Kentucky’s Ben Jordan dies — dead at 22
Kentucky two-sport athlete Ben Jordan has died.
Multiple reports on Tuesday confirmed Jordan’s death, though the cause has not yet been revealed. Jordan, who played baseball and basketball at Kentucky, was 22.
Jordan was a Kentucky native and highly touted baseball prospect at West Carter High School in Olive Hill. He had a chance to be drafted by an MLB team before undergoing Tommy John surgery his senior year. Jordan enrolled at Kentucky in 2018 but redshirted, eventually making his debut the following season.
As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Jordan appeared in 10 games and struck out eight. The 6-foot-9 pitcher then walked on to the Kentucky basketball team for the 2019-20 season and appeared in two games. Wildcats head coach John Calipari praised Jordan for his willingness to play two sports.
“I really appreciate Ben helping our team and agreeing to be a part of this,” Calipari said at the time, via Chris Fisher of 247 Sports. “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.”
Jordan announced last year that he was going to give up basketball and focus on baseball this upcoming season.
