ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – UCF Baseball head coach Greg Lovelady welcomed back former player Stephen Branca back to the program as the director of operations on Wednesday. Branca spent three seasons at UCF from 2008-2010.
“We are excited to bring Stephen back to the UCF Family,” Lovelady said. “His work ethic and drive from his coaching days were two things that caught my attention. We look forward to having him and his wife Anna and daughter Sophia join our family.”
Branca returns to UCF after serving as an assistant coach at Saint Leo for the last two seasons. Working with the infielders and as the hitting coach, the Lions hit above .280 during both campaigns under Branca including a .304 clip in 2018. He also coached at Lindsey Wilson College in 2017.
Prior to jumping into the collegiate level, Branca was a volunteer assistant coach at Bloomingdale High School and was the head coach of the West Coast Scorpions AAU travel baseball team in 2015 and 2016.
Branca opened his college career at UCF. Over the course of three seasons, he hit .213 with 10 RBI with a .328 slugging percentage. After transferring to Tennesee Wesleyan, he guided the Bulldogs to the 2012 NAIA National Championship and garnered First Team All-America and NAIA World Series All-Tournament honors. He was also the Appalachian Athletic Conference 2012 Player of the Year.
He played two seasons of professional baseball in the San Francisco Giants organization, reaching the South Atlantic League with the Augusta GreenJackets, the same team that 2017 draftee Jason Bahr played for during part of the 2018 minor league campaign.
“I am thrilled to be back wearing black and gold,” Branca said. “UCF has a special place in my heart, so I was ready to jump at the opportunity to come back home. I cannot wait to get to work and be a part of Knight Nation again.”
Branca replaces former director of operations Drew Roberts, who departed this summer to return home to Cincinnati.
“I cannot thank Drew enough for his dedication and hard work over the last three seasons,” Lovelady added. “His tireless efforts ensured that our student-athletes were taken of on a daily basis, and he was just as crucial to the coaching staff in preparing our players for their next steps after college.”
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