Limestone Wide Receiver Makes History After Being Selected In UFL Draft

Former Limestone University standout wide receiver Jelani Baker has been selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the seventh round of the United Football League Draft, making him the first player in Saints football history to be drafted to a professional football team.

Limestone has had a number of former players sign free agent contacts with the National Football League, but Baker becomes the first to be drafted by a professional league.

Baker signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens earlier this year.

The upstart United Football League completed its inaugural season last month following a merger between the XFL and USFL.

The UFL held its college draft on Wednesday, July 17, where all eight of the spring league’s franchises selected from a pool of more than 12,000 eligible players. Five of the clubs, meanwhile, dipped into NFL rosters to address the quarterback position, drafting a half-dozen signal callers already signed to the pros.

Those players were only eligible to be drafted to the UFL because they were first eligible for the NFL Draft, but did not get selected there. They subsequently signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents this spring.

UFL teams will hold exclusive rights to draft picks within their league until the player reports to the club or the team forfeits the player rights. Any player who signs a UFL contract will also receive an “NFL out” during the NFL season, meaning they don’t technically have to give up an opportunity to play in the higher-level pro league.

Baker earned a multitude of accolades following his senior campaign at Limestone, earning All-South Atlantic Conference Offense, D2CCA All-Super Region Two First Team, and D2Football.com Elite 100 Squad Team.

In his final season with the Saints, Baker became the first receiver in team history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season, finishing with a program record 1,089 yards and 75 catches, both of which led the team.

Baker also hauled in a Limestone record 14 touchdowns on the season while leading the conference in that category as well as a 13-catch performance against Catawba on October 21.

Baker sat atop the conference in receptions, receiving yards per game, total yards, and touchdowns.

For his career, the speedy wideout collected 118 catches for 1,681 yards and 19 touchdowns while leading the Saints to consecutive Piedmont Division Championships and back-to-back NCAA Division II Football Playoff appearances.

Limestone went 16-8 during those two seasons, marking the first time in team history Limestone secured two straight winning seasons.