ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - For the first time in 2017, the UCF baseball team has cracked the Top 25 in national polls, checking in Monday at No. 22 in the latest edition of USA Today ESPN Coaches Poll. The last time the Knights appeared in the Top 25 was when the squad achieved a No. 6 mark, from March 10-29 in the College Baseball Newspaper rankings.
The Knights also showed up at No. 23 in the Baseball America rankings, No. 24 in the D1Baseball.com poll, and No. 29 according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
"It's exciting, any time you're acknowledged by the baseball pundits it's always rewarding," UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said. "It's good for the kids, but I don't think they needed any validation. They deserve it and have worked really hard to get where they are."
UCF closed the 2017 regular season with an exciting win over rival South Florida, clinching The American's regular-season title. Lovelady led The Black and Gold to a 38-18 overall record, the most wins since 2012 when the team went 45-17 and last appeared in an NCAA Regional.
Despite the recognition, Lovelady remains grounded and his message to his team is to keep doing the things that got them here.
"At the end of the day this is a small detail in the big picture of what we want to do," Lovelady continued. "We have to continue to prove ourselves, every day we have to re-apply for the best team in the league and being in the Top 25 doesn't change any of that."
UCF is set to begin The American Athletic Conference tournament in Clearwater as the top seed Tuesday May 23 at 7 p.m. The Knights will face eighth seeded East Carolina to begin the double-elimination format, with the winner earning a guaranteed birth to NCAA Regionals. the game will air on CBS Sports Network while the remaining tournament games through the semifinals will appear on the American Digital Network with the championship match on ESPN NEWS.
The Voice of the Knights, Marc Daniels will call every UCF game on FM 96.9 The Game and iHeartRadio and fans can click here to follow along via live stats.
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