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Qualifying for their second NCAA Tournament in three seasons since joining the Big 12, the UCF Knights have justifiably generated plenty of attention from big-league scouts.
UCF's top bats and arms will soon learn their professional destinations as the MLB draft kicks off July 11. NBC and Peacock will televise the first 10 picks from 1-2:30 p.m., MLB Network takes over for picks 11-40 and MLB.com will broadcast picks 41-135, covering the first four rounds.
Rounds 5 through 20 will take place at 11:30 a.m. July 12, streamed on MLB.com.
Here are five Knights expected to be in the draft mix this weekend, starting with a no-doubter who could join exclusive company.
The only question surrounding Williamson is whether he will become UCF's fifth first-round pick in program history — and the first in 22 years. The only Knights, to this point, taken in Round 1 were pitchers Matt Fox (Minnesota Twins, 2004), Justin Pope (St. Louis Cardinals, 2001) and Joe Wagner (Milwaukee Brewers, 1993) and outfielder Chad Mottola (Cincinnati Reds, 1992).
Named to the All-Big 12 second team and the Auburn Regional's all-tournament team, the 6-foot, 195-pound junior outfielder slashed .322/.442/.645 with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs, 58 runs scored, 13 doubles and eight stolen bases.
MLB Pipeline ranks Williamson, the nephew of former Tampa Bay Rays infielder Sean Rodriguez, as the No. 48 overall prospect in the draft class. His frame, compactness and pop from the left side of the plate give off, in their estimation, "some Alek Thomas or Nate McLouth type vibes."
Starting all but one game in center field for the Knights, Ross tallied 17 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games at the top of the order. The Melbourne native maintained a .287 batting average as a senior, scoring 36 times and driving in 38 runs. He went 16 for 18 on stolen base attempts and became one of the top defenders in the conference with a .982 fielding percentage.
UCF coach Rich Wallace spoke highly of Ross' character, saying, "Nobody's going to be around DeAmez for more than 30 seconds without wanting to be around him more. He's a guy you want in your building."
Smith achieved All-Big 12 second-team acclaim in his lone season with the Knights after arriving from South Alabama via the transfer portal.
He ranked second among UCF regulars in batting average (.322), slugging percentage (.574), doubles (13) and home runs (12). The 6-foot-1, 200-pound outfielder from Apollo Beach reached base safely in 23 consecutive games, the longest streak for any UCF player this spring.
Prior to South Alabama, Smith played 96 JUCO games at Pensacola State.
"When I watched him in junior college, I didn’t think he’d be around as a senior because the tools are so good," Wallace said.
Wallace expects several of his pitchers may have decisions to make in the coming days, including de facto ace Wicker, who started both the Big 12 tournament game versus Oklahoma State and the NCAA regional opener against North Carolina State.
At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, Wicker has an ideal frame for a right-handed workhorse. His fastball sat in the low 90s, and Wallace believes the Viera native has "another click or two" of velocity in him as he matures.
Wicker held opposing hitters to a .211 average across 16 starts, going 5-3 with a 4.16 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 32 walks in 75⅔ innings.
Right-handers Braden Smith, Matt Sauser and Evan Jones, all of whom have another year of eligibility remaining, could also be on draft radars.
Catchers always come at a premium in the MLB draft, especially ones with offensive prowess. Skinner caught 51 of his 54 games as a redshirt senior, and the Australian hit a team-best .359.
Sixteen of Skinner's team-leading 74 hits went for extra bases, and he drew 24 walks. Behind the plate, he threw out 13 runners trying to steal, and he had a .988 fielding percentage with 33 assists.
Italicized players reached the major leagues
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF baseball in MLB draft 2026: Which players seemed destined to be picked?
Continue reading...
UCF's top bats and arms will soon learn their professional destinations as the MLB draft kicks off July 11. NBC and Peacock will televise the first 10 picks from 1-2:30 p.m., MLB Network takes over for picks 11-40 and MLB.com will broadcast picks 41-135, covering the first four rounds.
Rounds 5 through 20 will take place at 11:30 a.m. July 12, streamed on MLB.com.
Here are five Knights expected to be in the draft mix this weekend, starting with a no-doubter who could join exclusive company.
Andrew Williamson
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The only question surrounding Williamson is whether he will become UCF's fifth first-round pick in program history — and the first in 22 years. The only Knights, to this point, taken in Round 1 were pitchers Matt Fox (Minnesota Twins, 2004), Justin Pope (St. Louis Cardinals, 2001) and Joe Wagner (Milwaukee Brewers, 1993) and outfielder Chad Mottola (Cincinnati Reds, 1992).
Named to the All-Big 12 second team and the Auburn Regional's all-tournament team, the 6-foot, 195-pound junior outfielder slashed .322/.442/.645 with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs, 58 runs scored, 13 doubles and eight stolen bases.
MLB Pipeline ranks Williamson, the nephew of former Tampa Bay Rays infielder Sean Rodriguez, as the No. 48 overall prospect in the draft class. His frame, compactness and pop from the left side of the plate give off, in their estimation, "some Alek Thomas or Nate McLouth type vibes."
DeAmez Ross
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Starting all but one game in center field for the Knights, Ross tallied 17 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games at the top of the order. The Melbourne native maintained a .287 batting average as a senior, scoring 36 times and driving in 38 runs. He went 16 for 18 on stolen base attempts and became one of the top defenders in the conference with a .982 fielding percentage.
UCF coach Rich Wallace spoke highly of Ross' character, saying, "Nobody's going to be around DeAmez for more than 30 seconds without wanting to be around him more. He's a guy you want in your building."
John Smith III
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Smith achieved All-Big 12 second-team acclaim in his lone season with the Knights after arriving from South Alabama via the transfer portal.
He ranked second among UCF regulars in batting average (.322), slugging percentage (.574), doubles (13) and home runs (12). The 6-foot-1, 200-pound outfielder from Apollo Beach reached base safely in 23 consecutive games, the longest streak for any UCF player this spring.
Prior to South Alabama, Smith played 96 JUCO games at Pensacola State.
"When I watched him in junior college, I didn’t think he’d be around as a senior because the tools are so good," Wallace said.
Camden Wicker
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Wallace expects several of his pitchers may have decisions to make in the coming days, including de facto ace Wicker, who started both the Big 12 tournament game versus Oklahoma State and the NCAA regional opener against North Carolina State.
At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, Wicker has an ideal frame for a right-handed workhorse. His fastball sat in the low 90s, and Wallace believes the Viera native has "another click or two" of velocity in him as he matures.
Wicker held opposing hitters to a .211 average across 16 starts, going 5-3 with a 4.16 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 32 walks in 75⅔ innings.
Right-handers Braden Smith, Matt Sauser and Evan Jones, all of whom have another year of eligibility remaining, could also be on draft radars.
Zak Skinner
You must be registered for see images attach
Catchers always come at a premium in the MLB draft, especially ones with offensive prowess. Skinner caught 51 of his 54 games as a redshirt senior, and the Australian hit a team-best .359.
Sixteen of Skinner's team-leading 74 hits went for extra bases, and he drew 24 walks. Behind the plate, he threw out 13 runners trying to steal, and he had a .988 fielding percentage with 33 assists.
UCF baseball players selected in MLB draft since 2000
Italicized players reached the major leagues
- Antonio Jimenez, IF, 2025, New York Mets, Round 3
- Edian Espinal, IF, 2025, Detroit Tigers, Round 10
- Alex Galvan, RHP, 2025, Arizona Diamondbacks, Round 13
- Dylan King, C, 2025, Cincinnati Reds, Round 17
- Angelo Smith, RHP, 2025, Los Angeles Angels, Round 18
- Najer Victor, RHP, 2024, Los Angeles Angels, Round 14
- Chase Centala, RHP, 2024, Miami Marlins, Round 20
- Ben McCabe, C/1B, 2023, Colorado Rockies, Round 9
- Alex Freeland, IF, 2022, Los Angeles Dodgers, Round 3
- Connor Staine, RHP, 2022, Colorado Rockies, Round 5
- Hunter Patteson, LHP, 2022, Kansas City Royals, Round 5
- Colton Gordon, LHP, 2021, Houston Astros, Round 8
- Josh Crouch, C, 2021, Detroit Tigers, Round 11
- Jack Sinclair, RHP, 2021, Washington Nationals, Round 16
- Jeff Hakanson, RHP, 2020, Tampa Bay Rays, Round 5
- Jordan Spicer, RHP, 2019, Minnesota Twins, Round 24
- Garrett Westberg, RHP, 2019, Seattle Mariners, Round 26
- Tyler Osik, IF/OF, 2019, Chicago White Sox, Round 27
- Thaddeus Ward, RHP, 2018, Washington Nationals, Round 5
- J.J. Montgomery, RHP, 2018, Baltimore Orioles, Round 7
- Bryce Tucker, LHP, 2018, San Francisco Giants, Round 14
- Rylan Thomas, IF/RHP, 2018, Cincinnati Reds, Round 26
- Eric Hepple, RHP, 2018, Colorado Rockies, Round 27
- Cre Finfrock, RHP, 2018, Toronto Blue Jays, Round 29
- Jason Bahr, RHP, 2017, Texas Rangers, Round 5
- Jordan Scheftz, RHP, 2017, Cleveland, Round 23
- Andy Rohloff, RHP, 2017, San Francisco Giants, Round 37
- Matt Diorio, OF, 2016, Pittsburgh Pirates, Round 16
- Andrew Deramo, RHP, 2016, Toronto Blue Jays, Round 29
- Dylan Moore, IF, 2015, Texas Rangers, Round 7
- James Vasquez, 1B, 2015, Cincinnati Reds, Round 25
- Eric Skoglund, LHP, 2014, Kansas City Royals, Round 3
- Ben Lively, RHP, 2013, Cincinnati Reds, Round 4
- Joe Rogers, LHP, 2012, Detroit Tigers, Round 5
- Roman Madrid, RHP, 2012, San Diego Padres, Round 7
- Darnell Sweeney, IF, 2012, Los Angeles Dodgers, Round 13
- Ronnie Richardson, OF, 2012, San Diego Padres, Round 16
- Melvin Mercedes, IF, 2012, Oakland Athletics, Round 16
- D.J. Hicks, 1B, 2012, Minnesota Twins, Round 17
- Matt Collins, RHP, 2012, Los Angeles Angels, Round 37
- Beau Taylor, C, 2011, Oakland Athletics, Round 5
- Dan Winkler, RHP, 2011, Colorado Rockies, Round 20
- Jon Griffin, 1B, 2011, Arizona Diamondbacks, Round 21
- Chris Matulis, LHP, 2011, St. Louis Cardinals, Round 29
- Chasen Bradford, RHP, 2011, New York Mets, Round 35
- Derek Luciano, IF/OF, 2011, Arizona Diamondbacks, Round 44
- Owen Dew, RHP, 2010, Cleveland, Round 21
- Shane Brown, OF/1B, 2010, New York Yankees, Round 23
- Chris Duffy, DH/1B/OF, 2010, Philadelphia Phillies, Round 26
- Austin Hudson, RHP, 2009, Seattle Mariners, Round 27
- Chadd Hartman, OF, 2009, San Diego Padres, Round 43
- Mitch Herold, LHP, 2008, Boston Red Sox, Round 16
- Mitch Houck, LHP, 2008, New York Mets, Round 17
- Robert Lara, C/RHP, 2008, San Diego Padres, Round 19
- Dwayne Bailey, IF, 2008, Los Angeles Angels, Round 21
- Tim Bascom, RHP, 2007, Baltimore Orioles, Round 4
- Mike Billek, RHP, 2005, Chicago Cubs, Round 3
- Drew Butera, C, 2005, Kansas City Royals, Round 5
- John-Michael Howell, IF/OF, 2005, Washington Nationals, Round 9
- Dee Brown, OF, 2005, Washington Nationals, Round 10
- Darren Newlin, RHP, 2005, Pittsburgh Pirates, Round 17
- Marshall Bernhard, IF, 2005, Toronto Blue Jays, Round 26
- Matt Fox, RHP, 2004, Minnesota Twins, Round 1
- Clay Timpner, OF, 2004, San Francisco Giants, Round 4
- Kyle Bono, RHP, 2004, Boston Red Sox, Round 8
- Jaime Douglas, LHP, 2004, Los Angeles Angels, Round 26
- Von Stertzbach, RHP, 2003, Anaheim Angels, Round 9
- Ryan Bear, 1B/OF, 2003, Florida Marlins, Round 30
- David Torres, RHP, 2003, New York Mets, Round 45
- Jeremy Frost, C, 2002, Milwaukee Brewers, Round 10
- Jason Graham, RHP, 2002, Detroit Tigers, Round 14
- Bo Hall, RHP, 2002, Milwaukee Brewers, Round 19
- George Cox, C, 2002, Baltimore Orioles, Round 20
- Zach Sutton, RHP, 2002, Baltimore Orioles, Round 22
- Brad Busbin, RHP, 2002, Philadelphia Phillies, Round 27
- Justin Pope, RHP, 2001, St. Louis Cardinals, Round 1
- Jason Arnold, RHP, 2001, New York Yankees, Round 2
- Jeremy Kurella, IF, Philadelphia Phillies, Round 29
- Mike Fox, IF, 2001, St. Louis Cardinals, Round 50
- Matt Bowser, 1B, 2000, Oakland Athletics, Round 11
- Dustin Brisson, IF, 2000, Boston Red Sox, Round 15
- Casey Kennedy, RHP, 2000, Los Angeles Dodgers, Round 18
- Daniel Stillman, LHP, 2000, Anaheim Angels, Round 47
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF baseball in MLB draft 2026: Which players seemed destined to be picked?
Continue reading...
