Wetumpka basketball will always be near and dear to Kaleb Ballard.
The gymnasium where he soars and feverishly defends the paint with one, two, three, four…five blocks per game stands on just the other side of the football field.
His hoops head coach, Steven Thomas, is an assistant coach for the football team. His twin brother, Kyle — younger than Kaleb by a matter of minutes — is a do-everything analyst of sorts for both programs.
Even under his football pads on a muggy Thursday-morning practice was a Wetumpka basketball shirt.
Ballard, no doubt, loves hoops.
Yet this summer, his focus shifted more towards football after a breakout sophomore campaign on the gridiron.
“It was pretty seamless,” Ballard told 247Sports. “I was doing a lot of both at the same time, so I’m just cutting down on basketball a little bit.”
Football is his future. It’s that simple sometimes. Ballard (6-5/223) is good at basketball, he could undoubtedly play it at the college level.
But football? There’s the chance to be special.
And so his training emphasized bulking up and football skills this summer. One P4 evaluator said “it’s all new to him,” pointing towards Ballard’s raw yet incredibly unique build and skill set.
Teams across the region are trying to get in place to make a push for Ballard if he does keep ascending as expected, with some teams letting him choose if he wants to play tight end, receiver or perhaps the more natural flex tight end — if it’s a scheme fit.
Early leaders, a game-day visit, and Ballard’s appealing skill set are detailed below as 247Sports continues to introduce you to 2028 prospects your favorite program is recruiting…
WHY HE MATTERS
Ballard is an upwardly mobile prospect who is still putting together a promising skill set within an intriguing frame. He had 32 catches for 573 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, and figures to see those numbers improve as a junior as he sharpens his skills.
And to paint a clearer picture of his athletic profile, Ballard — who’s up about 15 pounds from a year ago — averaged 16 points and 14 rebounds in addition to a whopping 5.1 blocks per game (14th nationally per MaxPreps) for Wetumpka basketball last season.
His best football could very well be ahead of him.
And that means that he’s of immense value, especially to programs that want versatility in how they deploy tight ends.
RECRUITING PULSE
Ballard has 10 schools that he views as higher priorities right now, and it’s a who’s who of regional programs:
