ORLANDO, Fla. – Just a couple of weeks after Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ben Lively and Kansas City Royals pitcher Eric Skoglund got their Major League Baseball debuts, UCF sent four more pitches into The Show.
Starting with right-handed pitcher Jason Bahr in the fifth round, the Knights saw right-handed pitchers Robby Howell, Jordan Scheftz and Andy Rohloff all picked in the 2017 MLB first-year player draft.
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One of two UCF pitchers to be drafted by the National League West San Francisco Giants, Bahr was selected with the 156th overall pick. As just one of four UCF pitchers to ever go in the first five rounds since 2012, Bahr joins Skoglund, Lively and Joe Rogers.
Howell, who won the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year award, was taken next, drafted in the 10th round by the Cincinnati Reds with the 287th overall pick.
After Tuesday's draft, UCF saw its next two players go. On Wednesday, Scheftz was taken by the Cleveland Indians with the 702nd overall pick in the 23rd round. Rohloff capped off UCF's successful draft appearances with a selection made by the Giants to join Bahr with the 1116th overall pick in the 37th round.
Overall, UCF has had 97 players drafted by MLB teams in its program history. Fifty-eight have been taken in the first 20 rounds, with these four players increasing coach Greg Lovelady's total players taken by the MLB to 10.
Bahr and Rohloff also became the third and fourth players to ever be taken by the Giants, joining Clay Timpner and Alex Morales.
Sheftz became the second UCF player to ever be drafted to the Indians, following Owen Drew to Cleveland.
Bahr, who was a walk-on player for UCF after being cut from former coach Terry Rooney's squad, ended 2017 with a 2.97 ERA, striking out a team-high 98 batters and allowing only 20 earned runs on 60.2 inning pitched.
Howell, who helped bring the Knights into the NCAA regional tournament, ended his campaign with a 3.32 ERA, garnering a 10-1 record with 94 strikeouts on 103 innings pitched.
Sheftz pitched 30.2 innings, with many coming in relief. His 1.76 ERA and 40 strikeouts helped the Knights stay dominant later in the game. Rohloff ended his season with a 3.86 ERA. He struck out 10 batters on 9.1 innings of work.