ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the 12th straight year, the UCF baseball team was represented in the MLB Draft. On the final day of the 2019 edition, a trio of Knights heard their names called to the professional levels.
Jordan Spicer (24th Round, Colorado), Garrett Westberg (26th Round, Seattle) and Tyler Osik (27th Round, Chicago White Sox) will join the #BuiltByUCF ranks this summer. It was the fifth consecutive year with multiple Knights taken.
UCF has now sent 107 players to the MLB Draft.
Spicer was the first off the board for the Knights in the 24th round. The senior saved his best for last with the Knights. Over his final four starts, the righty posted four quality starts, a 2.00 ERA and 25 strikeouts. He finished his UCF career with an emphatic statement in a complete game, six-strikeout performance in an elimination game win over Tulane in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Spicer finished his career with a 7-1 record and a 4.25 ERA over 29 games as a Knight.
The Rockies selected a UCF pitcher for the second straight draft, after picking righty Eric Hepple in the 27th round in 2018. The Knights have now had six players picked by Colorado.
Westberg was the next Knight to hear his name called in the 26th round. An anchor out of the UCF bullpen, Westberg made 30 appearances in 2019, tied for sixth most in program history. The northpaw fanned a bullpen-best 55 batters in 45 1/3 innings of work and picked up a trio of saves. The Knights turned to the Federal Way, Wash., native in tough spots, as he held 21 of his inherited runners off the board this season. Westberg compiled 86 punchouts in two seasons at UCF with a 2.60 ERA and 53 appearances.
Heading back home, Westberg will be the third Knight in the Mariners organization this season, joining big leaguers Chasen Bradford (2011) and Dylan Moore (2015). Westberg is just the second Knight to go to Seattle in the draft.
Osik followed suit an inning later in the 27th to the southside of Chicago. One of the purest hitters to put on the Black and Gold, the Shoreham, N.Y., native led the Knights this season with a .325 clip at the plate, while belting 10 home runs and driving in 40 runs. He totaled 20 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI outings this season, as well as a career-best 24-game on-base streak. Osik closed his UCF career with a .318 batting average in 105 starts with 96 RBI, 19 home runs and 43 walks.
Osik joins Ty Lynch (24th Round, 1992) as the only Knights to be picked by the White Sox.
For a complete list of every UCF draft pick over the years, click here.
The #BuiltByUCF page will be updated in the coming weeks with the draftees assignments.
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