Top 50 Kentucky Wildcats Prior to John Calipari Era

Oct 16, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats fans line up before Blue Madness begins at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

19. Cotton Nash

Charles “Cotton” Nash found a home in both the NBA and MLB after his time at the University of Kentucky from 1961-1964.

Nash played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Francisco Warriors during the 1964-65 NBA season. He found his most success in the American Basketball Association with the Kentucky Colonels, averaging 8.5 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game. You know, there is no place like home. Even being from New Jersey, once you play in Kentucky, there is no place you’d rather be.

Nash played under head coach Adolph Rupp for the University of Kentucky basketball team, as well as Kentucky’s baseball team.

Nash played 13 games over 3 MLB seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins. One of those games was with the White Sox on September 10, 1967, in the ninth inning of Joe Horlen’s no-hitter; he replaced Ken Boyer at first base and recorded all three outs in the inning. Not exactly star in the MLB, but it’s still quite impressive to play in both the NBA and MLB.

Nash averaged  of 22.7 points per game is second-best in school history, and he pulled in 962 career rebounds, fifth-best in school history during his time with the Kentucky Wildcats.