As aromas of grilled steak, vegetables and kabobs fill the air on a bright and sunny recent day in Eustis, members of Joe Burnett’s family gather at his mother’s house for a family cookout. It’s a reunion of sorts, because Burnett, a former UCF football star who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had just arrived back home in Florida from Pittsburgh the day before.

Unheralded Angels prospect a Cal League all-star
Pete Marshall, Staff Writer

It was more than a month after the 2008 free-agent draft and as far as Tyson Auer was concerned, his baseball career was over.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – Two of the most highly respected college baseball outlets announced their postseason awards late Wednesday, which allowed UCF senior Chris Duffy to continue to add to his list of honors from the 2010 season. The Orlando product was named a First Team All-American by Baseball America and the Pro-Line Athletic National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – Rated as the top outfielder in the country for most of the season by Yahoo! Sports’ Kendall Rogers, UCF senior left fielder Chris Duffy remained among the nation’s elite at the end of the year as he was named to the Yahoo! Sports All-America Team Tuesday. Duffy now has been selected as an All-American by three different outlets.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – With a roster loaded with freshmen during the 2010 season, the UCF baseball program was not surprised when it discovered that three student-athletes were honored as Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Wednesday. Representing the Knights on the All-America Team were left-handed pitcher Joe Rogers (Winter Haven, Fla.), catcher/DH Ryan Breen (Palm City, Fla.) and third baseman Chris Taladay (Windermere, Fla.).

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – UCF baseball once again produced at least three draft picks as junior pitcher Owen Dew (Tallahassee, Fla.), senior right fielder Shane Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) and senior left fielder Chris Duffy (Orlando, Fla.) were all selected Tuesday during the MLB Draft. Dew went to the Cleveland Indians in the 21st round, Brown was picked up by the New York Yankees in the 23rd round and Duffy heard his name called by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 26th round.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – UCF senior Chris Duffy did not even start the season on the official Watch List Feb. 18. But less than four months later, the Orlando native learned Tuesday that he is one of five finalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur player in the country.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – Several UCF baseball players are preparing to get their summer wood-bat seasons underway in six different leagues this year. Meanwhile, former Knight Drew Butera continues to help the Minnesota Twins hold on to first place in the American League Central, and southpaw Mitch Herold was dominating in the Boston Red Sox system that he was recently promoted to Double-A.

By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – A pair of UCF outfielders were named Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-Americans as senior Chris Duffy (Orlando, Fla.) and senior Shane Brown (Winter Park, Fla.) both earned the prestigious honor Thursday. The last time a Knight was selected as an All-American was when pitchers Matt Fox and Kyle Bono received the accolade in 2004.

By Leigh Torbin
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – The steady stream of preseason praise for the UCF football team continues as Blue Ribbon Yearbooks recently announced its preseason picks and it includes a Conference USA East Division title for the Knights. Blue Ribbon also selected senior defensive lineman Bruce Miller (Canton, Ga.) as its Defensive Player of the Year in C-USA.