Beau Taylor
One of the most consistent hitters and best defensive catchers in UCF baseball program history, junior Beau Taylor proved his worth Tuesday when he was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
The Pop Warner Youth Football Organization selects 35 football players and 35 cheerleaders nationwide to represent its First Team Scholars. Avalon Middle School had three students in the top 35: Savannah Braud, Jennifer Castillo and Kristina Williams. Savannah and Jennifer were awarded a $1,000 scholarship and Kristina was awarded a $5,000 scholarship.
Jake Rooney, a junior at Timber Creek High School, was chosen as the 2011 U.S. Lacrosse All-American.
Following a dazzling season out of the bullpen for UCF, senior left-handed pitcher Nick Cicio signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins Saturday. Cicio completed his final year with the Knights by posting a 4-3 record with a 2.23 ERA and four saves in a team-high 28 appearances.
Abby McClain, a member of the UCF softball team, was named one of the 12 recipients of the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Conference USA annually presents the $4,000 Postgraduate Scholarship awards to graduates as selected by the C-USA Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Board of Directors.
A total of 10 UCF players were selected in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Sophomore center fielder Ronnie Richardson was chosen by the Chicago Cubs, senior pitcher Chase Bradford was picked up by the New York Mets, senior third baseman Derek Luciano was selected the Arizona Diamondbacks, Junior starting pitcher Danny Winkler was taken by the Colorado Rockies, senior first baseman Jonathan Griffin will go with the Arizona Diamondbacks and junior pitcher Chris Matulis was tagged by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Natalie Land, a member of the UCF softball team, was one of 12 student-athletes selected to receive the C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award. The C-USA Spirit of Service Award is designed to recognize the community service efforts of the league's student-athletes, based upon significant community service, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport.
D.J. Hicks, UCF’s designated hitter was named an All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Hicks received a spot on the NCBWA All-America Third Team, becoming the third Knight in the last two seasons to earn All-American status (Chris Duffy and Shane Brown were both All-Americans in 2010). It marked the first time in school history that UCF produced at least one All-American in back-to-back seasons (not including Freshmen All-Americans).