After recently completing an accomplished four-year collegiate career in the circle for UCF, former Knights right-handed pitcher Kaitlyn Felton will remain with the program as a graduate assistant ahead of the 2026 spring campaign.
"I love everything about UCF," Felton said. "I loved my undergrad experience here and I already knew I wanted to pursue a master’s degree here. I’ve always believed in Coach Bear and the vision she’s had for this program, and I want to be a part of it and continue seeing her do great things."
In 99 career appearances (53 starts) spanning 331 innings donning the Black and Gold, Felton compiled a 3.28 ERA accompanied by 234 strikeouts, seven shutouts, 19 complete games, 35 winning decisions and seven saves.
She concluded her career ranking among all-time program leaders in saves (T-4th), appearances (6th), innings pitched (9th) and strikeouts (10th), and her four saves in 2025 ranked tied for second most in a single season in program history.
Felton enjoyed a breakout season throughout her final year on the field in 2025, setting single-season career bests in appearances (34), ERA (2.46), innings pitched (116.2), shutouts (3), complete games (9), winning decisions (14) and saves (4). Her 41 earned runs allowed and 35 walks both represented her lowest respective marks since her freshman 2022 slate that saw her responsible for 50 innings pitched, as well.
Among Big 12 Conference leaders, Felton in 2025 ranked T-2nd in saves (4), 5th in complete games (9), T-6th in shutouts (3), T-7th in winning decisions (14), 9th in ERA (2.46), and T-11th in appearances (34).
She garnered her first two career Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards throughout the 2025 campaign as well, earning her first following the season’s first weekend with 10.2 scoreless frames spanning three appearances against then-No. 12 Georgia, NC State and Illinois Feb. 6-9.
Her second conference weekly honor came as a result of her efforts in helping the Knights secure the highest-ranked series win in program history at then-No. 4 Arizona March 7-8, when she tossed five innings with just one unearned run allowed in clinching a win and a save in Tucson.
Among her other accomplishments throughout her senior season, the Valrico, Florida native produced a 36-inning scoreless streak from Feb. 16-March 14, threw her first career no-hitter against Quinnipiac Feb. 20, and played key roles in the Knights’ highest-profile wins over then-No. 15 Missouri, Clemson, then-No. 22 Florida Atlantic, then-No. 4 Arizona and then-No. 21 Oklahoma State.
Felton in 2024 posted a 3.86 ERA in 22 appearances, including 19 starts, spanning 87 innings. She paced the squad with 11 winning decisions and her three doubles allowed in Big 12 Conference play ranked second-fewest in the league.
She notably helped secure the first Big 12 Conference series win in program history over Kansas March 9, tossing an eight-inning complete game in the series-clincher, and also earned winning decisions in back-to-back appearances against BYU April 5-6 as the Knights recorded the first Big 12 Conference series sweep in program history.