Razorbacks among top four for intriguing dual sport athlete

Ponatoski's emergence earned him many post season honors last season including Mr. Football Ohio and the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.

While it seemed like coach Dave Van Horn and Sam Pittman may go into battle for Ponatoski, that may not be the case now as he prioritizes both sports at the next level.

After the multi-sport star dropped by in February to take a look at the baseball program, word trickled out that he was on campus. Once the news got around, Petrino took note and began to pursue the prominent quarterback, encouraging Pittman to extend an offer.

Ponatoski's visit with the Arkansas baseball program left him with glowing reviews. It wasn't until he stepped on campus that Pittman and Petrino took notice of his gridiron skills.

"It was the first time I had seen Coach Pittman and Coach Petrino and all of the baseball staff like Coach Van Horn and his staff," Ponatoski said. "They were very transparent and up front about the two-sport potential.

"The [Razorbacks] offer was very cool because I was on a baseball official visit when I got my football offer," Ponatoski said in February. "The baseball program has success in the SEC which is arguably the best conference in the whole country, so they are good at what they do."

With Arkansas' success in baseball, Ponatoski is very interested playing for a nationally relevant program capable of going to Omaha annually.

Each team Ponatoski's top four school list made the NCAA Baseball Tournament field this spring as the Ducks, Crimson Tide and Wildcats each lost in the regional round.

Arkansas is the only team in the group still in the tournament and are the highest seeded team left in the field as a No. 3 seed as both No. 1 seed Vanderbilt and No. 2 seed Texas were knocked out Sunday.

Ponatoski has earned a total of 17 football offers including Cincinnati, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Purdue, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and more.

Arkansas has already taken one quarterback for the 2026 cycle with 3-star Jayvon Gilmore already in the fold.

The Razorbacks took two 4-star quarterbacks in the latest cycle as both Madden Iamaleava and Grayson Wilson signed in December and both went through spring practice.

With the transfer portal and high school recruiting so fluid, there is no way to forecast exactly what Arkansas' quarterback depth chart will look like in 2026.

Current starter Taylen Green will play his fifth season and will likely head to the NFL which means Arkansas could turn to an underclassmen for the first time since KJ Jefferson in 2021.

With 4-star offensive tackle Bryce Gilmore aboard the 2026 class, Arkansas ranks No. 4 in the SEC and No. 13 nationally, according to 247sports rankings.

Arkansas Razorbacks 2026 Commits

OL Bryce Gilmore
DE Colton Yarbrough
QB Jayvon Gilmore
WR Dequane Prevo
OL Tucker YOung
TE Jaivion Martin
TE Kade Bush
DB Tay Lockett
DB Jalon Copeland
DL Ari Slocum
DB Kyndrick Williams
DB Adam Auston
DL Carnell Jackson
OL Ashley Walker
WR Robert Haynes
OL Hugh Smith