In 2008: Bell was drafted in the 18th round of the MLB amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made 19 relief appearances for Class A Short-Season Auburn, going 0-0 with a 0.98 ERA in just over 27 innings of work. He allowed two runs on seven hits in his first five innings, then just one run on eight hits in his next 22 2/3 innings. He Struck out 39 and did not walk a batter, as he converted all ten (10) save opportunities.  He held opposition to a .162 on-base percentage. Bell was promoted to Lansing later in the season, where he appeared in two late-season games, retiring all nine batters he faced, four of them on strikeouts, and earning a save. His 11 combined saves were fifth (5th) -most in the Blue Jays system. For the season, Bell maintained a miniscule 0.88 ERA in just over 30 innings of work, where he held opponents to a .140 batting average against. He also struck out 43 batters while not allowing a single walk.

Career Highlights: As a freshman in 2005 at Rice University he was a Freshman All-American and earned All-Silver Glove Series honors. He had a perfect 4-0 record to go along with a 2.77 ERA in 24 appearances while fanning 51 batters in 52 innings.

As a sophomore is 2006 he earned second team All- Conference USA honors after continuing his undefeated streak going 8-0 in 18 appearances tossing 73.1 innings and posting a 4.17 ERA. Unfortunately, he spent almost all of his junior season injured after only throwing 2/3 of an inning and suffering the only loss of his collegiate career.

He came back stronger then ever in 2008 and returned to his dominant form. In 14 games he went 1-0 with 3 saves and a 1.31 ERA. Opponents also hit an extremely low .139 against him and he struck out 28 batters in 20.2 innings.