Sept. 2, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Several UCF baseball players competed in collegiate wood-bat leagues over the summer, and two Knights were selected as top prospects by Baseball America. Sophomore catcher Beau Taylor (Rockledge, Fla.) was ranked fourth in the Cal Ripken, Sr. League, while newcomer Derek Luciano (Bradenton, Fla.) was listed fifth in the Florida Collegiate Summer League.
Taylor finished with a perfect fielding percentage and threw out six of eight would-be basestealers for the Herndon Braves. He played in 28 games, hitting .271 with three doubles, three homers, 16 RBI and two sac flies.
In his first season playing college ball, Taylor was a Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, the first catcher in school history to earn the honor. He threw out a Conference USA-best 26 runners on the bases, all while hitting .335 at the dish and pacing all UCF batters with a .371 average in C-USA games.
Luciano has ventured to UCF after playing two seasons for Manatee Community College. The infielder was the DeLand Suns' leading hitting in the FCSL, going .299 with seven doubles, three triples and three home runs. He walked 23 times, drove in 30 and was a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases. Luciano also completed the summer with a .971 fielding percentage.
With Manatee, Luciano was a member of the Suncoast All-Conference Second Team as a sophomore by posting a .345 mark at the plate with 47 RBI and six round-trippers. He also stood out in an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 3-for-4 with three RBI to help his squad stun the Pirates, 6-4, on April 2.
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