Schools out for the summer. The first football game’s still close to 80 days away and even though Jerrod Calhoun and the boys are in the middle of summer workouts they’re still about 5 months away from playing in an actual game.
The baseball team’s coming off back to back at large selections to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Scott Satterfield’s squad has improved their win total each of his first three seasons. And with the aforementioned Jerrod Calhoun’s return to Clifton, vibes and expectations are super high for the basketball program.
So while we all enjoy the summer and look forward to the fall, I passed some time thinking about who the Bearcats best players might be in the three major sports and how their talents could translate to the next level. Since everyone loves a good ranking or list, I present to you my Top 10 list of the Bearcats most likely to get a look at the next level in their respective sports.
One caveat with this ranking was the player has to have at least one more year of eligibility available. Sorry Baba Miller.
#1 JACK NATILI
Number 1 on the list has to be the guy D1 Baseball had as their #4 catcher in all of College Baseball heading into the 2026 season.
Jack did nothing but add to his resume this year. Hitting .339 with 19 HRs while playing in a big time conference like the Big 12 has plenty of scouts and publications noticing what he’s capable of at the next level. Hitting THREE homeruns in three separate games this season with one of those being an NCAA Tournament game helped to gain Natili a ton of national attention.
Baseball America ranked him as their 69th best prospect overall in their most recent update.
Jack hasn’t officially announced his intentions yet, but because he still has a year of eligibility remaining and a return to Cincy hasn’t been ruled out.. Natili comes in at #1.
#2 QUINTON COATS
If you would’ve told me a couple years ago that the Top 2 pro prospects on this list would be baseball players, I would’ve looked at you sideways. But Quinton Coats with his 28 HRs and .339 average as just a Sophomore absolutely deserves to come in at #2 on the list.
Coats already announced his decision to come back another year and play his Junior season under Coach Bischel. But when he does decide to leave Cincy, MLB organizations will be lining up to get him.
Quinton was named a Second Team All-American by Baseball America and Third Team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings.
In total, Coats was named to four All-America teams: ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America, National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and Perfect Game. Duplicating the feat Kerrington Cross (now with the San Diego Padres) accomplished just one season ago.
#3 EVAN TENGESDAHL
There’s a really good argument to be made that Evan Tengesdahl should be 1 or 2 on this list and maybe in a couple years I’ll look back at this and wonder what was i thinking not putting him up there… But he comes in at #3 on the board despite many ranking him as the top guard in all of College Football. The Preferred Walk-On show did a really good breakdown of what makes Evan so special and why all of those skills will translate to the next level. It’s linked below.
PWO has Evan as the #2 IOL in CFB and the #1 Guard overall. I’ve seen some way too early mock drafts predict him to go anywhere from the 2nd to 4th round so putting him in the Top 3 on this list feels like a fairly safe bet.
Tengesdahl was recently named Preseason All-American 2nd team by Phil Steele after his breakout 2025 campaign where he started all 13 games and was ranked #6 nationally with an 82.8 PFF rating.
Cincinnati returning fellow veterans and possible later entries to this list Joe Cotton and Taran Tyo should only help the continuity and ceiling to what this offensive line is capable of in 2026.
#4 JOE COTTON
The strength of the 2026 Bearcat Football team most likely will be their extremely talented OL. Along with Tengesdahl, Joe Cotton very likely has a bright future playing on Sundays in the NFL. So likely that he comes in at #4 on the board.
Cotton came to Cincinnati just over a year ago as a late Spring transfer portal addition that not many in the country saw coming. Landing a talented LT that late in the process when almost everyone in the country would be bidding for his services was fairly surprising, but Joe reportedly fell in love with Cincy. He didn’t disappoint on the field starting all 13 games and anchoring an OL that was a semi-finalist for the Joe Moore Award (Nation’s best OL) and finishing 2nd nationally with only 8 sacks allowed on the season.
Going into year 2, most expect the 6’6 320 pound LT to take yet another leap forward protecting new Cincy QB JC French. With more familiarity in Satterfield’s system, and tons of talent beside him on the OL, Cotton could be on the verge of a huge season.
#5 ENZO INFELISE
When you lead possibly one of the most talented teams in Bearcat history in batting average as a true Freshman, that says a lot about not only how talented you are now… but your future potential as you continue to develop. That’s exactly what Enzo Infelise did this past season batting .374 for the Bearcats, hitting 10 homeruns, and 10 doubles.
Those stats helped earn Infelise Big 12 Freshman of the year in the Big 12 Conference and landing him a spot on the Big 12 First Team All-Conference Team as a DH.
But it wasn’t just the conference that took notice. Infelise was named a Freshman All-American by both Perfect Game and NCBWA.
If Enzo can make even half the jump that Quinton Coats made from his Freshman to Sophomore seasons, the dude’s about to have a serious coming out party on a national scale. There’s zero doubt MLB scouts are already well aware of Enzo Infelise and all of his potential.
#6 TARAN TYO
Continuing the trend, we have yet another Bearcat Offensive Lineman with a great shot at playing on Sundays. And another Bearcat Offensive Lineman that managed to stay healthy and start all 13 games for the team last season.
Tyo ranked 7th in the Big 12 in PFF’s ratings for Guards as a Junior.
The 6’3 325 pounder showed off his versatility at spring practice playing a lot at Center, moving over from RG that he held down all of last year. If you’re a Cincinnati Bengal fan, you’re aware of how that kind of versatility can help get you drafted after the Bengals chose Duke OL Brian Parker in large part because of his versatility in playing multiple positions.
But whether it be at Center or Guard, Tyo has a lot of the characteristics that an NFL team covets and if he builds on what he accomplished last season, he should hear his name at the 2027 NFL Draft.
#7 ADLAN ELAMIN
Often referred to as “NBA prospect Adlan Elamin” while at Utah State, Adlan followed Coach Calhoun to Clifton and although he’s not a finished product, his size and athleticism have many projecting him to the next level in a couple years.
Ersin Demir gives a great breakdown of why Elamin is the NBA Prospect that many believe he is in the article linked below. One of the best quotes of the article may be the header at the top where he says “The clearest NBA prospect I’ve seen in a long time. Skies the limit for Elamin”.
He mentions in the article that Elamin could potentially be a lottery pick in the 2027 draft. While I think all Bearcats would sign up for that right now, I’m going to take a bit more of a conservative approach and guess a 2028 entry is more likely.
Averaging just under 7 ppg as a Freshman last season… there’s certainly room to grow. The freshman to sophomore jump is usually the biggest growth in a college basketball players career, add in that it’s another season with familiarity in Calhoun’s system, and better talent around him, I’m fascinated to watch Elamin play and grow in a Cincinnati uniform.
#8 DERRICK PITTS
The first thing that stands out when I watch Derrick play is the elite athleticism. From the speed, to seemingly a Sports Center highlight on almost every ball that’s hit his way… it’s hard not to notice how blessed he is athletically.
But even ignoring how talented he is defensively… Derrick showed he’s making significant improvement with the bat, raising his average from .247 in 2025 to .328 this past season. He’s certainly strong and athletic enough to improve on his 6 homeruns next year and if he can maintain or possibly even improve on his average yet again in 2027… there undoubtedly will be a line of teams hoping he ends up with their MLB organization.
#9 AKAI FLEMING
A lot of Bearcat fans aren’t completely sure what they’re getting with Akai and some of that has to do with Cincinnati landing his commitment seemingly out of nowhere.
But what they got was a 6’4 190lb former Top 100 recruit who not only averaged double figures for Georgia Tech as a true Freshman, but averaged double figures in ACC play as well. Started 22 games last season for the Yellow Jackets and scored more than 15 points nine times.
Similar to Elamin, Akai’s certainly not a finished product. Playing in an offensive system like Calhoun’s, it’ll be fascinating to watch how that translates and improves to his game. Aggressive and athletic, he led GT at both free throws made (93) and attempted (114) so he not only can attack the rim and create contact… he also makes his shots from the line.
Former GT Coach Stoudamire on Fleming: “He can dribble, pass and shoot well. He has a natural feel for how to play, and he’s a bigger guard.”
Being capable of doing close to everything well on the offensive end and now playing in what many believe is a better offensive system, he lands a spot on this list.
#10 TY GOODWILL
At 6’3 190lb Ty has the size and length the Bearcats have needed and the NFL covets at safety,
Transferring to Cincinnati from South Alabama, Goodwill already has quite a few fans inside the football program. Chad Brendel was on the Cover 3 Pod linked below and mentioned that the recruiting department feels a similar way about Ty as they did Jake Golday who as we all know was a 2nd Round pick to the Minnesota Vikings this past April.
The Goodwill mention is right at the 17 minute mark.
Playing in a new Cincinnati defensive scheme under new DC Nate Woody should allow the Bearcats to get more pressure on the QB this season. And that should only help Goodwill flourish and excel in Clifton.
Let me know what you guys think of the ranking. Who did I miss? Who’s too high or too low? Who shouldn’t be on here at all? Can’t wait to see these guys play next year. Go Bearcats!
Pictures courtesy Cincinnati Athletics, unless otherwise mentioned.