Ex-minor league baseball player opts for football at UNLV
James Baldwin III, a 27-year-old former minor league baseball player and a recent junior college defensive end and punter, has enrolled at UNLV where he will play football.
Baldwin (6 feet 4 inches, 225 pounds) made the announcement on Twitter on Monday.
I publicly want to announce that I have been enrolled at UNLV since the semester began and I am 110% committed to furthering my academic and athletic career at UNLV! Beyond thankful for this amazing opportunity @UNLVSanchez @CoachTSkip @CoachTSamuels & the entire #UNLVfb staff
— James Baldwin iii (@baldwin_iii) February 4, 2019
He made 11 tackles last season that included two for loss and a sack, playing only four games because of a torn labrum. Baldwin also averaged 31.3 yards per punt.
Baldwin played six seasons of rookie and Class A minor league baseball after being drafted in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010. He batted a career .228 with 42 home runs and 200 RBIs.
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.