ORLANDO – UCF pitchers Ben Vespi and Kyle Kramer have been named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team, the conference announced this afternoon.
Kramer was a breakout star out of the bullpen last season. Transferring from Rollins College, he pitched in 23 games in 2022. He threw 39.0 innings and struck out 50 batters.
The St. Petersburg, Florida, native pitched to the tune of a 3.69 ERA, which was the fourth best amongst returners for the Knights.
Vespi was another star of the 2022 season, as his 3.56 ERA is the second best amongst returning pitchers for UCF.
The righty did a little bit of everything last season. He made nine starts and also made two saves. In 65.2 innings pitched, he had 66 strikeouts. His seven-inning, seven-strikeout performance against Tulane led UCF to a huge 2-1 win over Tulane.
UCF was picked third in the conference, only one point behind Houston and 11 points behind preseason favorite East Carolina.
The 2023 season begins on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at home at John Euliano Park against Siena.
The full list of preseason honors and the coaches poll is below.
Preseason Coaches Poll
| East Carolina (7) | 49 |
| Houston | 39 |
| UCF | 38 |
| Tulane | 26 |
| Wichita State | 24 |
| South Florida (1) | 21 |
| Cincinnati | 19 |
| Memphis | 8 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
Preseason Player of the Year
Brock Rodden, Jr., 2B, Wichita State
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Carter Spivey, Sr., East Carolina*
Preseason All-Conference Team
P - Ben Vespi, Jr., UCF
P - Carter Spivey, Sr., East Carolina*
P - Dylan Carmouche, Jr., Tulane
P - Cameron Bye, Jr., Wichita State
RP - Kyle Kramer, R-Sr., UCF
C – Anthony Tulimero, R-Jr., Houston
1B – Ryan Nicholson, R-Jr., Cincinnati
2B – Brock Rodden, Jr., Wichita State*
SS – Ian McMillan, R-Sr., Houston*
3B – Zach Arnold, R-Jr., Houston
OF – Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, So., East Carolina*
OF - Drew Brutcher, Jr., South Florida
OF – Chuck Ingram, Jr., Wichita State
DH – Payton Tolle, So., Wichita State
* denotes unanimous selection