Looking back at the history of UCF Baseball, I consider joining Conference USA in 2005-06 as a delineation signifying the beginning of the "modern" era.

The Knights dominated the TAAC and Atlantic Sun during the 1990s and early 2000s when their key rivals were Stetson, Jacksonville, FAU, Troy, etc. Between 1993 and 2004, UCF made the NCAA Regionals eight times, the longest drought being two years.

When UCF joined C-USA, most of us thought UCF Baseball would continue to be the most successful men's sport at UCF. The program had a fantastic reputation at the time based on their A-Sun success and they would now be aligned in a top-five baseball league that also included quality programs like Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane and Southern Miss.

I won't completely rehash the (end of) Bergman, Terry Rooney and Greg Lovelady eras, but it's staggering to me that in the 18 seasons between 2006 and 2023, UCF made just three NCAA Regionals: 2011, 2012 and 2017.

Rooney almost reached a third regional. In 2014, UCF was acknowledged as the "first team out" of the bracket. Things fell off after that, a subpar season followed in 2015 and then a dreadful one in 2016 which prompted Rooney to cut bait and take an assistant job elsewhere knowing he was heading into the final year of a contract.

Then lo and behold in 2017, Greg Lovelady in his first year led UCF to a 40 wins, a regular season AAC championship and NCAA Regional berth.

After that, Lovelady's teams were good but not good enough. To his credit, he never had a losing season. We could talk about pitching depth/injuries and late-season slides that seemed to be a culprit in some of those seasons, but the biggest issue IMO was the decline of the American. It went from being a multiple-bid league to essentially a one-bid league* the last few years.

(Once UConn left, for whatever reason, the league RPI plummeted which usually meant ECU was the only team slated to earn a bid regardless of winning the conference tournament or not. From 2021 onward, the only times the AAC got two bids is when ECU lost the conference tournament).

I wasn't sure what to expect in Rich Wallace's first season besides having complete confidence that he would get UCF Baseball on track to becoming a regular regional contender again. I also know that when you're in a power conference like the Big 12, a rising tide lifts all boats. UCF was no longer competing in what's essentially a one-bid league like the AAC.

As long as they did reasonably well in OOC and found a way to finish Big 12 play around .500, their RPI should be in the range to have a chance. Still, that was easier said than done.

Highlights for me were the home series wins vs. Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Gutting out the Saturday win against Texas. Then delivering two clutch wins in the Big 12 tournament to seal the at-large bid and get off the bubble.

Kudos to Wallace and his staff, the UCF seniors that bought in and stuck it out and the influx of transfers that seamlessly meshed in. Happy for a guy like Ben Vespi who will end his career with a regional as well as Andrew Brait who is the lone remaining player that played on UCF's 2020 team.

And as far as those transfers, how huge were Wallace's connections? He was the sole reason for the late pickups of Jack Zyska (enrolled last September) and Danny Neri (enrolled in January), both of whom played for him at Notre Dame. Without those two, is UCF in a regional this year?

Fantastic season and hopefully a sign of what becomes an annual occurrence for the program.

***

NCAA Selection Show airs Monday from 12-1 p.m. on ESPN2.

I would not bet against Tallahassee, though we'll find out for sure tomorrow. FSU has not hosted a regional since 2018.

If Kendall Rogers and the D1Baseball crew is accurate, both UCF and Florida should be No. 3 seeds. I've seen some projections that put UF in Tally, though I'd be surprised if they did that. If one of us had to go out of state, I'd put my money on UF.

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UCF Baseball's march to the NCAA postseason was a season-long team effort, but they may not have gotten there if not for the recent heroics of catcher Danny Neri.

During UCF's Big 12 tournament opener against Cincinnati, Neri hit three home runs inside Globe Life Park including the game winner in the 11th inning. He was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team for his efforts.

Neri, who had four home runs the entire season leading up to that game, said it hadn't really sunk in what he was able to do.

"I just wanted to go out there and do anything I could to help the team," Neri said. "That's what I was excited to do, to help put us in this position. All the personal accolades, that's all great, but at the end of the day we made it back to a regional and that's the best part."

On Monday, UCF found out they would play in the Tallahassee Regional with a opening round matchup against Alabama. Host Florida State and Stetson are also in the bracket.

Neri transferred to UCF to reunite with Rich Wallace, who was his former assistant coach at Notre Dame. Neri's former Notre Dame head coach, Link Jarrett, now holds the same position at FSU where a potential regional matchup looms.

"Having played so many postseason games for Coach Jarrett and with Coach Wallace in the dugout and the potential to be playing for Coach Wallace and Coach Jarrett in the other dugout, I'm sure it'll be weird to look across the field and see him over there. I'm excited. I know he'll have those guys ready. They've got a great team, but so do we. I would love to get a chance at them."

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Neri said it's an honor knowing he helped Wallace take UCF to a regional in his first season as head coach.

"It's a massive accomplishment," Neri said. "Not an easy thing to do, show up with a new group of guys in a new conference and navigate your way through all those challenges. It wasn't smooth sailing by any means. We got swept in our first conference series and had to fight all year. He did a great job helping us through it. Can't say enough what he's done and the rest of the staff has done to get us ready."

From Wallace on down, Neri said 2024 UCF Baseball is a special group.

"There's such a cohesiveness between the staff and the players," Neri said. "It's unlike any team I've ever been on. I feel like all of us have such a great relationship with all our coaches whether that be the hitting coach or pitching coach. They've helped us in so many different ways it makes it easy on gameday to get the job done when you're all on the same page."

Neri was essentially the last man added to the roster. He remained at Notre Dame through December in order to graduate, then made the decision to transfer in January.

"I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to play my last year with," Neri said. "Coming here in January, I was a little nervous about how I would fit in with these guys who have known each other for so long. They welcomed me with open arms. I could not have asked for a better situation. To get to go into battle one last time with these guys and make a postseason push, I'm really excited and grateful for the opportunity."

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The UCF Knights baseball team learned their post-season fate on Monday when they were assigned to the Tallahassee Region. The Knights make the tournament in the first year under new head coach Rich Wallace, their first appearance since 2017. The Knights will battle Alabama in their first game, with Florida State and Stetson also appearing in the bracket. Enjoy interviews with Coach Rich Wallace, Jack Zyska, Dom Stagliano, Danny Neri, Andrew Brait, and Kyle Kramer.

Click here for more from Andrew Cherico for the Sons of UCF.

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Officially the start of summer and probably my favorite three day weekend of the year. Don’t have to deal with the hoopla and crowds of the the 4th of July, and then Labor Day Weekend while exciting for the fall and football to be back, feels like a wind down.

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What you guys got cooking this weekend on the grill and for the thrills?

Heading into the Spring, here is how UCF teams finished in their first season in the Big XII:

Team, Conference Record, Conference Finish

W. Soccer, 5-4-1, 6th (predicted to finish 6th)
W. Volleyball, 8-10, T8th (predicted to finish 9th)
M. Basketball, 7-11, T11th (predicted to finish 14th)
Football, 3-6, T9th (predicted to finish 8th)
W. Basketball, 3-15, 14th (predicted to finish 14th)

Total: 26-46-1

Obviously, we all knew it wasn't going to be easy breaking into a new conference with stiffer competition across all sports. What are your thoughts so far regarding UCF's overall performance in the Big 12? Better than you thought? Worse? About what you expected?

Seeded 3rd in Tallahassee bracket; first up: Alabama

It is official – the Knights are going to a Regional following the first year in the tenure of head coach Rich Wallace. This marks the first playoff appearance for the Knights baseball squad since 2017, which incidentally was also the first year of a new head coach for the Knights. UCF was listed as a “last four in” squad, shocking a few members of the team.

More here from Michael Theed for the Sons of UCF.

Headed to Indy this weekend with my 13 and 15 year old sons and my Dad. My brother and I went with my Dad in 2004 and the race was rain shortened. Only shortened once since then (2007) and looking like rain on Sunday, bad luck but hoping it holds off until late afternoon.

We fly in early tomorrow with no plans on Saturday, anyone have tips for stuff to do in Indianapolis? We are staying on the NE side of town in Keystone.

I know this doesn’t mean Jack shit till the end. Thought I’d start it anyways.

https://www.warrennolan.com/baseball/2024/rpi-live

RPI : 3
ELO (equivalent of NET is my understanding) : 37

I’ll update every Monday

Stetson is doing one though.

UCF is not having one, just a private one for the team, and it's also closed to media.

Considering the final home game was canceled for dubious reasons (which was understood), this seems like a missed opportunity to celebrate UCF's season. NCAA Regionals have sadly been few and far between.

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I've mentioned this before in the Gus era but we need two freshman QBs in each class. And one of them needs to be a bigtime prospect. I don't see any on the visit list. We got lucky with the Colson kid reclassifying. People are going to say Transfer Portal, but is that truly the answer? And how many QBs have we lost to the portal. JRP played half his games and KJ is only here for '24. Every great season or championship in UCF history has been a QB HS recruit.

The Oregon WR commit has two big visits coming up:

I was logged out, and system won’t let me log in.

Mobile seems fine. Not sure if system wide issue or just me.

Shocking news. He was only 30.

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Saw this posted on Facebook. Please tell me it’s fake news.

Welcome to the new shit show of the confernece. Been following the Sun Devils for 12 years now since i moved out here but this was to good not to post. Experts please weigh in of how this all works.

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The secondary market sites like Stub Hub want like $200/each. Anyone have any extra tix and want to sell directly?

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😥

Knights eliminated in semifinal rout

“A SEMIFINAL!!” – Mae Green, Ted Lasso®, Season 2, Episode 9.

The Cinderella Story in the Big XII tournament comes to a close for the Knights following a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who went on to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners for the Big XII tournament title.

With the way the tournament is formatted, despite entering the game undefeated in the tournament, the Knights found themselves in a win-or-go-home contest late Friday night. In another interesting aspect of this tournament format, the Knights found themselves once again being the “road” team for this neutral site setting.

Click here to read more from Michael Theed for the Sons of UCF.

While there may be a finishing touch that remains, it's been an outstanding offseason for UCF in the transfer portal.

Between the winter and spring, UCF retained their key contributors while adding significant talent to both sides of the ball. UCF will likely finish with a transfer team class ranking around the top five.

First, let's reflect on the players that exited the program. New school in parentheses, if applicable.

Transfer Portal Exits

Winter:

DE Josh Celiscar (Texas A&M)
CB Corey Thornton (Louisville)
RB Jordan McDonald (Boston College)
C Drake Metcalf (Virginia)
DE KD McDaniel (Georgia State)
DE Dallaz Corbitt (Bethune-Cookman)
DT Kervins Choute (UConn)
LB Isaiah Paul
WR Amari Johnson (Florida A&M)
DE Keenan Cupit
WR Tyler Griffin (Louisiana Monroe)
WR Jaylon Griffin (Tulane, but in portal again)
CB Fred Davis II

Spring:

QB Timmy McClain (Arkansas State)
S Nikai Martinez
WR Stephen Martin (Samford)
WR Goldie Lawrence
DB Ja'Maric Morris (Georgia State)
DB Jason Duclona
DE Zavier Carter
RB Demarkcus Bowman
QB/S Xavier Williams (Middle Tennessee)
LB Rian Davis
CB Jarvis Ware (UNLV)

In the winter, Corey Thornton was probably the only player that had a great chance to retain their starting job in 2024. UCF was ready to move on from Josh Celiscar as a starting DE. I think UCF would have liked to have kept Jordan McDonald for his special teams contributions, but he probably wouldn't have been in the main RB mix (especially not now).

In the spring, there were no shocking departures which is a testament to The Kingdom and contributors. Retention is just as important (if not more so) than acquisition.

As for the departures, you hate to see a guy like Nikai Martinez go because he was essentially Gus Malzahn's first "Hometown Hero" commitment but he was in the process of being squeezed out as a starting safety and knew it. He didn't have a great season last year and had had issues with tackling.

It was always assumed Timmy McClain would depart - I think the only reason he didn't go in December was to await the NCAA's clarification regarding the court ruling to allow multiple transfers.

Stephen Martin was a great story, a legacy that went from walk-on to scholarship player, but likely not a primary contributor on offense.

The other players really weren't in the mix and in some cases weren't even here for spring (Bowman, Davis, Ware).

Transfer Portal Commitments

Winter:

QB KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)
RB Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati)
WR Goldie Lawrence (Florida State)*
TE Evan Morris (Michigan State)
OL Jabari Brooks (Samford)
OL Wes Dorsey (Western Kentucky)
DE Daylan Dotson (UT Martin)
DE Zavier Carter (UNLV)*
LB Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt)
LB Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech)
LB Xe'ree Alexander (Idaho)
LB/DE Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati)
CB Ladarius Tennison (Ole Miss)
CB Antione Jackson (East Carolina)
S Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)

*Re-entered portal

Spring:

QB Jacurri Brown (Miami)
RB Peny Boone (Toledo/Louisville)
WR Jacoby Jones (Ohio)
OL Keegan Smith (Central Michigan)
DE Nyjalik Kelly (Miami)
S Cedrick Hawkins (Ohio State)
S Sheldon Arnold II (East Tennessee State)
DB Tre'Quon Fegans (USC)
DB Mac McWilliams (UAB)
WR Ja'Varrius Johnson (Auburn)

Looking back at the winter, UCF secured its starting quarterback in KJ Jefferson and now in the spring has seemingly locked up its 2024 backup in Jacurri Brown, who will have ample opportunity to earn the 2025 job. It goes without saying KJ will be the lynchpin to the offense's success and determine whether or not UCF will be a true Big 12 title contender.

Following spring, most thought UCF was fine at RB with RJ Harvey leading the way, but Peny Boone's addition gives Gus as true 1A/1B rushing attack. Gus' first season as a college coach was in 2006 as the OC at Arkansas and they were led by one of the best RB duos of all-time with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. I'm told how Malzahn utilized that duo was used in the pitch to Peny Boone.

For reference, McFadden rushed for an Arkansas-record 1,647 yards in 2006, finshing second in the Heisman voting. Felix Jones rushed for 1,168 yards.

UCF was a bit thin on experienced WR depth, so adding Jacoby Jones makes a lot of sense. He caught 45 receptions for 776 yards in 2022 (he was injured for most of 2023).

UCF has added important depth pieces on the offensive line. Time will tell if any of the transfers will start though.

The talent upgrade on defense is significant.

Ethan Barr and Deshawn Pace spent the spring as UCF's starting LBs, though Pace is a player with the versatility to play multiple positions in the secondary too.

Ladarius Tennison could be UCF's starting nickel.

Bryon Threats will be a factor at safety, possible starter. Sheldon Arnold was an FCS All-American safety.

Looking at the spring additions, Nyjalik Kelly has a great chance to earn a starting job if not sigificant playing time.

Fegans and Hawkins exude talent and potential, it's up to them how quickly they see the field as prominent contributors. Hawkins will play safety. I'm told Fegans is being recruited as a "DB" and they'll decide his best fit when he arrives. He played CB at USC.

Who's left?

Ja'Varrius Johnson appears to have taken the final available scholarship, which was freed up since HS signee Frankie Arthur is not slated to academically qualify.


Outlook

If KJ clicks with the offense and Ted Roof/defensive newcomers deliver, there's true reason to believe UCF can be a Big 12 championship contender. The schedule is mostly favorable - 5 conference home games/4 road games. Utah and Kansas State seem like they'll be the overall favorites - UCF doesn't play K-State and then hosts Utah in the season finale on Black Friday. That could have CCG implications.

The stars have aligned for Gus Malzahn to bring home a championship. He got his QB in KJ Jefferson. He has an elite RB room led by RJ and Peny Boone. Defense has an experienced DC and proven playmakers in key spots.

Updated Roster Breakdown

QB (5)

KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)**
Jacurri Brown (Miami)**
Dylan Rizk
Riley Trujillo*
EJ Colson*

RB (5)

RJ Harvey
Peny Boone (Toledo/Louisville)**
Johnny Richardson
Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati)**
Stacy Gage*
(Frankie Arthur* is not expected to qualify)

WR (12)

Kobe Hudson
Xavier Townsend
Jacoby Jones (Ohio)**
Ja'Varrius Johnson (Auburn)**
Trent Whittemore
Chauncey Magwood
Jarrad Baker
Tyree Patterson
Bredell Richardson*
Kylan Fox*
Jordyn Bridgewater*
Kason Stokes*

TE (4)

Randy Pittman Jr.
Jordan Davis
Evan Morris (Michigan State)**
Grant Stevens

OL (14)

Amari Kight
Marcellus Marshall
Adrian Medley
Caden Kitler
Paul Rubelt
Jabari Brooks (Samford)**
Wes Dorsey (Western Kentucky)**
Keegan Smith (Central Michigan)**
Cameron Kinnie
Johnathan Cline
Keyon Cox
Patrick Barnett
Waltclaire Flynn*
Chase Malamala*

DT (7)

Ricky Barber
Lee Hunter
John Walker
Matthew Alexander
Derrick LeBlanc
Andrew Rumph
Marcus Downs*

DE (6)

Malachi Lawrence
Nyjalik Kelly (Miami)**
Daylan Dotson (UT Martin)**
Jamaal Johnson
Isaiah Nixon
Kaven Call

LB (10)

Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt)**
Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati)**
Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech)**
Xe'ree Alexander (Idaho)**
Andrew Harris
Kam Moore
TJ Bullard
Troy Ford Jr.
Qua Birdsong*
DJ McCormick*

S (8)

Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)**
Sheldon Arnold II (ETSU)**
Demari Henderson
Quadric Bullard
William Wells
Christian Peterson*
Jashad Presley*
Jakob Gude*
Cedrick Hawkins (Ohio State)**

CB (10)

Brandon Adams
Ja'Cari Henderson
Ladarius Tennison (Ole Miss)**
Braeden Marshall
Antione Jackson (ECU)**
Tre'Quon Fegans (USC)**
Mac McWilliams (UAB)**
Chasen Johnson*
Jaylen Heyward*

Specialists (4)

K Colton Boomer
K Grant Reddick
P Mitch McCarthy
LS Gage King

Thursday

Was evaluating the breakfast cereal options for stocking up, just wondering if there are some hidden gems out there that I haven't tried. I'm not a big cereal person (at least not anymore), but it lasts a while.

My picks...

Best dry (snacking) cereal: Quaker Oatmeal Squares Honey Nut (cinnamon variety as a runner up). It's not as good in milk IMO. Lots of sugar though.



Best cereal with milk:



The best cereal with lower sugar: Crispix



I almost always opt for the lower sugar stuff... Rice Chex and plain Cheerios are better options for that, but almost tasteless.

Can't easily find video, but Godwin was ejected after arguing with an umpire. A player had been ejected due to an illegal slide.

Godwin has always been a hot head with a foul mouth.

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It was believed UCF was at the 85 scholarship cap given the returners, signees and transfer commitments.

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