2023 RB/OF/RHP Caleb Hampton commits to Stanford
On Saturday, Stanford secured a commitment from 2023 running back/outfielder/right-handed pitcher Caleb Hampton as a dual-sport commit for both football and baseball. Hampton attends Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is a standout on both the gridiron and the diamond. Hampton received a dual sport offer from Stanford at the end of December and is scheduled to take an official visit to The Farm next weekend (January 21st). Hampton was previously committed to South Carolina for baseball and also was being targeted by Virginia Tech to play both football and baseball, but chose the Cardinal in the end.
As for what he’ll bring to Stanford Stadium, he’s a powerful running back at 5’10”, 205 pounds. He runs with a lot of force and has good speed. He excels at breaking tackles and making plays in the open field. He’s got good footwork and has a real nose for the end zone. As a junior he rushed for 1,626 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a senior, he rushed for 1,899 yards and 27 touchdowns.
As for what he’ll bring to Sunken Diamond, Hampton has a really good arm and is a very promising talent as an outfielder. He has a good swing and hits with a lot of power. The way he plays baseball is very similar to how he plays football. He’s listed as both an outfielder and right-handed pitcher, so he’s got the ability to help the Cardinal in a variety of ways. Head coach David Esquer likes guys who can help out both on the field and on the mound and also enjoys the process of tinkering with his lineups to figure out how to get the most out of his players. It’ll be fun to see how Esquer puts Hampton to work.
Hampton appears to be a better prospect in baseball as far as being more highly ranked in that sport. Perfect Game seems to think he’s got a lot of promise on the baseball diamond whereas Rivals hasn’t rated him at all for football. That said, just looking at his tape, I do think he’s got a chance to make a real impact on the football side and be a real contributor to Stanford’s running back room.
I think the bigger question is whether or not he’ll choose to stick with both sports for all four years or if he’ll gravitate towards one and just focus on that. Stanford has had guys who did both in the past. Brock Jones, John Elway, and Toby Gerhart all played both sports on The Farm, though Jones only played the one season of football before making baseball his sole focus. For now, Hampton is locked in for both and hopes to make an impact whether he’s in the backfield or at the plate.
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