ORLANDO, Fla. – UCF relief pitcher and closer Jeff Hakanson received First Team All-American accolades from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday.
"Hands down THE best and most dominant closer in college baseball" ??
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) May 26, 2020
Big time congrats from @CoachLovelady23 to Hak on being named First Team All-American ?? pic.twitter.com/QUz9Dt9lTJ
Dominant on the mound for the Knights, Jeff Hakanson earned six saves in seven appearances on the mound in 2020. Hakanson's six saves put him tied for the most in the country, and on top of the American Athletic Conference. The Tampa, Fla. native struck out 20 of the 28 batters in his 8.1 innings of work in the 2020 slate.
In a season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Knights finished the 2020 campaign with a 15-3 mark. UCF earned national recognition for the first time since 2018, moving into the Top 25 of every major national collegiate baseball poll and landing as high as No. 12 on the D1Baseball.com, USA Today, Perfect Game, and Baseball America polls.
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 years. It is most noted for handing awards, such as Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year, and Collegiate Baseball All-Americans.
To view the entire Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American list, CLICK HERE.