First baseman Rylan Thomas and five of his UCF Knights teammates were drafted to Major League Baseball teams in the 2018 draft.
Right-handed pitcher Thad Ward was the first of the six to go, as the Boston Red Sox selected him with the 160th-overall pick in the fifth round. Just two rounds later, fellow righty JJ Montgomery was taken by the Baltimore Orioles with the 205th-overall pick.
Ward’s role grew significant from 2017 to 2018, as he began to earn the trust of his coaches with clutch relief performances. His junior season at UCF was his best, as he made a career-high five starts with a 5-4 record, a 3.27 ERA and two saves.
In a career-high 63.1 innings, which nearly doubles his previous high of 35.1, Ward recorded 84 strikeouts, 52 more than his previous high.
Montgomery was only with the Knights for one season after transferring from Northwest Florida State College. In 2018, Montgomery recorded a 2.54 ERA with a 6-4 record in eight starts. The Indianapolis, Indiana, native also struck out 74 in 63.2 innings of work.
Fellow pitchers Bryce Tucker, Eric Hepple and Cre Finfrock followed their teammates to MLB teams in the final day of the draft.
Tucker was selected in the 14th round by the San Francisco Giants; Hepple was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 27th round; the Toronto Blue Jays took Finfrock in the 29th.
Used primarily as a closer, Tucker had his best season in 2017. That season, he recorded a career-high nine saves in 38.0 innings of work with 55 strikeouts. He recorded a career-low 1.66 ERA then, too.
Hepple finished his career at UCF after playing four seasons for the Knights. He made the biggest impact in his final year in 2018, pitching 34.2 innings with a career-high 42 strikeouts. In 2017, Hepple also had a strong year, as he recorded a 0.46 ERA in 19.2 innings, as opponents hit just .156 against him.
Finfrock missed the 2017 season with injury after pitching for over 80 innings with over 70 strikeouts in each of his first two seasons at UCF. In 2018, he went 5-0 in 16 appearances and 48.0 innings, striking out 50 and allowing batters to hit only .185 against him.
Thomas was also selected on the final day of the draft, as the fire baseman/pitcher went to the Cincinnati Reds in the 26th round. The Windermere Prep grad led the Knights in home runs for the second season in a row and was one RBI short of the team-high.
The rising junior improved his on-base percentage significantly from 35.9 percent in 2017 to 44.7 percent this past season. Thomas also his batting average from .303 in his freshman season to .343 in 2018.
This is the sixth time UCF has had at least five players drafted to MLB. UCF’s five pitchers selected was the most since 2002 and the second-highest total ever for the Knights.
For more on the Knights, as some enter their professional careers, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
