Russell Sandefer didn't need much time to think about it.
The Saint Leo freshman right-handed pitcher entered the transfer portal on June 7. Less than 24 hours later, he committed to
Rich Wallace and UCF Baseball.
Sandefer said he initially intended to return to the Division II school for his sophomore year, but reversed course after Lions head coach
Rick O'Dette took the job at Florida Southern, one of their rivals in the Sunshine State Conference.
Currently away from home playing in a summer league, the former Tampa Robinson pitcher was surprised by the influx of attention he received.
"I'm playing in the Appalachian League with the Danville Otterbots, so I was actually on a bus traveling to Greeneville, Tenn.," Sandefer said. "I finished my paperwork and got compliance to approve everything, then I put out the tweet. I was immediately getting hit up by a lot of schools. It was crazy. I never got that experience in high school. I wasn't heavily recruited. I was getting lots of phone calls.
"We had a game that night, so I put my phone on do not disturb. I checked my phone after the game and had a bunch of texts. UCF was definitely one of the bigger ones. It's always been a dream of mine to go there."
Recruiting in college baseball often starts early in high school with many players making commitments during their freshman year.
"I was definitely a late bloomer," Sandefer said. "I was undersized my first two years of high school. Then after my sophomore year I hit a growth spurt. I had a really good junior summer. The coach's son at Saint Leo, I played summer ball with him so (O'Dette) was at all our games. I never thought anything of it. But I was throwing the hardest I ever threw. At the end of our summer I was being recruited by Saint Leo. I was talking with a JUCO potentially, but I really didn't have anything else. I was excited to go play baseball at Saint Leo."
Sandefer had a standout freshman campaign, finishing with a 5-2 record and 3.35 ERA in 45.2 innings pitched with eight starts and 11 overall appearances. Saint Leo had an outstanding season, hosting a NCAA Regional.
"I thought it was a great year," Sandefer said. "I don't think the expectations were very high for me. We've got a great strength coach and we put in the work. I don't think I could have asked for a better freshman year. The guys on the team will be friends for the rest of my life. It was definitely a season to remember."
His most remarkable stat: Allowing just four walks. With 39 strikeouts, that puts Sandefer's strikeout-to-walk ratio at 9.75, impressive at any level.
"Honestly, in high school I had pretty solid command but it didn't jump off the page," Sandefer said. "It was a mindset change getting into college. The Saint Leo coaches really instilled confidence in everybody, just a mindset of attacking. I think that really helped me."
Of his pitching arsenal, Sandefer favors his fastball. He touches the low 90s and tops out at 94.
"I throw a two-seam and get a good amount of run," he said. "I'm mainly a fastball/slider pitcher. That's been pretty good for me."
As for his recent portal recruitment, Sandefer said he was laser focused on UCF as soon as he got the offer. Other schools involved included Oklahoma State, Florida Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Jacksonville, Purdue and Austin Peay.
"I grew up in Tampa and a lot of people go to UCF," Sandefer said. "UCF has always been a school that if I didn't play baseball I might have gone to. Another thing is my head coach is pretty close with UCF's pitching coach (
Drew Thomas). When I entered the portal, I called my (Saint Leo) head coach and he told me the UCF guy is legit.
"I talked it over with my parents and we decided it was in the best interest to commit to UCF. I wanted to stay in Florida. Especially this first year at Saint Leo, I appreciated being closer to home. So I called Coach Wallace back pretty quickly and told him I wanted to be a Knight. He was super excited."
Sandefer says he's been a starter throughout his baseball career, but he's also open to any possibilities.
"I just want to pitch and help this team win," he said. "Do whatever it takes. Even at Saint Leo, I was a starter but would come out of the bullpen to help win games. My biggest priority is to help the team."
In addition to Sandefer, UCF has transfer portal commitments from LHP
Dakota Stone (JU), RHP
Isaac Williams (JU) and OF
Chase Krewson (Duke).
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