Ben Jordan, UK Baseball and former Basketball player, has died

It is with heavy hearts that we pass along this news. Kentucky Baseball player Ben Jordan, who also played for the basketball team last season, has passed away at the age of 22. Zack Klemme, the sports editor of The Daily Independent in Ashland, shared the news on Twitter this morning.

Saddened to report former West Carter star two-sport athlete Ben Jordan has died. Jordan was 22.

He was playing baseball at Kentucky and was also on the Wildcats’ basketball roster in 2019-20.

— Zack Klemme (@zklemmeADI) January 12, 2021

During his season as a walk-on, Jordan appeared in two games, taking just one shot against Eastern Kentucky. Over the summer, he decided to return to baseball on a full-time basis. He was a right-handed pitcher for the Cats and played both sports at West Carter High School in Olive Hill, Kentucky, where he was the team’s all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker and eighth in school history in career points. As a senior, he won the Eastern Kentucky Conference Defensive Player of the Year and added EKC First Team honors during his senior season.

“Like so many others in the state of Kentucky, basketball has been a part of my life since I was just a kid,” Jordan said in a statement after joining the basketball team last fall. “When the opportunity presented itself to join the UK basketball team, I wanted to go into it with an open mind, especially since I stepped away from the sport to focus on baseball. After a couple of days of practice, it’s clear to me that this is something I want to commit to.

“Baseball has been and will remain my top priority, but I’m excited about the opportunity and the challenge of competing in two sports I love to play. I’ve talked to Coach (Nick) Mingione about it and we did this with his full blessing. I’m looking forward to helping in practice and being a great teammate this season.”

“I really appreciate Ben helping our team and agreeing to be a part of this,” John Calipari said at the time. “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.”

As a baseball player, Jordan was an Under Armour All-American in 2016, Rawlings-Perfect Game Second Team All-American in 2017, and was considered the No. 97 overall baseball prospect and No. 33 right-handed pitcher in the class of 2017. After redshirting his freshman year at Kentucky, Jordan returned to the field in 2019, where he appeared in 10 games and pitched 8.2 total innings, allowing eight hits and seven runs while striking out eight.

Our hearts go out to his family and friends in this devastating time.

UPDATE: UK has confirmed the news.

Our hearts are broken today. Rest easy, @ben3jordan. You will forever be part of us. 💙 pic.twitter.com/n94brIHb1B

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) January 12, 2021