Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford walked away from big money when he quit baseball. The 6-foot-2 athlete was MLB’s No. 160 draft prospect in 2020 before choosing to throw footballs instead of hitting home runs.
What Made Robby Ashford Such a Promising Baseball Prospect?
Ashford wasn’t just another high school athlete dabbling in multiple sports – he was elite at both baseball and football during his senior season at Hoover High School in Alabama.
In baseball, he batted .353 with 18 RBI, 15 runs scored, and six stolen bases while earning recognition as Alabama’s top baseball prospect.
Whereas in football, he threw for 1,088 yards with 10 touchdowns in just six games during his injury-shortened senior season. As a junior in 2018, he had thrown for 2,542 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions while rushing for 623 yards and seven touchdowns.
Standing 6-foot-2 with what baseball scouts called “top-of-the-scale” speed and “plus raw power” potential, Ashford had the physical gifts that made him valuable in both sports. The baseball world took notice first – MLB.com ranked him No. 160 overall for the 2020 draft, while Perfect Game had him No. 121 nationally and No. 23 among outfielders.
But the real validation came when Ashford became just the fifth player to participate in both the Under Armour All-America baseball and football games, joining names like Kyler Murray and A.J. Brown in that elite group.
That dual-sport talent eventually took him to Oregon, where he planned to continue playing both sports at the college level.
Why Did Ashford Ultimately Choose Football Over Baseball?
When Ashford arrived at Oregon in 2020, he made it clear that playing both sports was essential to him. “When I started getting recruited, I told schools that if I couldn’t play both, it wasn’t any shade or disrespect, but I couldn’t come there,” he explained. Oregon coaches agreed to support his dual-sport dreams.
The experiment quickly revealed the brutal reality of college athletics. During spring 2021, Ashford batted .200 in 20 baseball games while battling for the backup quarterback spot behind Anthony Brown.
With Coach Mario Cristobal describing the quarterback competition as “really tight,” every practice rep mattered – but Ashford’s body was breaking down under the relentless dual demands.
“By that point, my body had been kind of beat. It was just getting through those days. It was challenging, but it was one I signed up for,” he later reflected. When Anthony Hall established himself as Oregon’s everyday center fielder, Ashford’s baseball path became uncertain while the football competition remained wide open.
Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski announced the inevitable in May 2021: “Robby’s chosen to devote himself to football since spring ball started and he’ll continue to do that. He wants to win that second quarterback spot with the football program and those are his wishes.”
The decision took time to pay off, but it eventually did. After spending two seasons at Oregon without seeing any football action, Ashford transferred to Auburn in 2022, where his athletic talents finally found their home.
He earned the starting quarterback job by 2022 Week 4 and held onto it for the rest of the season, throwing for 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 709 rushing yards and seven more scores on the ground.
Auburn named him Offensive Player of the Year that season, validating his choice to abandon baseball for football. The speed that once helped him steal bases now helped him escape pass rushers and extend plays.
He became the first Auburn quarterback since 2014 to rush for over 100 yards in a single game and the first Auburn player since Carnell Williams in 2003 to score two rushing touchdowns in the Iron Bowl against Alabama.
After another season at Auburn and a productive stint at South Carolina in 2024, Ashford landed at Wake Forest as the starting quarterback for 2025.
At 22 years old and in his sixth college season, he has maximized his football eligibility while building substantial experience as a dual-threat quarterback. Through three games this season, he’s completed 54 of 85 passes for 697 yards with three rushing touchdowns.
As Wake Forest takes on No. 16 Georgia Tech today, Ashford shows the same athletic skills that made him special in two sports during high school.
