ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – A pair of UCF pitchers were selected on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft, as Jason Bahr went in the fifth round to the San Francisco Giants and Robby Howell was taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the 10th round on Tuesday.
Jason Bahr became the fourth UCF pitcher to be selected in the first five rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft since 2012 after going 156th overall. He joins Eric Skoglund (3rd, 2014), Ben Lively (4th, 2013) and Joe Rogers (5th, 2012).
It marks the ninth time in the last 10 years that the UCF baseball program has had a player drafted and Bahr is the 94th Knight to be selected overall. The Longwood, Fla., native is the 34th UCF player to be drafted in the first 10 round and the 18th in the first five rounds.
Having played sparingly during his freshman season, and being cut from the UCF squad twice, Bahr excelled under the leadership of head coach Greg Lovelady and pitching coach Justin Parker in 2017.
Bahr made 24 appearances and started five games on the mound, leading UCF with 98 strikeouts and just 15 walks. The former walk-on finished the year with a 2.97 ERA and .191 opponents' batting average in 60.2 innings pitched.
With Howell taken 287th overall by the Reds, UCF has now had 95 players selected in the MLB Draft and 34 in the first 10 rounds.
Howell finished up an impressive career with the Knights in 2017 by earning Collegiate Baseball Newspaper/Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American honors. The right-hander went 10-1 and was named The American Pitcher of the Year after leading UCF to a regular season championship.
The Fort White, Fla., native finished his senior year with a 3.32 ERA and .235 opponents' batting average, while striking out 94 and walking 42 in 103.0 innings pitched. Howell concluded his time with the Knights tied for the program record with 50 starts, fourth all-time with 26 wins and sixth with 236 career strikeouts.
Bahr and Howell give Lovelady eight drafted players in his time as a head coach. The former Wright State skipper had five players drafted in 2016 and one in 2015. Bahr becomes the second UCF player to be taken by the Giants, joining Alex Morales (1995). Howell is the sixth Knight to be drafted by the Reds.
