From highest pick not to sign to Top 10 Draft prospect, Bell hits on self bet

Tyler Bell is no stranger to the Draft process and all of the MLB Combine proceedings. The 21-year-old went through all of this in 2024, as a standout out of Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Ill, when he was drafted No. 66 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Bell opted not to go pro and honor his commitment to the University of Kentucky, making him the highest-selected player not to sign a professional contract that year.

The gamble on himself wasn't an easy one, but its certainly paid off for MLB's No. 10 Draft prospect, who is now expected to hear his name called on Day 1 of the Draft this weekend.

"It was really tough," Bell told MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis at this year's Combine. "Obviously as a 19-year-old kid getting offered seven figures out of high school and that’s what I've worked towards, that’s my dream ... being right there and turning it down, I think was a very mature decision and I’ve never looked back at it."

Bell's impact among the collegiate ranks was immediate as he became the Wildcats' best player as a freshman and their first member of the U.S. collegiate national team since Zack Thompson in 2018. He's currently one of the top sophomore-eligible prospects for 2026 and on his way to being the school's first first-rounder since Thompson in 2019.

"Couldn’t have worked out any better," Bell said." Kentucky was the most fun two years of my life on the baseball side of it. Just going out there and competing and making life-long friends. You know, we had really good teams both years and it was a lot of fun."

Still, it came at a cost. Bell tore the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder when his arm got stuck on the ground as he dove for a ball in the infield in his first game on Feb. 13. He returned to Kentucky's lineup on March 6 as the team's designated hitter and would eventually return to the infield while playing through the painful injury all season. His coach made it clear to him that he didn't have to, but for Bell there just wasn't another way.

"It was definitely tough. I had a lot of people on my side telling me to shut it down," he said. "I know that coach [Nick Mingione] had said the same night that I got hurt that if I didn’t play another game the rest of the year I would still be a first-round Draft pick.

"I just wanted to be out there with my boys and I knew I was good enough to play. It might have hurt sometimes, it might have affected me at times, but just that competitiveness in me -- knowing that Kentucky was a special team this year and we had a chance to win a National Championship, and if we were going to do that as a team I knew I had to be part of that.

"So once I made the decision to play this year there was no looking back for me, and I knew there was going to be some struggles and I knew there were going to be some times where it was going to be pretty painful and I was OK with that."

Bell will require surgery on his shoulder at some point, which will likely sideline him for several months and delay the start of his pro career. But his grit and performance this season to help guide the Wildcats to the Regionals of the College World Series has not gone unnoticed.

The switch-hitting shortstop -- who admitted to picking up the challenging craft when he was just 3 years old and hitting off a plastic tee with his father -- is proficient from both sides of the plate and as he put it "the power comes without trying." Bell is also an elite defender with a quick first step, smooth actions, reliable hands and a strong arm capable of making throws from any angle necessary. His defensive instincts and athleticism would allow him to line up almost anywhere on the diamond, although he maintains that he is best at short.

"My focus right now is just continuing to get more consistent with approach, swing decisions and making every routine play in the field," Bell said. "Just getting better at my game as a whole is going to continue to drive me and continue to allow me to be the best player and everyday big leaguer that I want to be."