March 27, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - As the UCF baseball team currently sits at No. 19 in the 2008 rankings, the Knights learned that their 2009 recruiting class also received some high honors. Perfect Game released its rankings last week and it placed UCF at No. 7, the highest position of any Conference USA program.
"It's nice to get recognized for a lot of hard work on part of the entire coaching staff. Coach Bryan Peters in particular put in countless hours and miles last fall to make this class a reality," said associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Craig Cozart. "It's a credit to our university and what we have to offer the student-athletes. This class will put us in position to build on the success that we have experienced so far this year. "
The No. 7 ranking was the highest under Cozart, who is in his 12th year as a coach at UCF. Last year's class was ranked at No. 40, while the Black and Gold was listed in the 30s two seasons ago.
UCF had five players listed in the top 200, and trailed only Arizona State, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt and Southern Cal in the overall rankings.
Here's a quick look at the Knights' incoming class for next year, which features 14 players who all hail from the Sunshine State.
UCF Baseball's Signing Class
Bryan Brown - RHP - Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
Anthony Figliolia - RHP/INF - Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
Wesley Freeman - OF - Lakeland, Fla./All Saints Academy
D.J. Hicks - 1B - Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lake Brantley
Graham Hicks - LHP - Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins
Jake Huxtable - INF - Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
Jamie Mallard - 1B/DH - Tampa, Fla./Middleton
Noah Piard - RHP - Winter Park, Fla./Lake Howell
Jordan Rasinski - RHP - Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
Matt Richardson - INF/RHP - Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary
Jacob Rogers - INF - Clearwater, Fla./Dunedin
Austin Smith - OF - Winter Springs, Fla./Winter Springs
Beau Taylor - Catcher - Rockledge, Fla./Rockledge
B.J. Zimmerman - OF - Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola
The No. 19 Knights get back to work this weekend when they host East Carolina in C-USA action Friday-Sunday. Game one is set for 6:30 p.m. at Jay Bergman Field, and head coach Jay Bergman will be honored beforehand for winning his 1,200th career game March 17.
Season tickets as well as single-game tickets to check out UCF baseball this year are currently available by contacting the UCF Ticket Office at 407-823-1000, or by going online at www.ucfathletics.com, the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.