Oct. 11, 2004
ORLANDO - Fall practice opens Monday for the UCF baseball team in preparation for the 2005 season. The Golden Knights head into fall practice with 21 letterwinners returning from last season's 47-18 club that reached the regional championship game at Florida State.
"We have plenty of position players back with experience and a good group of young players and transfers coming into the program," stated head coach Jay Bergman. The 2005 season will be Bergman's 23rd at UCF and the program's final year in the Atlantic Sun Conference before heading into one of the nation's premier baseball leagues in Conference USA in 2006.
"We exactly where we were last year pitching wise," added Bergman. "We had an unknown factor with Matt Fox and Kyle Bono going into the season last year in the starting rotation, so we hope with our mix of pitchers coming back, we will have the emergence of someone into those roles."
Bergman will have several capable arms to choose from to fill in on the starting rotation. Gone from the mix are All-Americans Matt Fox (14-2, 1.85 ERA) and Kyle Bono (8-2, 1.94 ERA) to professional baseball. One of the leading candidates to land a spot in the starting rotation is junior Mike Billek. The hard-throwing right-hander was 0-1 with a 6.12 ERA in 2004 after missing most of the season to a violation of team rules. After spending the summer pitching in the Cape Cod League, Billek has all of the tools to become a front-line pitcher for the Golden Knights.
Sophomore Taylor Meier returns after earning Freshmen All-American honors in 2004. The 6-6 righty from Altamonte Springs has nasty stuff with a mid-90s fastball and solid off-speed pitches. In 2004, Meier was 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 74.0 innings of work.
Bergman will also welcome the return of redshirt junior Taylor Cobb to the team. The Jacksonville native missed all of 2004 with an arm injury, but is expected back at full strength once the season begins. "Taylor should be ready to go in the spring," stated UCF baseball trainer Eric Gunderson. "He worked very hard over the summer getting ready to return to the field and he is anxious to get back."
With Cobb back in the fold, Bergman and pitching coach/recruiting coordinator Craig Cozart gain a pitcher who was perhaps the team's ace for the first part of the 2003 campaign. Cobb finished 2003 4-3 with a 4.56 ERA in 53.1 innings of work. His best start of the season came vs. East Carolina, when he held the Pirates scoreless through six innings for the win.
The UCF coaching staff also has senior Darren Newlin returning on the hill. The Tallahassee product can pitch both out of the bullpen and in the rotation after a 5-0 mark in 2004.
Several key members of the bullpen return including sophomores Brett Bordwine, Brian Brooks, Tim Bascom and Derek Abriola along with seniors Matt Rhodes and Mike Mercadante.
Cozart's first recruiting class at UCF netted several intriguing pitchers including freshmen Ryan Horton and Jaager Good. Horton was one of the top pitching prospects in the state from Bishop Moore and could be a player to watch for the mid-week starting job. Good has all the makings of a closer. The hard-throwing right-hander from Georgia will be given an early opportunity to earn the closer's job for the Golden Knights.
Junior college transfer Ray Rodriguez also brings a live arm to the table and could see substantial time for the Golden Knights.
Offensively, UCF returns five starting position players, headlined by senior left fielder Dee Brown. Brown devoted the entire summer to baseball after playing both football and baseball for the Golden Knights for his first three years in Orlando. Now a full-time baseball player, Brown won the Valley League All-Star Game Home Run Derby over the summer. One of the best offensive players to ever don the Black & Gold, Brown should improve with a full year of baseball under his belt in the spring.
Junior catchers Ryan Bono and Drew Butera form one of the nation's elite catching tandems. Bono is one of the team's leaders both on and off the field. The Lake Mary native hit .316 with 43 RBI a year ago and also spent a productive summer with the Chatham A's in the prestigious Cape Cod League.
Butera also played in the Cape and showed why he is one of the top defensive catchers in the country with his strong arm. Both players can also play in the field when not catching, with Butera at third base and Bono at first.
Sophomore Matt Ray returns from a terrific rookie campaign in 2004 in which he hit .316 with 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. Ray could be a candidate in the leadoff spot with the departure of Clay Timpner to professional baseball. Ray is also scheduled to move to shortstop in 2005 with the addition of LSU transfer Matt Horwath at second base.
Horwath hails from Lake Mary and is one of two key transfers for the Golden Knights. The sophomore hit .246 in 26 games for the Tigers in 2004.
Junior John-Michael Howell transferred from Florida and should be a candidate to earn a starting job. Howell was injured last season for the Gators after having two strong seasons at Seminole CC. A native of Winter Park, Howell was a JUCO All-American at Seminole and belted 16 home runs in two seasons.
Seniors Chandler Rose and Marshall Bernhard also are back in the fold for the Golden Knights. Rose is a versatile player who can play just about every position in the infield while Bernhard spent most of the season in 2004 as the starter at third base. Drake Wade, Kevin Richmond, Dave Lambert and Matt LaFleur give Bergman three players with experience and should be key contributors in 2005.
"One step further," added Bergman. "I think that is the theme this year and there is an understanding of what needs to be done."