ORLANDO – Fresh off of entering the national rankings for the first time on the season on Monday, the No. 23 UCF baseball team will open a four-game road trip with a midweek game at Big Ten foe Penn State on Wednesday.
The midweek matchup will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The game will air live on Big Ten Plus as well as on the radio on 810 AM Orlando. Live stats can also be followed by visiting UCF.StatBroadcast.com.
At 18-8 overall and atop the conference standings with an 8-1 Big 12 mark, the Black and Gold entered the national rankings this week as they checked in at 23rd on D1Baseball’s Top 25 poll and No. 22 on Perfect Game’s Week Seven poll. The Knights have won nine of their last 11 games and 14 of their last 17 after sweeping the defending Big 12 tournament champion Arizona Wildcats at home over the weekend.
The 8-1 start to conference play marks UCF’s best since its first season in the American Conference in 2014 when it too started with an 8-1 league clip. The Knights hold a pair of home sweeps so far in Big 12 play with sweeps over Oklahoma State and the Wildcats, as well as a road series win at the preseason favorite TCU Horned Frogs.
In the Arizona series, the long ball helped UCF get off to a strong start as the team hit out a season-high four home runs en route to defeating the Wildcats 11-6 on Friday night. John Smith III led the way with his first two-homer game in a Black and Gold uniform while Andrew Williamson hit out his team-leading sixth and Javier Crespo also belted one out. Smith III led the Knights in the opener by going 2-for-4 with a two-run round tripper in the fourth inning and a three-run shot in the eighth. He finished with season-high tallies of five runs batted in and three runs scored.
With Saturday’s scheduled starting pitcher Matt Sauser being scratched at the last minute, sophomore right-hander Mateo Gray made his first career start and gave the Knights six solid innings in which he allowed just two runs on three hits while striking out two and walking just one. The offense continued to produce behind him all game long as the team recorded 17 hits, one shy of the season high, en route to pulling out a 13-3 run-rule victory.
All nine Knights recorded a hit, with five players recording two or more hits and three members posting three hits. Austin Jacobs tallied three RBIs and three runs scored on 3-for-3 hitting, while Cayden Gaskin also recorded a career-best three RBIs going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. DeAmez Ross logged three singles to finish 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
The strong pitching for UCF continued into Sunday, as junior Camden Wicker had a dominant start for the Knights. The right-hander tied a career-high with 7.0 innings pitched in which he allowed just one hit and one baserunner into the eighth inning. He faced the minimum in six of his seven innings and ended up allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out five and not walking a batter.
Despite the impressive start, Arizona took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth, but UCF responded with a with a clutch two-out RBI single from Cayden Gaskin in the bottom of the frame to tie things up. Black and Gold reliever Evan Jones tossed a career-high 4.0 scoreless innings of relief as the game headed into extra innings. Still tied in the 13th inning, Gaskin started another rally for the Knights with a one-out double. Following an intentional walk to Smith III, freshman Stephen Chucka stepped to the plate in a pinch-hit appearance and was the hero by delivering a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield to propel UCF to a 3-2 13-inning win.
The walk-off win marked the Black and Gold’s fourth of the season with all four coming on Sundays over the last five weeks.
Gaskin led the team in the series by hitting .467 with two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored in the Arizona series. Catcher Zak Skinner was next by batting .455 with three runs scored and an RBI while Smith III homered three times and drove in a team-best eight runs. Wicker led the way from the starting rotation with 7.0 strong innings of work, while Evan Jones tossed 6.1 innings of relief from the bullpen with a save and a 2.84 ERA.
Season Leaders
Senior outfielder John Smith III fronts the offense on the season with a .387 average. He also has five homers, five doubles, 20 RBIs and 15 runs scored. Zak Skinner is next with a .380 clip, seven extra-base hits, 21 RBIs and 19 runs. Austin Jacobs too is hitting over .350 at .351 while Andrew Williamson leads in the power numbers with seven doubles, six homers, four triples, 25 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Right-hander Matt Sauser leads the starting rotation with a 2-1 record and not only the team but the entire nation with a 0.64 ERA, as he allowed just two earned runs in 28.0 innings. Camden Wicker is next with a 2-1 record, a 2.78 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 32.1 innings, while Evan Jones fronts the bullpen with a 1-1 record, two saves and a team-best 28 strikeouts in 23 innings.
About Penn State
The Nittany Lions will enter Wednesday with an 8-18 overall record and in a tie for 11th place in the Big Ten standings with a 3-6 league record. Penn State most recently dropped two of three to Illinois in league action over the weekend. It has also dropped conference series to Iowa and Purdue. The Nittany Lions split a pair of midweek games last week with an 8-6 victory over St. Bonaventure and a 9-0 setback to Bucknell. Penn State finished tied for eighth in the Big Ten a season ago with a 15-15 league record and went 33-23 overall.
Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch Michael Anderson paces the Nittany Lions with a .356 average, 11 home runs and 29 RBIs. He also has 21 runs scored and a team-best .744 slugging percentage. His 11 home runs not only lead the club but rank second in the Big Ten. Jayden Davis is next with a .302 batting average and has 10 extra-base hits and 18 runs scored. Bryce Molinaro is second on the team in home runs with seven and RBIs with 20.
Fellow Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch Colin Fitzgerald leads Penn State’s starting rotation with a 2-4 record, 5.79 ERA, and 33 strikeouts over 28.0 innings of work. Kyle Emmons is one of the club’s top relievers with a 1-1 record, 3.72 ERA, and 16 punchouts over 19.1 innings.
Penn State is coached by head coach Mike Gambino. Gambino is in his third season at Happy Valley and his 16th season as a Division I head coach after previously spending 13 years at Boston College.
All-Time Series vs. Penn State
Wednesday’s midweek game between the Knights and Nittany Lions will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between the two and the first in Happy Valley. Penn State will enter play holding to a 2-1 all-time advantage after taking two of three in the lone previous meeting—a three-game series in Orlando in 2019.
Ranked Again
By entering the Top 25 polls this week, the Knights have now been ranked in each of head coach Rich Wallace’s three seasons at the helm of UCF baseball. In his first year in 2024, Wallace helped the Black and Gold spend two weeks in the national rankings in early April and ranked as high as No. 17 by D1Baseball. Last season, the Knights spent a week ranked 25th by Perfect Game in mid-March. UCF is 5-7 when ranked in the Rich Wallace era.
Cardiac Knights
With Sunday’s walk-off win over Arizona, the Knights have now pulled out four walk-off victories all on Sundays over a five-week span. The Knights started the stretch with a 2-1 walk-off win over in-state foe South Florida in the series finale on March 1. With the game all deadlocked at 2-1 heading into the last of the ninth, UCF quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Zak Skinner then worked a full count with the bases loaded and came through with a sharp single through the right side of the infield to give the Knights the walk-off 2-1 victory.
Trailing 9-4 entering the bottom of the ninth against Murray State on Sunday March 8, the Knights put together a last-inning rally for the ages by scoring six runs to record their second walk-off win of the streak. UCF again quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Javier Crespo started the scoring with an RBI single, and John Smith III came in to score on a wild pitch. James Hankerson Jr. then made it a 9-8 score with a two-run pinch hit single and Jordan Lodise evened the score with a safety squeeze. After a sac bunt moved the winning run to third base with only one out, Cayden Gaskin delivered a walk-off pinch-hit RBI single to left center to complete the epic comeback.
UCF kept the Sunday walk-off streak alive with by pulling out a 6-5 walk-off win over Oklahoma State on Sunday, March 15, to record its first Big 12 series sweep since joining the conference prior to the 2024 season. After OK State tied things up in the top of the ninth, the Black and Gold offense didn’t waste any time rallying as Landon Moran quickly reached with a sharp leadoff single into right field. DeAmez Ross then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position and James Hankerson Jr. plated Moran with a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield on the first pitch of the at-bat.
The Knights then pulled out their fourth Sunday walk-off win on Sunday, March 29, with a 3-2 13-inning victory. All tied at 2-2 since the eighth inning, Cayden Gaskin doubled into the leftfield corner with one away. Following an intentional walk to John Smith III, the Knights then called upon freshman Stephen Chucka to pinch hit. The hometown kid delivered the game-winning hit with a walk-off RBI single through the right side of the infield to bring in Gaskin and complete the sweep over the 2025 College World Series Wildcats.
Braden Smith Named to National Pitcher of the Year Watch List
UCF junior right-handed pitcher Braden Smith has been named to the National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List as announced by the College Sports Foundation. Smith was named to the watch list and currently holds a 3-1 record and 23 strikeouts while walking just eight batters over 32.1 innings. He also holds a 1.52 WHIP as UCF’s Friday night starter.
Smith is one of 13 pitchers from the Big 12 to make the cut and one of 141 pitchers in all.
Sauser Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week
Matt Sauser earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time of his career on Feb. 23 after tossing 6.0 dominant innings at No. 20 Miami on Feb. 17. The right-hander was nearly perfect in the outing, as he did not allow a hit over six innings of action. The Bloomington, Illinois native issued just one walk and struck out six over the six hitless and scoreless frames.
In all, Sauser retired the Hurricanes in order in five of his six innings of work. He also allowed just one baserunner to reach on the basepaths.
Williamson Tabbed Preseason All-Big 12
A season removed from earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors, junior outfielder Andrew Williamson has been named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Baseball Team. He enters the season off a stellar sophomore campaign in which he slashed .352/.662/.448 for the Black and Gold. The native of St. Petersburg, Florida led the Knights in nearly every offensive category a season ago in which he batted .352 with team-leading tallies of 13 home runs, 19 doubles, four triples, 58 runs scored and 53 runs batted in. Williamson also led the way in walks (34), on-base percentage (.448), slugging (.662), and finished second in stolen bases by going a perfect 13-for-13.
Williamson led the Knights with a 31‑game reached‑base streak, along with 26 multi‑hit games and 16 multi‑RBI performances in 2025. He also started all 55 games in right field a season ago.
Dorsey and Jones Named to NCBWA Stopper of Year Preseason Watch List
Right-handed pitchers Chandler Dorsey and Evan Jones have been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. Both are new to the Knights this season, as Dorsey is a senior transfer from LSU while Jones is a redshirt junior from Western Kentucky.
A season ago in Baton Rouge, Dorsey posted an ERA just over five over 5.0 innings of work. He struck out four and tossed scoreless outings in three of his five appearances to help the Tigers claim the 2025 National Championship. During his sophomore campaign at South Florida, he had a stellar season in which he went 2-1 with eight saves and a 3.60 ERA. Over 30.0 innings of work that season, the 6-4 right-hander struck out 41 batters and limited opposing hitters to a .180 average.
During the 2025 season at WKU, Jones compiled a 1-1 record with four saves and a 3.18 ERA. He also limited opposing hitters to a .227 average in 11.1 innings of work. Over 14 appearances, he tossed 10 scoreless outings which included a stretch that spanned over seven consecutive games.
Williamson Named to Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
In an award given to the top amateur baseball player in the nation, UCF junior outfielder Andrew Williamson was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. Jimenez was one of 55 players from both the college and high school ranks and five from the Big 12 Conference to make the cut. Williamson slashed .352/.662/.448 in 2025 with 13 HRs, 19 2Bs, 58 runs and 53 RBIs.
Trio of Knights Named to D1Baseball’s Preseason Player List
A trio of Knights were named to D1Baseball’s Preseason Player Lists prior to the season in outfielders Andrew Williamson and DeAmez Ross, and catcher Zak Skinner. The junior OF Williamson led the group by checking in at No. 14 on D1Baseball’s Top 150 Outfielders. The senior transfer Skinner was next by being ranked No. 47 on the Top 50 Catchers List, while the senior Ross was right behind him by coming in at No. 53 on the Outfielders List.
On Deck
The 23rd-ranked Knights will continue the trip with a big three-game league series at second place and 11th ranked West Virginia this weekend. The series will mark UCF’s first ranked vs. ranked series since March of 2018 when the then 20th-ranked Knights faced the 23rd-ranked East Carolina Pirates in a three-game conference series. This weekend’s series will run Friday to Sunday at WVU’s Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown.