Rich Wallace

Rich Wallace, an Orlando native and former UCF baseball player and Knight assistant coach, brings two decades of experience as a Division I baseball coach with him in his return to Orlando as UCF’s seventh head baseball coach. The 2024 season marked Wallace's first season as UCF's head coach as well as the program's first year of competition in the Big 12 Conference.

During his first season at the helm of his alma mater in 2024, Wallace led his Knights to a 37-21 record and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017—with a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tallahassee Regional. He also led the Black and Gold to six conference series victories in the program's inaugural season of competition in the Big 12 Conference to finish eighth in the league with a 14-15 conference record.

With a possible postseason bid on the line, Wallace then led the Knights to a deep run at the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship by going 2-1 and reaching the semifinal round. UCF then received an at-large selection as a No 3 seed at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional and the Black and Gold went on to record wins over Alabama and Stetson to reach the finals of the regional before falling to the host and No. 8 Florida State Seminoles.

Wallace helped his 2024 squad enter the Top 25 national rankings for the first time since February of 2021, as the team spent two weeks in early April in the national rankings. The Knights were ranked as high as 16th by the NCBWA and 17th by D1Baseball. Wallace also guided the Knights to a 19-3 non-conference record during the regular season, which included an impressive 11-1 record in midweek action. The 2024 Knights also finished the season with a 14-4 record against in-state opponents as well as posted the nation’s 31st-best RPI. His 2025 team again spent a week in the Top 25 by being ranked 25th by Perfect Game in mid-March and he once again led the club to the national rankings in 2026, as the team spent three weeks in the Top 25 and recorded the Knights' highest ranking under his guidance at No. 12. 

By recording the NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024, Wallace became the first person in program history to have appeared in NCAA postseason play as a player (2000, 2001, 2002), an assistant coach (2004), and a head coach (2024, 2026).

In 2025, Wallace led the Black and Gold to a 29-26 record, going 9-21 in the Big 12. In his second season leading UCF, he has recorded back-to-back winning seasons. The Knights also had a winning home record of 19-13. Against in-state opponents, Wallace’s 2025 team went 9-4 with wins against ranked Florida, Miami, Stetson (two), USF (two), FAU, North Florida, and Florida A&M. 

Under Wallace in 2025, the Knights defeated No. 6 Florida and secured a series win against No. 15 TCU. After the Horned Frogs claimed game one, UCF responded and picked up wins in games two and three. Not only did the Knights defeat two ranked teams, they picked up seven wins against 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. These victories included two wins against TCU, two against Stetson, and one against Florida, Miami, and Kansas State. 

Wallace’s squad posted impressive stats in 2025 by leading the Big 12 Conference in batting average, on-base percentage, sacrifice bunts, double plays per game, ERA, and WHIP. The Black and Gold’s impressive .319 batting average not only led the Big 12 but also ranked sixth in the nation. UCF’s notable offensive stats did not stop there, as it posted an on-base percentage of .409 leading the conference once again and ranking 46th nationally. Also contributing to the Knights’ productive offense, they led the Big 12 in sacrifice bunts, with 34, putting them in the 42nd spot in the nation. 

The Black and Gold continued to impress defensively under Wallace’s guidance, ranking sixth nationally and leading the Big 12 with 0.95 double plays per game. UCF’s pitching staff also delivered a strong performance, leading the conference with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Nationally, the Knights ranked 19th in ERA and 16th in WHIP, showcasing the program’s all-around strength on the mound.

In 2026, Wallace posted his best season to date by leading the Knights to a third-place finish in the league standings, the program’s highest in the Big 12 era, with an impressive 19-11 conference record. After securing the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championship, Wallace then led the Black and Gold to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in his three seasons as head coach. The Knights posted a 32-23 overall record in 2026 and finished with the No. 36 RPI in the nation en route to earning a postseason bid to the NCAA Auburn Regional.

He added another stellar season on the mound in 2026 by helping the Knights post the second-best ERA (4.61) and WHIP (1.35) in the Big 12 Conference. His offense also had another strong season by finishing in the top half of the league with a .289 batting average, while the defense had another solid year by finishing third in the conference with a .976 fielding percentage. 

En route to tying for third with a 19-11 conference mark in 2026, Wallace led his squad to seven series wins in conference play, which included sweeps over Arizona, Oklahoma State and Utah. His Knights also recorded a pair of ranked wins over No. 11 West Virginia to take the series on the road over the Mountaineers as well as a win over No. 19 Arizona State. At the 2026 Auburn Regional, he then led his club to an opening victory over NC State before finishing with a 1-2 record. 

Wallace had eight Knights earn All-Big 12 Conference honors in 2026 led by John Smith III (OF), Camden Wicker (RHP) and Andrew Williamson (OF) all being named to the conference's second team. He previously had five Knights named All-Big 12 in 2025 with shortstop Antonio Jimenez leading the way by earning a spot on the conference’s second team. Six more Knights earned All-Big 12 accolades in Wallace’s first season in 2024 led by second team honoree Dom Stagliano (RHP), giving Wallace a total of 11 All-Big 12 award winners over his two seasons. He also helped LHP Dominic Castellano become UCF’s first pitcher to earn All-Region honors since 2017, as he earned Second Team All-Region honors in 2024. 

Wallace has also demonstrated a strong track record of developing professional talent, with 10 Knights selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during his three seasons as head coach. UCF saw two players drafted in 2024, including right-handed pitchers Najer Victor (Los Angeles Angels, 14th Round) and Chase Centala (Miami Marlins, 20th Round). The number grew to five in 2025 with Antonio Jimenez (New York Mets, 3rd Round), Edian Espinal (Detroit Tigers, 10th Round), Alex Galvan (Arizona Diamondbacks, 13th Round), Dylan King (Cincinnati Reds, 17th Round), and Angelo Smith (Los Angeles Angels, 18th Round) all hearing their names called. The Knights then added three more draft selections in 2026: Andrew Williamson (St. Louis Cardinals, 2nd Round Competitive Balance-B), Braden Smith (Baltimore Orioles, 15th Round), and John Smith III (19th Round). Williamson’s second-round selection marked UCF’s highest draft pick since 2004 and represented the program’s second top-three-round selection under Wallace’s leadership, further highlighting his success in preparing student-athletes for professional baseball.

He has also had three free-agent signings in RHP Ben Vespi (2024, Orioles), infielder Kendrey Maduro (2025, Angels), and right-handed pitcher Camden Wicker (2026, Orioles) during his tenure. 

The Knights have earned recognition not only for their success on the field, but also for their achievements in the classroom. Wallace has had 11 UCF student-athletes earn Academic All-District Team honors and has had his team achieve the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award in both 2024 and 2025. 

Prior to becoming UCF's head coach, Wallace spent the 2023 season as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State. He previously coached at Notre Dame (2020-22), Jacksonville (2018-19), Creighton (2015-17), High Point (2009-14) and UCF (2004-08). Wallace helped teams at UCF in 2004, Jacksonville in 2018 and Notre Dame in 2021 and 2022 to NCAA Championship appearances.
 
A 2004 UCF graduate, Wallace becomes the first alumnus to be named head coach of an NCAA-sponsored men’s sport at UCF since 1988. He played four seasons of baseball for the Knights from 2000-03, helping those teams reach the NCAA Championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002. As a freshman, he led UCF with a .380 batting average and .529 on-base percentage. He played a key role as UCF won the ASUN regular season in 2000-02 and the ASUN conference tournament in 2001 and 2002. Wallace helped the 2001 UCF squad win a school-record 51 games.
 
His combined NCAA Championship experience includes three times as a UCF player and four times as an assistant coach (two Super Regional appearances and one College World Series berth).
 
Wallace spent four seasons working with head coach Link Jarrett at Notre Dame (2020-22) and Florida State (2023). In South Bend he served as recruiting coordinator and third-base coach while also working with Irish hitters and catchers. He oversaw defensive alignments, managed opposing pitcher video scouting reports, helped coordinate baserunning instruction and assisted with game management during his tenure in South Bend. His role in Tallahassee also featured the recruiting coordinator assignment.
 
Under Wallace’s guidance, Notre Dame led the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked in the top 15 nationally in fielding percentage in both 2021 and 2022. Notre Dame threw out more than 35 percent of attempted base stealers, while Irish runners finished in the top four in the league in stolen bases each season.
 

 
In Wallace’s three years at Notre Dame the Irish were 86-32 (.729), second-best winning percentage in the country over that span. Notre Dame’s 44-21 (.677) three-year ACC record was the best in the league, and the Irish won the conference’s regular-season title (their first ACC crown) by 4.5 games in 2021. Notre Dame finished 41-17 in 2022 (most wins for the Irish since 2006) and set a single-season home run record with 79.
 
Wallace helped guide the Irish to back-to-back NCAA Super Regionals (first time at Notre Dame) and the 2022 College World Series in the third trip to Omaha in program history. In 2021, first baseman Niko Kavadas became a first-team All-American--Notre Dame’s first since 2002--and set the school record with 22 home runs (second in the ACC and third in the nation).
 
At Notre Dame, Wallace coached two All-Americans, three All-ACC selections and 14 players were named to the All-ACC Academic Team. Throughout his career Wallace’s teams have produced 55 Major League Baseball draft selections and coached more than 60 all-conference performers.
 
He spent the 2018-19 seasons back in his home state as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville under head coach Chris Hayes. In 2018 Wallace and the Dolphins finished 40-21 and reached the NCAA Championship as a two seed, highest in program history. That season, the Dolphins led the ASUN in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored and fielding percentage.
 
Wallace was the recruiting coordinator at Creighton (2015-17 under head coach Ed Servais) and High Point (2009-14 under head coach Craig Cozart). He was named the Big East Recruiter of the Year by D1Baseball in 2016 at Creighton. At High Point he helped bring in consecutive nationally ranked recruiting classes for the first time in school history.
 
Wallace began his coaching career at UCF (2004-08 under head coach Jay Bergman), coaching the catchers and outfielders while coordinating the camps. UCF won the ASUN regular-season title in 2004 and reached the NCAA Championship.
 
He remains in UCF’s top 10 in single-season on-base percentage (.529 in 2000) and career hit by pitch (46). Wallace in 2000 was an honorable mention Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and a third-team All-ASUN selection as a designated hitter. In his four seasons with the Knights, UCF won a combined 166 games (51-14 in 2001, 43-19 in 2000, 41-22 in 2002), including a combined 67-17 mark in ASUN play in 2000-02.
 
After his playing career as a 6-1, 220-pound infielder with the Knights concluded, Wallace earned his degree in 2004 from UCF’s College of Undergraduate Studies with a major in interdisciplinary studies and a minor in criminal justice. He graduated from Bishop Moore High School in Orlando.