Kenny Kelly

Kenneth Alphonso Kelly (born January 26, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. He had also been a quarterback for the University of Miami football team.

Early life Kelly was born in Plant City, Florida to Shirley, a guidance counselor, and Floyd Kelly, a football coach at Plant City High School and later an assistant principal.

Kelly was able to dunk a basketball in eighth grade and received interest from college basketball recruiters as a child.

As a junior baseball player, he hit .457 and led Tampa Catholic to a state championship. Prior to his senior baseball season, Baseball America ranked him the 20th-best high school prospect in the nation. In 1998, he served as the primary backup quarterback to Scott Covington and threw for 433 yards and five touchdowns.

Kelly was named the starting quarterback ahead of the 1999 season. Freshman backup quarterback Ken Dorsey excelled in Kelly's absence. When Kelly was cleared to return for the 2000 Gator Bowl, Butch Davis told him that, despite a stated policy that players could not lose their starting roles due to injury, Dorsey would be getting the start.

Just over a month later, Kelly announced that he would be leaving Miami to focus on his baseball career due in part to the perceived financial security offered by a professional baseball career as well as his worsening relationship with Miami and Butch Davis. He signed with the Devil Rays for $450,000.

In February 2000, the Devil Rays restructured their agreement with Kelly and signed him to a four-year, $2.7 million contract to incentivize him to step away from football and focus on baseball. He began the season in Double-A with the Orlando Rays. Prior to the season, Baseball America had ranked him the 100th-best prospect in baseball.

Kelly was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time early in September 2000, as required by his contract. He made his debut on September 7 against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field as a pinch runner for Aubrey Huff. He appeared in only one more game that season as a pinch hitter. Nonetheless, Kelly failed to reach the Major Leagues with the Mariners and was removed from the 40-man roster following the 2002 season. Seattle re-signed Kelly to a minor league contract in 2003 but sent him at the trade deadline to the New York Mets in exchange for Rey Sanchez.

Kelly finished the 2003 season in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides.

On June 12, 2004, Kelly appeared in a Major League game for the first time in nearly five years. In the same game, he recorded his first Major League hit, driving in Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn with a single against Todd Williams of the Baltimore Orioles. He appeared in five more games with the Reds before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He was activated from the disabled list on July 14, 2005, and appeared in one more game with the Reds.

On July 20, 2005, the Washington Nationals claimed him off waivers from the Reds. On September 2, 2005, the Nationals called him up to the majors. Kelly finished the season on the roster and appeared in what would be the final 17 games of his Major League career. In 1999, he was paying child support in the amount of $800 per month. , he had three children.

Kelly received a degree in finance from Alabama State University in 2010 and got a job with Merrill Lynch. Kelly also served as an assistant coach with Alabama State's baseball team while attending classes.

In June 2018, Kelly made his debut as a professional jai alai player. At the same time, he was serving as a part-time assistant football coach at Florida International University.

Kelly has worked as a color analyst for college football broadcasts.

Kelly has a tattoo on his arm of a Miami Hurricanes logo including Sebastian the Ibis.