June 11, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Following a dazzling season out of the bullpen for UCF, senior left-handed pitcher Nick Cicio (Baltimore, Md.) signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins Saturday. Cicio completed his final year with the Knights by posting a 4-3 record with a 2.23 ERA and four saves in a team-high 28 appearances.
Cicio became the eighth Knight to either be selected in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft or sign a free-agent deal. Earlier in the week, seven Knights were drafted by Major League clubs. The last UCF player to earn a free-agent contract was Tyson Auer in 2008 and he is now at the Triple-A level in the Los Angeles Angels' organization.
Overall, UCF has produced 104 MLB draft picks or free-agent signees since the program's inception in 1973.
The last UCF team which had at least eight players be selected in the First-Year Player Draft or sign a free-agent deal was in 2002 (six draft picks, two free agents).
Cicio played his first two years of college ball at The Community College of Baltimore County Catonsville before venturing to Orlando. As a junior, he started nine of 18 games and finished with a 5.64 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 59.0 innings.
The southpaw then found a permanent role as the primary workhorse in the bullpen as a senior. Cicio never allowed more than two earned runs in a game while striking out 56 in 60.2 innings. He held opponents to a .234 batting average, including a .203 mark with two outs. In two appearances in the NCAA Regionals, he combined to go 6.1 innings, allowing just one earned run on seven hits and sitting down six on strikes vs. Alabama and Bethune-Cookman.