In his fifth and final season at UCF, Andrew Brait will play in the NCAA Tournament. The infielder and team captain talks about it means to end his career with a berth in a regional and the chance to ultimately advance to the College World Series.
"It was a dream come true," Brait said of UCF's selection to the Tallahassee Regional. "It was always a goal since I've been here. It's something we always knew we could do. To see it finally come true, it's just amazing."
After UCF beat Oklahoma State to win their second game in the Big 12 tournament, Brait felt at that point they had done enough to earn an at-large bid. He said it was like a weight was lifted off their shoulders, though they still wanted to continue to advance and play for the Big 12 championship.
Brait said he quickly became a believer of Rich Wallace.
"He's fantastic," Brait said of UCF's first-year coach. "Since the day he was brought in, we knew he was special. The guys he brought in were special and we'd have a serious opportunity to go far... (Wallace has) charisma. The fight he brings to every practice and game. He's a guy you want to play for."
Brait is the ultimate gamer. During the regular season finale series at Baylor, Brait took a pitch to the face which caused significant bleeding. Moments later, he was back in the game.
"We had to make sure I didn't have a concussion or anything," Brait said. "Coach Wallace came up to me, 'Hey Brait, you ready to go back in?' I'm like, hell yeah."
He'll carry that same attitude to Tallahassee this weekend. UCF begins regional play with Alabama on Friday at 6 p.m.
"I'm so excited," he said. "This is what you dream about. Nothing is going to keep me from playing. That's how I'm going to attack every game."
