Zack Thompson turns down MLB, will enroll at Kentucky

Score one for Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione.

The new head man of the Wildcats received good news Friday afternoon when left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson announced that he would enroll at Kentucky rather than pursue a professional career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Wapahani High School product was drafted by the Rays in the 11th round of the MLB draft last month. Thompson used all the time he needed, going right up until the signing deadline at 5 p.m. on Friday before making the announcement that he would be going to school.

Thompson’s decision to enroll at Kentucky provides a boost to a pitching staff in need of new arms. Kyle Cody, Dustin Beggs and Zack Brown are gone after combining to pitch 266.1 innings a season ago. The Wildcats have options for the pitching staff, but Zach Logue is the only pitcher with an SEC start.

The addition of Thompson also strengthens a recruiting class that had lost some luster over the past month. Nick Hanson, Easton McGee and Akil Baddoo were selected in the first four rounds and all, as expected, signed professional deals. It was losses of Lexington outfielder Jaren Shelby to junior college and outfielder/pitcher J.C. Flowers to Florida State that took some shine away from a recruiting class that was once ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in Perfect Game’s rankings.

Thompson is the highest drafted player to choose to attend Kentucky in this class, but a pair of Gatorade Players of the Year will also be on campus in the fall. Indiana catcher/first baseman T.J. Collett (drafted in the 40th round by the Minnesota Twins) and Ohio pitcher/infielder Christopher Machamer are the other headliners to Mingione’s first class.