Former Kentucky WR recalls being Deion Sanders’ bat boy, teammate

A former wide receiver for the Kentucky football program has a unique story about twice meeting Deion Sanders.

Derek Abney, a member of the Wildcats from 2004-2007, has had 2 separate encounters with Coach Prime, once on the diamond and once on the football field. Not only did Abney once serve as a batboy for the Atlanta Braves during Sanders’ time with them, but he was also a teammate of his when he was in the NFL.

He shared how he had a chance to be a batboy during a Braves spring training game in West Palm Beach, Fla., after his mother, a “huge” Braves fan, wrote a letter on behalf of her son.

Fast forward to when Abney was taken by the Baltimore Ravens in the 7th round of the 2004 NFL Draft. One of his teammates? Deion Sanders.

“Man, don’t tell me that. Just makes me feel old,” Abney recounted to Marty Smith and Ryan McGee after Sanders learned of their encounter from a fellow Ravens teammate over a decade prior.

Sanders is, of course, currently the head coach at Colorado, and he has them off to a 3-1 start. But the fact that Abney was once a batboy for him and his Braves teammates and later played on the same team with him in the NFL is interesting, to say the least.

This Derek Abney story about Deion Sanders is WILD ?@MartySmithESPN | @ESPNMcGee pic.twitter.com/snSV5MIM2Q

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 30, 2023

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.