June 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF catcher and Rockledge native Beau Taylor received a very high honor Wednesday as he was selected to the 2009 Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team. Taylor became the first catcher in school history to be named a Freshman All-American.
Taylor was one of just seven catchers in the entire country to earn Freshman All-American status by the organization. He also evolved into the first Knight since Taylor Meier in 2004 to be tabbed as a Freshman All-American.
Already a member of the Conference USA All-Freshman Team, Taylor paced all C-USA backstops with 26 runners caught stealing, including removing several of the top baserunners in the nation throughout the season. While he would finish with a .981 fielding percentage, he also quickly took notice with the aluminum.
Taylor paced the entire team with a .371 batting average in C-USA games and went .335 overall. Most of the damage was done in the second half of 2009 as it was not until April 4 that he moved his average above .300, demonstrating that he was starting to embrace his new role as a permanent Division I catcher. And Taylor kept it above that mark the rest of the year, which helped the Knights have a solid end to their season.
Along with the stellar averages at the dish, Taylor also had 15 doubles, four homers, 28 runs and 23 RBI.
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