Reviving a rotation

To say UCF's pitching staff struggled last season would be a huge understatement.

The entire staff's combined earned-run average was almost 7.5, ranking them 252 of 288 teams, a stat head coach Terry Rooney deemed extremely unacceptable.

And there's no question about it, the area Rooney feels the program needs to improve most in is pitching. However, an entirely new starting rotation this season offers the Knights some promise.

The Knights brought in 10 junior college players among a total of 21 newcomers, which together, helped UCF secure the No. 4 recruiting class in college baseball for 2010. 11 of those 21 players were pitchers, six of which came from junior college.

UCF lost 13 seniors after last season, three of which were in the starting rotation. The Knights pitched better the second half of the year, but Rooney said their weaknesses were exposed in C-USA, arguably the fourth best conference in college baseball.

Simply, the Knights didn't have great pitching, and at the end of the day, it came down to not having enough talent there Rooney said, a major reason why the team moseyed to a 22-35 season.

But entering his second season as head coach of the Knights, Rooney feels like that issue has been addressed with a big time recruiting class.

Rooney said the Knights had a group of pitchers that worked hard and gave their best effort, but they maximized their potential. Which was a double-edged sword pitching wise because they may have maximized their potential, but the team lacked guys that had difference making stuff.

That's why the junior college players were brought in, to make an immediate impact, and they will be expected to fill significant roles, especially the pitchers.

"I think bringing a junior college player in here provides some immediate experience," Rooney said. "We try to do our job in the recruiting to get junior college players that are not only great players, but come from winning programs, and we've been very fortunate with that."

The Knights also have the added benefit of left-handed pitching this year. Last year, the Knights had no lefties. This year, they have three, which is in and of itself a big help Rooney said.

To start the season, the rotation will likely consist of at least two or three JUCO transfers. JUCO transfers Owen Dew, Alex Besaw, both right-handers, and lefties Nick Cicio and Johnny Sedlock are some of the early front runners, but freshman southpaw Brian Adkins and righty Brennan Dobbins, who enters his third year at UCF, will also have an opportunity.

"Those guys bring a lot to the table right away," Dobbins said of Dew and Besaw, who were both drafted in the 2009 MLB draft. "They're experienced guys, and they both have great attitudes. They work really hard, and if you combine their natural abilities, with that mentality, their hopefully going to be very successful."

Dobbins made three starts last year and hopes to get a chance to help lead the staff this season. He said adjusting to a new system and a new attitude of doing things was not easy when the new coaching staff came in last season, especially for an older team where players were used to another way of doing things for three or four years.

But as the year went on, the team made the transition he said and now that everything is in place, the team is moving forward.

The returning players have set the tone and have shown the way to help the new guys settle in. The mental approach and attitude to the game Rooney has worked to institute is in place, and Rooney's plan is to have his pitchers pound the strike zone with an aggressive, offensive mind-set.

"It's really an attitude when they go out there to pitch," Rooney said. "But obviously, at a certain point in time is when talent comes in. I feel like this year, we've got a great combination."

The leadership and experience guys like Dew and Besaw will provide is invaluable Rooney said, but they will still be part of the learning curve with the incoming freshman, considering they will also be playing at the Division-1 level for the first time.

"There are great hitters in junior college," Dew said of his time in junior college. "A lot of guys that went on to sign pro contracts are there. ...I believe I learned a lot in those two years. Facing those types of hitters got me ready for these hitters in Conference USA."

Besaw said the work the pitching staff has put in has given the group high expectations and a "pretty good feeling" going into the season.

"I haven't been around a team like that, that gets after it and gets after each other if someone's not working as hard as they should be or could be," Besaw said. "We're all just busting our tails, and we deserve to be successful after the fall that we've had."

Dobbins shared similar thoughts on how important it is stay on top of things, himself included.

"You've got to keep working every single day because there's always somebody right behind you, somebody right in front of you trying to take your spot," Dobbins said. "So we all kind of drive each other to get better."

There aren't any promises that this year's pitching staff will be better, but the odds are more in the Knights' favor with a more talented group in place.