolen bases — perfect for Nick Mingione’s car-crash style of offense. Originally, Bell was committed to play baseball at Pitt, but that fell apart citing departures on the Panthers’ recruiting staff.

“Bell plays quicker than his average speed and covers ground to both sides,” his MLB scouting report reads. “He’s a smooth defender who can execute throws from any angle with solid arm strength. He also has a good internal clock and the athleticism to play all over the diamond if he becomes more of a utility man than an everyday player.

“A switch-hitter, Bell has impressive bat speed and could develop 20-homer power if he makes projectable strength gains and improvements at the plate. But he didn’t hit on the showcase circuit and has been too passive this spring, taking too many hittable pitches and not doing much damage.”

Kentucky finished the 2024 season with a 46-16 record, logging the most wins in UK baseball program history and included a 22-8 conference record and the first-ever SEC regular season championship in program history. The Wildcats began the SEC schedule with a 15-1 record.

Before losing its last two games in Omaha, the Wildcats were 6-0 to begin the NCAA Tournament this season. That included a walk-off 5-4 win over NC State in Kentucky’s opening College World Series matchup.

With Tyler Bell choosing to attend Kentucky for the next couple of years, he’s expected to be a major asset to the Wildcats’ efforts to maintain that level of success under Mingione. During that time, he could improve his draft stock and look to improve his status for the next time he’s in the MLB Draft cycle.

On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this report.