Previewing the New Big 12 Baseball Teams: Now Batting - UCF
As we welcomed four new teams to the Big 12 this past year, it's worth investigating what each team brings to the conference. Under a new head coach in Rich Wallace, UCF will be a team to watch after a busy offseason, particularly in the coaching department.
With every college baseball program, the team's identity and culture mainly stem from the head coach. What are the team's strengths and weaknesses? How does the team respond to adversity? Who are the leaders of the team? All these questions are ones that Coach Wallace will look to answer in his first year back at UCF. With 19 years of coaching experience, UCF believes they've got a coach who can do that while competing for a Big 12 title.
2022-23 Season for the Knights
Last year, the Knights went 33-26 on the season and 12-12 in conference play. Some of their notable series wins are against Clemson, Memphis, and Wichita State. Towards the end of the season, UCF found their groove, winning five of their last six regular season games leading into the AAC conference tournament. While they did win one game in the AAC conference tournament, #12 East Carolina ended their season with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th inning.
Some of the notable returning players on UCF's squad include Lex Boedicker, Andrew Sundean, and Najer Victor. Boedicker and Sundean combined for 100 RBIs with 16 home runs each, while Victor was a strong arm out of the bullpen for the Knights last year posting a 2.88 ERA in 34 innings.
UCF at a Glance
- Location: Orlando, FL
- # of Students: 68,442
- First D1 Season Record: 16-15-1
- Current Head Coach: Rich Wallace
- Stadium: John Euliano Park
- Stadium Capacity: 3,841
- Current MLB Players: Zach Eflin, Ryan Mountcastle, Dylan Moore, Ben Lively, Thaddeus Ward
Conference and Tournament Career
The Knight's most recent accolade in baseball came in 2017 when they won the conference season championship but were eliminated in the conference tournament with a 2-2 record. Before that, UCF excelled in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1993 to 2004. During this time, they won six conference tournament championships and four conference season championships.
When it comes to the NCAA tournament, UCF has struggled in the past accumulating a 16-24 record over 12 appearances. In 2004, the Knights had their best year going 3-2 in the NCAA tournament under head coach Jay Bergman but were eliminated by a 2017 Florida State team that would end up attending the College World Series.
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