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Lee Ellis of the Ohio State Buckeyes hits the ball during an NCAA baseball game at Bainton Field in Piscataway, United States, on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
Tyler Bell was absolutely fantastic while in Lexington. We knew when he committed that as soon as he became eligible, he was going pro.
And it didn’t take long for him to be selected, going 10th overall to the Colorado Rockies. But that leaves a huge hole in the middle of the infield for Kentucky.
That hole got a little smaller when infielder and Ohio State transfer Lee Ellis committed to the Cats.
Lee Ellis brings a steady bat to Lexington
First, nobody can fully replace Bell, but Ellis will certainly give it a go. He hit .314/.438/.556 with 54 walks, 95 strikeouts, and 9 errors across two years. Bell played shortstop, and Ellis was a second baseman last year after playing at short the year prior, and may slide over to short while in Lexington.
Ellis has hit .273/.396/.493 across 3 seasons in college while committing a lot more errors (24). So, he is not the same kind of raw talent that Bell was, but few players actually will be. Ellis however is still a player with good speed, a good bat, and if his fielding ticks up a player that can make a positive impact for Nick Mingione.
This brings Kentucky’s portal class to 10:
- OF Brody Chrisman
- OF Alex Kelsey
- LHP Kale Hammer
- RHP Logan Hastings
- RHP PJ Craig
- RHP Mason Snyder
- LHP Cooper Corkren
- C Brayden Ricketts
- C/1B Riley Jackson
- INF Owen Lee
- INF Lee Ellis
- IF/OF JP Peltier
With Bell gone, there is a lot of playing time up for grabs, and Ellis will make his mark in Lexington after playing pretty good baseball with Ohio State. Nick Mingione found a solid role piece to help supplement the offense, but as usual with this Kentucky team, pitching is going to be the difference maker.
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