For the second time in his UCF baseball career, D.J. Hicks earned All-America honors after a tremendous redshirt junior season playing first base for the Knights. Hicks’ name appeared on Baseball America’s Second Team Friday afternoon and he is the first player in program history to earn All-America honors twice.
Hicks, who began his professional career with the Elizabethton Twins June 19, finished the 2012 campaign batting .316 with 14 home runs, 72 RBI, a .560 slugging percentage and 56 walks.
“It is an honor and a blessing,” Hicks said from the road about his award. “I couldn’t have done it without all the support over the years. Through the high and the lows, the UCF nation always showed their support.
“I also couldn’t have asked for a better home for my college experiences. I especially want to thank my coaches for giving me an opportunity four years ago.”
The Altamonte Springs native closed out his UCF career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in program history. He was a NCBWA Third Team All-America honoree in 2011 and also was the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year in 2012 and the first Knights position player to be named to the Baseball America Midseason All-America Team this past April.
Hicks was a two-time NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team honoree and finished second all-time at UCF in sacrifice flies, fifth in home runs, sixth in RBI and seventh in walks. He ranks second all-time with a .995 fielding percentage and made 38 appearances on the mound.
Most recently, Hicks was selected in the 17th round of the First-Year MLB Draft with the 520th overall pick by the Minnesota Twins and signed shortly after.