2022 Banneret Awards: Men’s Athlete of the Year

It’s time for the 2022 Black & Gold Banneret Awards!

Each year we pass out a bunch of awards honoring the best athletes, coaches, teams, and moments of the previous UCF Knights athletic year. Our staff votes, and so do you, the fans.

Here’s how it works: We, the staff, put together our nominees for each award. You can listen to our nominations podcast episode here. Over the next couple of weeks, we will open fan voting for each award. Each staff member gets one vote, and the winner of the fan vote will get one vote. If there is a tie, the fan vote will be the tiebreaker. We will announce the winners in two weeks.

Our 2022 Black & Gold Banneret Awards continue with Men’s Athlete of the Year. Here are your nominees:

Ryan O’Keefe — Football

Noah Goldberg

Resume:

• All-AAC 2nd Team, honorable mention All-AAC accolades from Pro Football Focus, and third-team All-AAC honors from Phil Steele
• Caught 5th-most receptions in a single season in program history (18th in the nation), most since Mike Sims-Walker’s 90-reception 2006 season
• His 6.5 receptions per game ranked 20th in the nation
• Totaled a team-high 812 receiving yards and was second on the team with seven touchdown receptions
• 6th in the AAC in All-Purpose yards, 99th in the nation (97.46 yards)
• 7th in AAC in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns
• vs. Florida (12/23): Caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, and added four rushes for 110 yards, setting a Gasparilla Bowl record with 251 all-purpose yards, earning Most Valuable Player honors

Lucca Dourado — Soccer

Noah Goldberg

Resume:

• Unanimously named First Team All-Conference in the American Athletic Conference.
• Led the team in goals with 13 and led the team in points with 28.
• Led the team in game-winning goals with six
• Was ranked first in the conference and 10th nationally in total goals scored with 13, just three behind the national leader
• Was ranked first in the conference and 15th nationally in total points scored with 28, just 11 behind the national leader
• Was ranked first in the conference and fifth nationally in goals per game with an average of 0.81.
• Was ranked first in the conference and 11th nationally in points per game with an average of 1.75

Johnny Travale — Golf

Resume:

• Had a team-low scoring average of 71.64 (7th-lowest in a single season in program history)
• Had three top-5 finishes, four top 10-finishes and five top-20 finishes
• Won the Carolina Collegiate individual title
• Was named a unanimous All-AAC performer for the second straight season
• Helped lead UCF Golf to NCAA Regional

Darin Green Jr. — Basketball

Noah Goldberg

Resume:

• Named Third-Team All-Conference
• Shot 38.5 percent on threes, good for third in the AAC and 53rd in the nation
• Finished first in The American and 23rd in the country with 3.00 threes per game
• Led the team in scoring averaging 13.3 points per game
• His 87 threes this season rank as the seventh most all-time in one season at UCF

Gephry Pena — Baseball

Noah Goldberg

Resume:

• Led team with a .339 batting average (7th in AAC)
• Had 22 more hits (82) than games played (60)
• Led team in hits with 82 (4th in AAC)
• Led team in Runs scored with 50 (8th in AAC)
• Led the team and AAC in Stolen Bases (25)
• 3rd on team with 40 RBIs
• 4th on team with 7 HR
• All-Conference 2nd Team All-AAC

Vote for who you think is the 2022 UCF Men’s Athlete of the Year below: