#24 UCF Golden Knights
Key Names: Landon Moran (Stetson), Zak Skinner (Lamar), John Smith (South Alabama), Roman Kimball (South Carolina), Michael Gillen (Clemson), Chandler Dorsey (LSU), JD Rogers (Vanderbilt)
UCF struggled mightily in the Big 12 last year, finishing 9-21 in conference and 29-26 overall on the season. The Big 12 is just getting better at baseball, and UCF is looking to catch up.
It’s never easy to recruit in a state where you are competing with Florida, Florida State, and Miami, but UCF put together a solid top 25 portal class that should help them hopefully boost this program’s abilities in 2026.
UCF was able to snag some of the top 150 players, including first baseman Landon Moran out of Stetson. Moran isn’t your typical bopper of a first baseman, but he put up solid numbers, slashing .268/.398/.395 with 92 B, 5 HR, and 41 RBI.
As well as Moran, they added two other intriguing bats in Zak Skinner out of Lamar and John Smith out of South Alabama. Skinner slashed .277/.374/.411 with 15 2B, 5 HR, and 50 RBI. Smith put up some significant numbers, slashing .314/.412/.466 with 8 2B, 7 HR, and 30 RBI. Both should provide some much-needed production for UCF.
South Carolina right-hander Roman Kimball was the most intriguing arm to me. While the numbers are far from pretty, Kimball is a guy who has generated a lot of MLB Draft buzz in the past but has battled injuries.
UCF also snagged some big-time conference guys who saw limited playing time due to depth, including Michael Gillen and Austin Jacobs from Clemson, Chandler Dorsey from LSU, JD Rogers from Vanderbilt, and James Hankerson from Florida State.