Who is Tywone Malone?

On the baseball diamond, the UCF Knights will host the #2 Ole Miss Rebels from March 4 through March 6 at John Euliano Park. One of the big-time players coming to town is a two sport star in Tywone Malone.

Marc Miceli | Mar 4, 2022

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As we move further into college football’s offseason and focus our attention on spring games. However, it is spring which means college baseball and softball are in full swing. Knowing this, UCF fans should be aware of a dual-sport athlete who will look to dominate both on the gridiron and on the diamond in true freshman Tywone Malone of the Ole Miss Rebels.

While he only recorded one sack this past football season, in his second career at-bat, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive end and first baseman hit a 404-foot home run to close out the VCU Rams by a score of 14-3. In addition, it had an exit velocity of 104 mph, per Ole Miss Baseball Analytics. After the game when asked about the home run and said, "It felt amazing," It was good to get that one out of the way, looking forward to more."

You asked, we answered.@TywoneMalone | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/lceyrKCJiy
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 27, 2022

Malone, who is originally from Jamesburg, N.J. attended Bergen Catholic High School, one of the top high school football programs in New Jersey. During this time he played on the defensive line and was a key contributor to their defensive front. Bergen Catholic’s head football coach Vito Campanile had this to say about Malone ahead of last year’s National Signing Day: “In the years I have been coaching, I really haven’t been around as gifted an athlete as Ty, he has as good of hands as any guy in the program. And I attribute that to baseball.” Back in 2019, Malone showed off his hands when he made this 34-yard reception.

#Rivals100 DL Tywone Malone is one of the nation's top defensive linemen, but he also has some hands, too.

Check out this catch from last season shot by @RivalsFriedman pic.twitter.com/oGXFKkDhEk
— Rivals (@Rivals) January 15, 2021

Coming out of Bergen Catholic, Malone was a four-star recruit who had offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and several others. However, as talented as he was on the football field, he also has another talent on the baseball diamond, so finding a university that would allow him to pursue both was a priority for him. Perfect Game USA ranked Malone as the #25 best first baseman in the country. The Rebels will travel to Orlando this weekend and expect to hear Malone’s name often these next few years as he continues through his collegiate career. He also took to social media to tell everyone he is just getting started.