The UCF Knights Baseball team had a historic day, as three players were taken by big league teams on the second day of the MLB Draft, the most taken in a draft since 1998.
SS Alex Freeland, LHP Hunter Patteson and RHP Connor Staine were taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies respectively in the first five rounds of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Alex Freeland
SS Freeland was the first Knight to be select on day two when his name was called with the 105th pick in the third round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his tenure as a Knight, Freeland had a batting average of .285 and collected 18 homers, 75 RBI and 103 hits overall. This fourth time a Knight has been picked by the Dodgers in program history.
Hunter Patteson
LHP Patteson was the 2nd pick of the night for UCF as he was taken with the 145th overall pick in the fifth round by the Kansas City Royals. Patteson finished his career with the Knights earning a 1.82 ERA, striking out 118 batters in 100 innings pitched. Patteson was the 3rd Knight in program history to be taken by the Royals.
Connor Staine
RHP Staine was taken with the very next pick at the 146th overall pick in the fifth round by the Colorado Rockies. Playing in only one season with the Knights, Staine pitched a 1.87 ERA striking out 51 batters. Staine was the sixth Knight to be drafted by the Rockies for the program.
With three more Knights drafted this year, the UCF Baseball program has now had 114 players drafted by MLB teams.
