The UCF baseball season ended officially on Monday, when they found out they were not selected for the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
The Knights were a bubble team entering the selection process, but hopes were high with many experts believing the Knights would be on the safe side of the cut.
On the NCAA Selection Show aired on Monday, Clemson (36-23), North Carolina (34-25), Texas A&M (33-24) and UC Irvine (35-22) were listed as the final teams into the tournament. Mercer (38-17), UCF (36-23), USC (29-24) and West Virginia (28-26) were listed as the first four teams out.
American Athletic Conference pitcher of the year and MLB prospect Eric Skoglund tweeted out his thanks to the UCF fans.
“Hard to say but these have been the best 3 years of my life. Proud to say I’m a @UCFKnights! So thankful to be given the opportunity,” Skoglund said.
UCF (36-23) has had key victories over no. 3 Miami, no. 4 Florida State, no. 5 Louisville (twice), and no. 12 Houston but it wasn’t enough for the Knights to make the cut this year.
Redshirt freshman pitcher Jarrod Petree who allowed just three runs in 13.1 innings this past season, is looking ahead towards the future.
“Today is a hard pill to swallow but we will use today to push us for next year. It’s all about the bigger picture and today starts our push!” Petree said on Twitter.
