July 10, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF Director of Athletics and Executive Vice President Keith Tribble and head baseball coach Terry Rooney announced Friday that assistant coach Cliff Godwin has been promoted to the position of associate head coach. Godwin recently completed his first year with the Knights and serves as the program's recruiting coordinator and hitting coach while he also works with the catchers.
"I am pleased to announce the promotion of Cliff Godwin to associate head coach," said Rooney. "His dedication, work-ethic and loyalty to his job is second to none. In addition, Cliff has established a reputation as one of the top recruiters and offensive minds in college baseball. We are extremely fortunate to have Cliff here at UCF and look forward to continuing to work together in solidifying our baseball program in the upper echelon of college baseball."
The UCF offense had a fantastic season under Godwin in 2008, finishing with a program record 68 home runs. Its .297 batting average was the second highest since the 2005 campaign, and the 123 doubles it pounded out tied for the seventh most all-time. Knight hitters struck out just 316 times, the lowest amount since 2003.
Along with the single-season home run mark, UCF also set or tied several single-game records when the Black and Gold defeated UAB April 24 with 29 runs on 28 hits, posting 26 RBI in the process. That week witnessed Shane Brown match an NCAA record with 18-straight times on base from April 24-28, allowing him to earn national hitter of the week honors by three different organizations.
Brown was one of four players who earned postseason awards by Conference USA. He joined Brandon Romans on the second team, while Beau Taylor and D.J. Hicks were named to the all-freshman team.
Taylor took over as the Knights' catcher early and controlled the position the rest of the year. With Godwin helping him learn the college game quickly, Taylor would complete his first Division I season by leading all C-USA catchers with 26 runners caught stealing. He also collected a .335 batting average and a .981 fielding percentage.
Godwin came to UCF with Rooney after they spent two seasons at LSU where they helped recruit and coach several of the key players that made up the Tigers' national championship team from this past season. Their 2007 recruiting class was ranked as the best in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball.
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.