June 30, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Following a three-year career at UCF, former Knights outfielder and catcher Brandon Romans signed a professional contract Tuesday with the Rockford RiverHawks. The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, a 12-team independent professional baseball league that is in its 17th season this summer.
A native of Cocoa, Fla., and graduate of Cocoa Beach High School, Romans played his freshman season at Birmingham-Southern before transferring to UCF. He would hit .274 in 2007 before finishing with a .329 mark as a junior.
But it was his senior year that made him stand out even more. Romans started 52 games for the Black and Gold, going 65-for-195 for a .333 average, crushing a team-high 14 homers and driving in 49 runs. Those 14 long balls tied for the sixth-most in UCF single-season history. He also walked 25 times compared to just 15 strikeouts.
Thanks to those numbers, Romans was an All-Conference USA Second Team selection. During the year he was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List, which is given out annually to the nation's top catcher, however Romans transitioned to the outfield for the majority of UCF's 2009 season.
Romans completed his career in a Knights uniform with a .314 average, 17 home runs, 77 RBI and 70 runs scored.
Rockford is currently in fourth place in the six-team West Division as its 2009 campaign began in late May. It also will be hosting the Frontier League All-Star Game July 15. Most of the RiverHawks' games have live audio at www.rockfordriverhawks.com.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.