Arkansas Razorbacks baseball signee Kel Busby missing high school football as he rehabs injury

As a junior, Busby led Pulaski Academy to the Class 6A state championship

Turns out, Kel Busby didn’t need to make the toughest decision of his life after all. 

As baseball season began last spring, the talented pitcher, who also starred at quarterback for Pulaski Academy, wrestled with his athletic future. Already committed to playing baseball at the University of Arkansas, Busby thought it made sense to focus solely on baseball and eliminate any chance of injury. As he helped PA win the Class 6A football championship, he missed some action with injury late in the season. 

“I kept going back and forth,” Busby said. “When I had decided on baseball, I kept thinking about celebrating the state championship. That was a whole lot of fun.” 

Kel Busby signed with the University of Arkansas to play baseball Wednesday. (Photo by Sheldon Smith)

PA’s baseball season began with their star quarterback uncertain on his football future. Then a stunning turn of events. Busby injured an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Busby continued to play and not pitch, but eventually his season ended with Tommy John surgery – a common procedure performed on pitchers who injure their UCL named after the former major league pitcher who was the first to undergo the procedure.

“God just took over and tore my UCL and chose that path for me,” Busby said. “He made the decision for me.”

For some, that news could have been devastating, but Busby chose to be positive.

“If it was going to happen, the timing couldn’t have been better,” Busby said. “I knew I could have the surgery and come back and still be ready to play at Arkansas.”

The surgery was successful, and he has spent the past several months rehabbing. And while he couldn’t really have played football if he wanted to with the elbow injury, he didn’t completely leave the football team. In fact, he hung around team activities all summer and has been a fixture at most practices this fall. Occasionally, he will share some pointers with PA junior QB Brandon Cobb, who has played most of the season with a cast on his non-throwing hand because of a hand injury.

“I have really missed playing football, but it has helped being around the team,” he said.

PA is one of most tradition-rich football programs in the state, winning back-to-back state championships. They finished the regular season 8-2 with a 55-13 loss at rival Little Rock Christian and a regular-season finale loss to Greenwood, which ended a 10-year home winning streak. Busby acknowledges those tough losses made him wish he were under center.

PA took the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and beat El Dorado 41-13 in a first-round game Friday night.

While there was a buzz for the Bruins’ final home game of the season Friday night, there was excitement on the PA campus centered on Busby’s signing with the Razorbacks on Wednesday along with PA golfer Anna Kate Nichols also inking with the Hogs.

“[The ceremony] lived up to expectations because it was a dream come true,” he said. “It was really fun celebrating with everyone. I worked really hard to make that dream come true, and it was a great experience. I had been looking forward to that day for a long time.”

The day was a time to reflect on what it means to soon be playing for one of the top programs in the nation.

“The [Arkansas facilities] are unreal, and they develop their pitchers so well,” Busby. “I am so excited to be a part of that program.”

Kel Busby was a standout quarterback as a junior at PA but did not play his senior season after injuring his throwing elbow playing baseball last spring. (Photo by Sheldon Smith)

Dave Van Horn has been one of the most successful coaches in his tenure at Fayetteville, but the one thing missing is a College World Series title.

“They haven’t won a natty yet, but we know what it takes to win championships at PA, so maybe I can go up there and help them win a natty,” he said.

As the Bruins football team prepares for a rare road playoff tilt at Marion this week, Busby is more and more focused on his baseball season. He’s spent a lot of the fall working on a throwing program with the goal of throwing off a mound soon. 

Busby doesn’t envision pitching for the Bruins, though, unless it’s “a few innings at the end of the season.” He said he might play second base, but he’s looking forward to a successful senior season and then be ready to head to Arkansas with a healthy arm.

“It has all worked out with the injury and sitting out football,” Busby said. “It has given me time to recover, and I am going to be strong and ready when I head up to Fayetteville.”

--Nate Olson I nate@scorebooklive.com I @ndosports