The University of Central Florida enters the 2006 season hoping to make an immediate impact on Conference USA. The Golden Knights, under Jay Bergman (24th Season), finished 2005 with a 42-18 record and tied for second in the Atlantic Sun Conference. In 2006 the Golden Knights return 19 letterwinners including Preseason All-American Tim Bascom. The team was picked to finish fifth in their first season in Conference USA.

2005 Roster:

Player, Number, Position, Year

Tyson Auer, 3, Infielder/Outfielder, Sophomore
Bryan Bennett, 11, Catcher, Freshman
Ryan Bono, 21, Catcher/Infielder, Senior
John Cooper, 1, Infielder, RS Junior
Vinny Cucci, 35, Infielder, Freshman
Dave DiNatale, 7, Outfielder, Freshman
Chad Hartman, 20, Outfielder, Freshman
Matt Horwath, 34, Infielder, RS Junior
Eric Kallstrom, 5, Infielder, Freshman
Danny Kash, 14, Infielder, Sophomore
Dave Lambert, 28, Infielder, Senior
Matt Lambert, 12, Outfielder, Sophomore
Matt Ray, 8, Infielder, Junior
Steve Stropp, 4, Catcher, Freshman
Eddie Suarez, 42, Catcher, Freshman
Kiko Vazquez, 33, Infielder, Freshman
Drake Wade, 27, Outfielder, RS Senior
Ryan Williams, 13, Infielder, Freshman
Shane, Ynclan, 25, Outfielder, Freshman

Derek Abriola, 17, RHP, Junior
Tim Bascom, 37, RHP, Junior
Kyler Bender, 29, RHP, Sophomore
Brian Brooks, 19, LHP, Junior
Brett Bordwine, 22, RHP, RS Sophomore
Tyler Bunnell, 40, LHP, Freshman
Taylor Cobb, 24, RHP, RS Senior
Matt Gilson, 30, LHP, Freshman
Jaager Good, 36, RHP, Sophomore
Mitch Herold, 32, LHP, Freshman
Mitch Houck, 15, LHP/Infielder, Freshman
Matt McClung, 10, RHP, RS Sophomore
Taylor Meier, 26, RHP, RS Sophomore
Dominic Petracca, 16, RHP, Senior
Kyle Sweat, 23, RHP, Freshman
Jeremy Thorne, 41, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Weiss, 31, RHP, Freshman

Expectations:

The 2006 Golden Knights are a young team comprised of mostly sophomore and freshman players, but don’t let that fool you as to their talent level. Look for immediate impact from players such as Kiko Vazquez, Dave DiNatale and Kyle Sweat. At the plate the team should depend on Ryan Bono, Matt Ray and Matt Horwath in producing runs. Off the mound UCF should see plenty of innings out of Tim Bascom and Taylor Meier, plus relief action from Brian Brooks and Dominic Petracca. This season may not be a break-out year for the UCF squad in Conference USA but I do expect them to gain the respect of many of the teams, plus the future looks bright for the team given the amount of young talent on the roster. Look for the Knights to become strong contenders for the Conference USA title within the next few seasons.