ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Rylan Thomas was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year on Thursday, as the league announced its annual preseason teams and poll. The sophomore became just the second player in UCF Baseball history to receive a league's preseason player of the year honor.
Bryce Tucker, Joe Sheridan and Matthew Mika joined Thomas on The American Preseason All-Conference team. Tucker was a unanimous selection.
Thomas had a rookie season for the record books in 2017. The Winter Garden, Fla., native set the freshman program record with 14 home runs. He finished the year with a .303 batting average, a team-high 53 RBI and a .530 slugging percentage. Thomas was named a Freshman All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Baseball America, D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper/Louisville Slugger.
Tucker led the Knights' bullpen with 27 appearances as a sophomore. The native of Apopka, Fla., registered a 1.66 ERA over 38 innings with 55 strikeouts. He garnered First Team All-Conference laurels for The American. Tucker was already named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball and ranked as the 86th MLB Draft prospect by Baseball America.
After working his way into the starting rotation, Sheridan posted 10 wins on the year to top The American and finish tied for 13th in the country. He fanned 64 batters over 72 innings on the mound with a 3.25 ERA. Sheridan earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper/Louisville Slugger and Perfect Game/Rawlings.
Mika was a constant threat on the basepaths during his sophomore campaign. The native of Lake Worth, Fla., swiped a team-high 28 bases in addition to 28 RBI and a .278 clip at the plate. Mika was named to The American All-Conference Second Team.
As for the conference preseason poll, the Knights were picked to finish third by the league's coaches. Houston topped the chart with five first-place votes, and UConn received a trio of first-place tallies to take second.
Overachieving is nothing new for the Knights under head coach Greg Lovelady. Last season, the Black and Gold were tabbed to finish seventh in the league without a player on the preseason all-conference team. Lovelady guided the Knights to their first title in The American behind a 40-22 overall record with a 15-9 mark in league action.
UCF opens the 2018 season with a three-game tournament at home against Virginia, Rice and Samford on Feb. 16-18.
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