Don Mattingly was known as “Donnie Baseball”, but you can call his son “Preston Basketball”.
The middle son of the Yankees great and Dodgers manager told the Evansville Courier and Press in Indiana this weekend that he accepted a basketball scholarship and will attend Lamar University, coached by Pat Knight, the son of former Indiana coaching legend Bobby Knight.
“I love basketball and I love Pat. I went down there and had a great visit. I love to compete and I’m not scared of any challenge,” Preston said.
The 25-year old left fielder was drafted by the Dodgers in 2006 and signed a minor league deal with the Yankees 2012 before he was cut. He spent six seasons in the minors, never making it as far as Double-A.
After failing to advance his baseball career, he decided to focus on his other sport. Mattingly (6’3″, 215 lbs) was a standout basketball player in high school averaging over 20 points per game, and has been working on getting back into basketball shape.
A year after making the NCAA tournament with a 23-12 record, the Lamar Cardinals went 3-28 last season.
“For any Indiana kid, it would be a dream to go play for Pat Knight. Obviously I’m a lot older than everybody else, but I’m just one of the guys,” he said.