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‘This is a dream for me’: John Rhys Plumlee plays baseball and football on the same day

That’s all the time that separated John Rhys Plumlee from playing in UCF baseball’s game against Memphis to playing quarterback in UCF football’s spring game on Friday night.

And while those seven minutes were the difference between Plumlee playing two sports, it was also the culmination of his dream from when he was a kid coming to life.

“One of the coolest days of my life,“ Plumlee said. “I’m probably going to die with it being one of the coolest days in my life. This is a movie for me, this
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UCF men's basketball rolls past ECU on senior night

UCF men's basketball turned in a complete performance on Sunday with an 84-58 win over East Carolina at home on senior night.

Freshman forward Taylor Hendricks had a double-double with a career-high 25 points along with 10 rebounds in potentially his final game at UCF for the projected first round pick. Hendricks’ performance marked the sixth time the star freshman has scored over 20 points in a game this season.

“When you’re that talented, you love to see a guy be that coachable,“ UCF head co
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"Game changer:" UCF Athletics receives largest pledged gift in program history

UCF Athletics announced a pledged gift of over $5 million on Friday — the largest in its history.

The announcement came during UCF baseball’s game against Siena. The pledge comes from a former student athlete that played baseball at UCF and his wife, who is also a UCF alumna, according to a UCF Athletics press release.

“Our family is devoted to enriching the lives of others, and we are proud to support UCF’s talented and dedicated student-athletes and help them succeed on the field and in thei
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“It’s gonna be really rewarding:” John Rhys Plumlee set to return to the diamond

When John Rhys Plumlee suits up for UCF baseball on Friday, it will be the first time he's eligible to play on the diamond in 614 days.

The day is one that's been a long time coming for Plumlee, who became a Knight in January of 2022.

“It’s gonna be really rewarding,” Plumlee said. “It’s something that I’ve worked really hard for to get to this point. I came here with the mindset of playing both, and that’s what I wanted to do.”

Plumlee planned to play baseball for UCF in 2022, but was ruled
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“Chip on their shoulder:” UCF softball aims to make more history in 2023

When the final out was recorded in UCF softball’s 7-1 loss on the road against Oklahoma on May 28, 2022, the most successful season in program history came to a close.

UCF went 49-14, won the American Athletic Conference Championship, and won the Orlando Regional to secure its first NCAA Super Regionals appearance in program history. Now, No. 15 UCF is back for an encore with its sights set beyond super regionals.

“Our goals are bigger this year,” junior infielder Jada Cody said. “Last year wa
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Three takeaways from UCF's 82-71 loss to No. 3 Houston

The home crowd reached a fever pitch after a 3-pointer from senior guard C.J. Kelly cut Houston's lead to three with 14:37 left to play.

On the ensuing possession, Houston freshman Jarace Walker drove to the basket, where fellow freshman Taylor Hendricks was waiting for him. As Walker left his feet to shoot, Hendricks leapt with him and drew a defensive foul — his fourth of the game.

The call drew the ire of the UCF faithful and head coach Johnny Dawkins, which led to him getting a technical foul. The tech and foul on Hendricks gave Houston four free throws, and they made each one. The Knights ultimately wouldn’t get any closer than four points, and they fell to No. 3 Houston 82-71 on Wednesday at Addition Financial Area.
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UCF football player Justin Hodges arrested on Thursday, police records show

UCF defensive back Justin Hodges has been dismissed from the football team after his arrest on Thursday, according to the Orlando Police Department, UCF Athletics Department and Orange County jail records.

Hodges is being charged with home invasion robbery with a firearm and a mask, according to the Orange County Inmate Database's booking record.

Following the arrest, UCF Athletics spokesperson John Heisler issued a statement via email on behalf of the football program and athletic department.
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'Used to hate my scars': Student's journey from overcoming surgical scars to UCF

As Aejah Xayarath lay in her hospital bed at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, she could feel her anxiety building up while the IV fluid slowly ran through her body.

The surgery was her third, and at the age of 7, Xayarath understood the totality of what she was fighting. Yellow fluorescent lights shined in her face while she clutched onto her stuffed animal, a monkey she named Mookie.

Her mother, Audrey Aviles, could see the emotion rising on her daughter’s face. When she wanted he
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UCF men's basketball adds Ben Witherspoon as special assistant to head coach

UCF men's basketball has officially added Ben Witherspoon as a special assistant to head coach Johnny Dawkins.

"We couldn't be happier to bring Ben on as part of our staff," Dawkins said in a UCF Athletics release. "He brings a wealth of experience and drive, and the success he enjoyed as head coach at Dr. Phillips high school serves as a clear indicator of what he's capable of and how he develops student-athletes. As my special assistant, Ben will be integral in our recruiting efforts, video scouting and more.
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UCF softball beats Michigan to win first regional in program history

After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, UCF saw its lead dwindle to two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

With the potential game-tying run on second base for the Wolverines, UCF senior Gianna Mancha struck out senior Hannah Carson and got senior Taylor Bump to pop out, escaping the jam.

That was the closest No. 24 Michigan got to tying the game as UCF went on to win 9-4 in the Orlando Regional on Sunday, advancing to its first NCAA Super Regionals in program history.
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Orlando Regional Day Two: Maddie Bejarano's heroics lead UCF softball past Michigan in 11 innings

With UCF down to its final strike in the seventh inning, sophomore Maddie Bejarano came off of the bench and tied the game 2-2 with an RBI double.

In the 11th, Bejarano had another clutch at-bat with a walk-off base hit to right field as the Knights (48-12) beat Michigan 3-2 on Saturday, advancing to the Regional Championship.

“I feel super proud of my team,“ Bejarano said. “It’s a huge team win for all of us. I’m just glad I could contribute to that.”
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Orlando Regional Day One: UCF softball and Michigan set for rematch in regional semifinal

In UCF softball's last matchup with Michigan, the Wolverines rolled to a dominant 6-0 win over the Knights at the St. Pete Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 18.

Now, the two teams are set to face each other again on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the semifinals of the Orlando Regional in the NCAA tournament.

“They’re a great team, but I also think we’re a great team,“ UCF head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said. “I think it’s going to be a great matchup, and I think they’re going to see a different team. We are definitely more seasoned than when we saw them in the second week of our season.”
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UCF baseball pitches back-to-back shutouts against USF

Heading into conference play, there were numerous injuries and question marks surrounding UCF’s pitching staff.

Those questions were emphatically answered as the Knights threw back-to-back one-hit shutouts at home for a 5-0 win on Friday, and a 4-0 win in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday.

In his first Friday night start on Mar. 18, Connor Staine left after only facing one batter due to back spasms.

This time, the redshirt sophomore put UCF (17-10, 2-0 AAC) on his back in the Knights
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UCF softball run-rules Furman to extend win streak to 15

While No. 24 UCF softball may have flipped the script with its new uniforms, its winning ways stayed just the same.

The Knights (26-7) run-ruled Furman (9-13) 9-0 in five innings on Sunday to extend their winning streak to 15 games.

“I like how we played a little cleaner today," UCF head coach Cindy Ball-Malone said. “I think just all the way around we took care of the ball, we got ahead of batters and then offensively scoring.”

Of the nine runs that UCF scored, eight of them came with two ou
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UCF baseball drops series to No. 2 Ole Miss

From slugfests to pitching duels, UCF baseball's three-game series against No. 2 Ole Miss had it all.

The Rebels took the series 2-1 with an 8-7 win on Friday and a 9-1 win on Sunday at John Euliano Park. UCF won 1-0 in 12 innings on Saturday.

“In the grand scheme of things, we should learn a lot from this weekend, but we’ve got to take it now,” UCF head coach Greg Lovelady said. “We played really, really hard and really, really well Friday and Saturday. We talked about setting the standard an
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UCF dominates in 68-49 win over USF

UCF dominated USF with a combined 43 points from its starting guards on Thursday at Addition Financial Arena.

Junior guard Darin Green Jr. led the Knights (13-7, 5-5 AAC) to a 68-49 win over USF (6-14, 1-7 AAC) with 23 points and 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc. UCF fifth-year guard Darius Perry scored 20 points and made five of his 10 three-point attempts.

“When they’re making shots, they’re electric,” UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. “They've done that at different points of the season,
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KnightMoves shows growth with new coaches, new history

Joyce Winter felt the uncertainty most coaches feel for their team.

The first-year head coach said she wasn't sure what to expect from KnightMoves when the team competed during nationals at ESPN Wide World of Sports at the Walt Disney World Resort.

“They’re a new team to me, so the only issue is I don’t know them in a competition scenario, so I don’t know if they would deliver or if they’d have stage fright, or what would happen," Winter said in a press conference with KnightMoves on Tuesday. "Now, I know they’re a team that definitely delivers if prepared properly."
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Mo’ money, less problems? UCF IT to improve campus Wi-Fi with additional funding

Christina Fanfan was set to take her nursing final Tuesday at 2 p.m.; unfortunately, Webcourses had other plans.

Amazon Web Services experienced an outage that compromised the performance of online systems such as Webcourses, Respondus Lockdown Browser, and Honorlock, according to an email from UCF Information Technology. As a result, multiple classes had to reschedule their final exams. Although the issue was resolved that night by 8:35, Fanfan's final exam was rescheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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