Projected Rotation for UCF Knights in NCAA Baseball Regional Tournament

The UCF Knights baseball team may be entering the Auburn regional with the 26th-lowest team ERA in the nation, but that does not tell the whole story about coach Rich Wallace's pitching stable.

Thanks to a slew of injuries, multiple starting pitchers and several bullpen arms are either out for the remainder of the season or have been out for multiple weeks and are only set to make their return this weekend for the NCAA Tournament.

So, after a regular season of getting battered and bruised, here is our projected UCF starting rotation for the Auburn regional:

1. Camden Wicker

Wicker is the only remaining starting pitcher from the Knights' opening weekend rotation back in February. In fact, he has remained so healthy this season that his 15 starts rank as the second-most in the Big 12 and 18th in the nation.

The All-Big 12 second team honoree is already set to take the mound for the first game of the regional, according to game notes. He is coming off an appearance in the Big 12 conference tournament in which he went just four innings, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks.

Wicker, who has gone 5-3 this season, led the Big 12 and ranks 34th in the nation with 6.5 hits allowed per nine innings and sports a 1.110 WHIP that is the fourth-lowest in the Big 12 and 56th in the nation.

2. Mateo Gray

With the injuries sustained by the Knights' starting rotation this season, sophomore Mateo Gray is pitcher on this rotation that has seen his role increase the most between the season-opener and now.

After only pitching 3.1 innings in his freshman campaign last season, Gray started out in the bullpen in 2026, picking up two wins against South Florida and Oklahoma State and even earning a save against Murray State. He followed this up with his first collegiate start, a win against Arizona.

However, following the harrowing injury to Braden Smith, Gray was tabbed as the Knights' new Friday night starter, a position he occupied for the rest of the regular season.

On Selection Monday, Wallace said Gray was "obviously healthier now than he was a week and a half ago," so even the sophomore arm was not immune to injury this season.

While Wallace's decision at starter for Saturday could very well depend on who the Knights' opponent is, Gray is the most likely option without knowing such information.

3. Matt Sauser

Originally UCF's midweek starter at the beginning of the season, Matt Sauser still sports one of the Knights' lowest ERAs of the season. He entered the starting rotation by the end of February as the Saturday starter, and it's a spot he's held for the rest of the season, aside from when injuries kept him in the dugout.

Sauser would be looking to recapture his early-season form in this regional. In his first five starts, he gave up just three total runs despite facing opponents like Murray State, Oklahoma State and TCU. However, in his last three starts, all following a two-weekend absence in late March and early April, he has given up 10 runs.

Now, Sauser has had another lengthy absence from the mound, coming after Wallace said he suffered "food poisoning" on May 1. On Selection Monday, Wallace said that Sauser would pitch in an inter-quad game before they left for Auburn to see if he "passed the last test to pitch in the regional." So, should that outing have gone well, expect to see him on the mound at some point in Auburn in either the second game or the regional final, depending on the opponent.

4. Roman Kimball

Another pitcher that transitioned from a reliever to a starter, South Carolina transfer Roman Kimball was a late addition to the weekend rotation in the wake of Sauser's absence over the last month.

After two outings as the Knights' midweek starter against Jacksonville, Bethune-Cookman and Stetson and earning a win in relief against Arizona State, Kimaball became their Sunday starter for the final two weekends of the regular season against Baylor and Kansas State. However, those two ended up being shorter outings, going no longer than 2.1 innings.

Should Sauser be held back from pitching in Auburn, or the Knights need to play four games in order to win the regional, Kimball would either be that fourth starter or potentially a long reliever after the game is opened by Wicker.

5. Kaniel Rosado/Matthew Heyl

Following the first four pitchers, the only healthy UCF arms remaining are those from the bullpen that have earned a spot start or two during the regular season.

Rosado started a midweek matchup against Stetson and a weekend game against Arizona State, though that latter outing saw him give up four walks and a home run. Heyl, meanwhile, started UCF's final midweek game of the season against Florida Atlantic, which ended up being a loss.

Similar to Kimball, these two pitchers could end up serving as long relievers to an opening arm or be an opening arm themselves.

The Knights' Auburn Regional gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. against NC State.

Catch up on more UCF news below:

UCF Knights Region Breakdown: Opponents, Schedule, How to Watch, Bracket Breakdown

The UCF Knights and Johnny Dawkins Agree To Extension Terms

UCF Forward Vows To Return To Knights If Granted Extra Year

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