SURPRISE, Ariz. – Highlighted by a trio of second team selections, a total of eight UCF baseball players have earned 2026 All-Big 12 Baseball honors ahead of this week’s Big 12 Tournament Presented by Allstate as announced by the league on Tuesday.
Outfielders John Smith III and Andrew Williamson, as well as starting pitcher Camden Wicker highlight the group by each being receiving Second Team All-Big 12 recognition. Two freshmen garnered All-Freshman Team honors in shortstop Jordan Lodise and relief pitcher Max Murray, while catcher Zak Skinner and relief pitchers Evan Jones and Kris Sosnowski received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades.
In his first season in a Black and Gold uniform, senior outfielder Smith III was named to the league’s second team after being one of the UCF’s top hitters. Smith III will enter the postseason third on the team with a .332 batting average but tops on the squad in RBIs with 49 and tied for the team lead in home runs with 12. Of his 12 home runs, 11 of them came in Big 12 play, which included a pair of two-homer games. He also had a stretch in which he homered six times in just eight games. He has collected 40 of his 49 RBIs in conference-only play this season.
A transfer from South Alabama, Smith III leads the Knights with 12 multi-RBI games on the year and is second on the team in multiple-hit games with 19. The conference honors mark the second of his career, as he previously earned all-conference accolades following his sophomore campaign at Pensacola State.
Junior outfielder Williamson earned All-Big 12 honors for the second straight year, as he previously earned honorable mention honors a season ago. The native of St. Petersburg, Florida, has had another stellar year in Orlando, as he’s hitting .317 and leads the club in runs scored (54), extra-base hits (28), walks (39), slugging (.598), on-base percentage (.437), and OPS (1.035). He’s also tied for the team-lead in home runs with 12 and is second on the squad in solen bases (8) and doubles (12).
Williamson will enter the Big 12 Tournament just one home run shy of entering UCF’s top 10 in that category with 30 career homers. He is also second on the team in multiple-RBI games this year with 11 and has 15 multi-hit games.
Junior right-handed pitcher Wicker also earned second team all-conference recognition this season after anchoring UCF’s starting rotation. The native of Viera, Florida, enters the Big 12 Tournament leading the way for the Black and Gold with a 5-3 record, 3.71 ERA, and team-leading tallies of 56 strikeouts in 68.0 innings pitched. He also holds a 1.03 WHIP on the season and is limiting opposing hitters to a solid .188 average. In conference-only play, Wicker recorded four of his five wins.
The 6-7 right-hander also tossed the first complete-game shutout of his career in a seven-inning shutout over Utah on his way to earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors that week. The all-conference honor marks the second of his career, as he previously was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team during his freshman year at Wofford.
After starting all 51 games on the year as a true freshman at shortstop, Lodise earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team accolades for the Knights. The freshman from Brunswick, Georgia, will enter the conference tournament hitting .246 with a team-best 18 doubles. He also has 36 runs scored, 27 RBIs, and four home runs.
The freshman Lodise has dazzled at shortstop all season long by making tough plays look routine. He holds a .958 fielding percentage with a team-best 124 infield assists. The conference honor marks the first of Lodise’s career.
Fellow freshman Murray too earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team recognition after being one of the team’s most dependable relief pitchers. The right-hander from nearby Winter Springs, Florida, is tied for the team-lead in wins on the year with five (5-2). He also holds a 3.94 ERA over 20 appearances. Murray has recorded 33 strikeouts over 29.2 innings.
The freshman right-hander has limited opposing hitters to a .239 average and holds a 1.38 WHIP. The conference honor marks the first of Murray’s career.
The senior catcher Skinner was tabbed Honorable Mention All-Big 12 after leading the way for the Knights with a .366 batting average on the year. He also tops the team in hits with 71 and holds 14 extra-base hits, 37 runs scored and 38 RBIs. He has posted a .500 slugging percentage and a .434 on-base clip. The native of Melbourne, Australia, has been a workhorse behind the plate for UCF by starting 47 of the team’s 51 games at catcher.
Defensively, Skinner has thrown out 12 would-be base stealers on the season and holds a solid .986 fielding percentage. The conference recognition marks the second for Skinner at the Division I level, as he previously earned second team All-Southland Conference accolades following the 2024 season.
Junior reliever Jones too earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades after being one of the squad’s most dependable end-of-game pitchers. Jones is tied for the team-lead with four saves and holds a solid 3.73 ERA. The native of Normal, Illinois, is 1-3 over 23 appearances and 41.0 innings pitched. He is third on the team in strikeouts with 46.
Jones is limiting opposing hitters to just a .224 average and holds a 1.15 WHIP. He was previously named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. The conference accolade marks the first of his career.
The senior captain Sosnowski was also tabbed All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after having a stellar season on the mound for the Knights. The right-hander leads the way in earned run average with an impressive 2.10 ERA over 19 appearances. He is also tied with Jones for the team-lead in saves with four. A multiple-year team captain for UCF and a native of Lutz, Florida, Sosnowski holds 16 strikeouts over 25.2 innings.
Sosnowski will enter the Big 12 Tournament limiting opposing batters to a .237 average. He also holds a 1.13 WHIP. A 2025 NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List honoree, this year’s conference honor marks the first of Sosnowski’s career.
The honorees were selected in a vote by the league’s head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
On Deck
After finishing the conference season in a tie for third place with a 19-11 record, the Knights will enter this week’s Big 12 Baseball Tournament Presented by Allstate in Surprise, Arizona, as the No. 4 seed. UCF has received a double bye and will enter the single-elimination event on Thursday at 12 p.m. EDT/9 a.m. MST against the No. 5 seed and 19th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.
2026 All-BIG 12 CONFERENCE AWARDS
Of the Year
Player – Landon Hairston, Arizona State
Pitcher – Maxx Yehl, West Virginia
Newcomer – Tyce Armstrong, Baylor
Freshman – Enzo Infelise, Cincinnati
Scholar-Athlete – Ashton Johnson, BYU
Coach – Dan Firzgerald, Kansas
All-Big 12 First Team
C: Gavin Kelly, West Virginia
IF: Nu’u Contrades, Arizona State
IF: Tyce Armstrong, Baylor
IF: Quinton Coats, Cincinnati
IF: Tyson LeBlanc, Kansas
IF: Dee Kennedy, Kansas State
OF: Landon Hairston, Arizona State*
OF: Alex Conover, Oklahoma State
OF: Kollin Ritchie, Oklahoma State
OF: Logan Hughes, Texas Tech
DH: Enzo Infelise, Cincinnati
UT: Connor Shouse, Texas Tech
SP: Cole Carlon, Arizona State
SP: Nathan Taylor, Cincinnati
SP: Chansen Cole, West Virginia
SP: Maxx Yehl, West Virginia*
RP: Boede Rahe, Kansas
RP: Tanner Sagouspe, TCU
RP: Ian Korn, West Virginia
*- unanimous selection
All-Big 12 Second Team
C: Jack Natili, Cincinnati
IF: Dominic Smaldino, Arizona State
IF: Travis Sanders, Baylor
IF: Ezra McNaughton, BYU
IF: Josh Dykhoff, Kansas
IF: Aidan Meola, Oklahoma State
OF: John Smith III, UCF
OF: Andrew Williamson, UCF
OF: Jake Long, Utah
OF: Paul Schoenfeld, West Virginia
DH: Caden Ferraro, Texas Tech
UT: Cade Baldridge, Kansas
SP: Camden Wicker, UCF
SP: Dominic Voegele, Kansas
SP: Ethan Lund, Oklahoma State
SP: Lance Davis, TCU
RP: Caleb Bunch, Baylor
RP: Ashton Johnson, BYU
RP: Adam Buczkowski, Cincinnati
All-Freshman Team
Tony Lira, Arizona*
Nate Novitske, Arizona
Brady Janusek, Baylor
Jordan Lodise, UCF
Max Murray, UCF
Connor Blue, Cincinnati
Enzo Infelise, Cincinnati*
Ryan Tyranski, Cincinnati
Brady Dallimore, TCU
Linkin Garcia, Texas Tech
Jesse Rusinek, Texas Tech
Cal Miller, Utah
*-unanimous selection
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Arizona: Garrett Hicks, Tony Lira
Arizona State: Sean Fitzpatrick, Taylor Penn, Dean Toigo
Baylor: Lucas Davenport
UCF: Evan Jones, Kris Sosnowski, Zak Skinner
Houston: Tre Broussard, Cade Climie, Ryne Rodriguez
Kansas: Brady Ballinger, Mason Cook
Kansas State: Bear Madliak
Oklahoma State: Stormy Rhodes, Brock Thompson
TCU: Chase Brunson, Cole Cramer, Zack James
Texas Tech: Tracer Lopez, Jesse Rusinek (OF, UT)
Utah: Jet Gilliam, Cameron Gurney, Cal Miller
West Virginia: Reese Bassinger, Carson Estridge, Armani Guzman, Matt Ineich, Sean Smith