Jan. 18, 2005
Macon, Ga. - UCF is favored to win the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship in 2005 by both the league's head coaches and the A-Sun media. However, the league's head coaches and media members are split on who they think will capture A-Sun Tournament Championship. The head coaches favor last year's champion Florida Atlantic, but the media believes host Stetson will take the 2005 tournament title.
The Golden Knights also placed a league-high four players on the 2005 Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. The Golden Knights, ranked 24th in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, will look to repeat as A-Sun Regular Season Champions and are led by preseason all-conference selections Taylor Meier (SP), Drew Butera (C), Ryan Bono (1B), and Dee Brown (OF). The four preseason all-conference selections are the most in school history.
UCF, who finished 47-18 last season and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, picked up six of a possible 11 first-place votes in the coaches poll to finish first with 114 points. The Golden Knights return 13 position players and 11 pitchers from last year's championship squad. Florida Atlantic placed second in the poll with three first place votes and a total of 109 points. Stetson, the 2005 A-Sun Championship host, is predicted to finish third this season with two first place votes and a total of 107 points.
Both the coaches and media predicted identical finishes for the 2005 baseball season, with five of 11 coaches choosing FAU to repeat as tournament champs, while the media favored tournament host Stetson.
The Golden Knights open the 2005 season Saturday, February 5 vs. Florida International at Jay Bergman Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
Fans can also purchase reserved seating for baseball season ticket holders. You can reserve your seat with your name displayed on it for the 36 home games for the 2005 season. Fans can personally select the seat you want at Select-A-Seat Day on Saturday, January 29 at Jay Bergman Field! Come out for the Select-A-Seat Festivities from 2-4 p.m., then watch the UCF baseball team in action with an intra-squad scrimmage until 6 p.m. Fans can then make their way to the UCF Arena to watch the Men's Basketball team take on Belmont at 7 p.m.