Knights bring home three American Athletic Conference season awards

Robby Howell, Rylan Thomas, coach Greg Lovelady earn awards

ORLANDO, Fla. – The American Athletic Conference released its yearly season awards Monday afternoon with the Knights bringing home a plethora of honors, including the AAC Coach of the Year award for first year head coach Greg Lovelady.

Lovelady, who led the team to its first ever AAC regular season title, just one year after the team finished last in 2016, also saw success in growing his players. Robby Howell won AAC Pitcher of the Year, and Rylan Thomas won Rookie Position Player of the Year.

“I’m just appreciative of everybody that’s played a part in our journey this year. It’s more a reflection of them than anything else,” Lovelady said in a UCFKnights.com story. “I’m really grateful for my staff, this is really a staff award and they deserve a lot of credit. There are also guys behind the scenes that do so much to help the kids, nutritionally, in the weight room, and things to keep the kids healthy. They all play such a big role in us having the success that we’ve had this season.”

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Bryce Tucker and senior outfielder Eli Putnam were named to the All-Conference Team. Thomas and sophomore second baseman Matthew Mika were named to the Second Team.

In Lovelady’s first year, the Knights went 38-18 and 15-9 in conference play, taking down schools such as Florida, Miami and Houston. The Knights are ranked No. 24 according to D1Baseball.com ranking, No. 29 by the National College Baseball Writers Association, No. 23 in the Baseball America ranking and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Lovelady has won two other conference coach of the year awards, both in the Horizon League while at Wright State (2014, 2016).

Thomas, who will be a foundation for Lovelady in the coming years along with freshman left-handed pitcher Joe Sheridan, finished the year with a .300 average, leading the Knights at the plate with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs. Thomas finished third in the AAC in the home runs category and second in the AAC in RBIs, just one behind Jake Scheiner, the 2017 AAC Player of the Year.

“I’m really proud of him, he has worked really hard in is a gifted kid,” Lovelady said of Thomas in the UCFKnights.com story. “It’s so difficult to do what he did in this conference but to do it as a freshman, to have the year he’s had and put up the numbers he put up is incredible. He’s a special player, and the crazy part is that he hasn’t even scratched the surface. It’s kind of scary to think how good he can be if he continues to work hard and is willing to learn.”

Over the course of 2017, Howell went 9-0 and was the only starter to go undefeated. The senior finished with a 3.48 ERA and limited opponents to a .231 average, striking out 80 batters in 88 innings pitched. The only other UCF pitcher to win the AAC honor was Eric Skoglund in 2014. Howell finished seventh in the AAC with strikeouts, fifth for his opponents batting average and second in the wins category behind that of Sheridan.

“I’m really happy for him, to get pitcher of the year is a remarkable feat in this league,” Lovelady said of Howell in the UCFKnights.com story. “I feel like as a Friday night guy, he went out every week and competed like crazy. To go 9-0 is not very easy in this conference.  I’m proud of him. He has worked really hard and has been a great leader.”

Tucker joins Howell and Putnam on the All-Conference Team with his strong performance from the mound this year, throwing 33 innings of relief, garnering a 1.91 ERA, striking out 52 batters and only giving up eight runs. Tucker finished fourth in the AAC with nine saves. Putnam batted a team-high .332 average, belting seven home runs, driving in 36 runs, powered by his team-high 74 hits. Putnam finished tenth in the AAC in batting average, second for runs scored and fifth for hits. Mika stole 25 bases out of 27 attempts, finished 2017 with a .283 average, 58 hits, 10 doubles and 25 RBIs. 


Recommended Videos