Ben Jordan will not re-join basketball team

The Kentucky Wildcats are bringing in the nation’s best men’s basketball recruiting class in 2020. That could potentially be one reason Ben Jordan has decided to commit full time to baseball, forgoing his second season under John Calipari.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Jordan will return to Lexington as only a student and pitcher after redshirting his freshman season. The news was broken by 247 Sports and confirmed by UK Athletics.

That said, Jordan was initialed sidelined from baseball due to Tommy John’s surgery, a popular elbow procedure for pitchers. He returned to the diamond in 2019 and played in 10 games, pitching 8.2 innings.

Clearly a bullpen piece, Jordan’s career in baseball will likely be far more prosperous than his basketball one, seeing time in just two basketball games last season. He had just one shot and was primarily used an added bench body.

Don’t think he wasn’t appreciated for his contributions though. Calipari spoke on Jordan and his impact on the team.

“I really appreciate Ben helping our team and agreeing to be a part of this. He has a great demeanor and a way about him that really fits in well with this team. The guys already have embraced him as one of our own. I think he’ll be a great addition to this team.” Calipari told 247 Sports’ Derek Terry.

Obviously, he felt it was best to go down the road of being a pitcher first, and no one can fault him for that.