2022 Banneret Awards: Photo of the Year

The yearly tradition returns to the Black & Gold Banneret: the annual honors for UCF Knights Athletic performance and achievement known as The Black & Gold Banneret Awards — The Bannies.

This particular category focuses on the images that the staff photographers at the Banneret, Noah Goldberg and Derek Warden, captured that were seared into your eyeballs. We let them each pick what they thought were their three best photos from the year, and then we will pick the best one from there with your help.

Here’s how voting works: 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.

On to the nominees for 2022’s Photograph of the Year:

Noah’s Pics

Andrew Sundean crushes USF

Noah Goldberg

UCF Baseball is an electric factory and Andrew Sundean knows just how to get to crowd pumped up. In this shot, freshman catcher Andrew Sundean hit an RBI single to center field to drive in Lex Boedicker to take a 1-0 lead over rival USF. This helped lead to a home sweep over the Bulls

UCF Softball is victorious in the NCAA Orlando Regional

Noah Goldberg

Anyone who went to the NCAA Orlando Regional this season will likely never forget the moment UCF emerged victorious after defeating Michigan for the 2nd time. Pitcher Kama Woodall and first baseman Shannon Doherty embrace before the dogpile, right after Woodall’s final pitch. This image is the culmination of #TeamXXI’s success of their 2022 season.

Isaiah Bowser Fires Up Gasparilla

Noah Goldberg

The 2021-2022 UCF Football season was full of ups and downs, but that was all forgotten when the Knights easily defeated UF in the Gasparilla Bowl. In this image, running back Isaiah Bowser celebrates with the Raymond James Stadium crowd after scoring a touchdown. In the background, the UCF marching band plays the fight song while the UCF fans grasp the reality that they support the best team in Florida.

Derek’s Pics

Mikey Keene opts to hand the ball off to Isaiah Bowser

Derek Warden

With 22 guys running around on the field, sometimes I forget that a play can live or die based on the quarterback reading a single defender. Mikey Keene does that and decides to let Isaiah Bowser take the ball. It’s hard to get good photos of football players where you can see their eyes; it’s even harder to get two in the same photo. Add in a crucial moment of a play - in this case, just after the mesh of an option run - and a rare photo becomes much more impactful.

CJ Walker throws down a dunk against the Bearcats

Photo: Derek Warden

When watching UCF Men’s Basketball’s CJ Walker, two truths become apparent: 1) he is a tenacious defender, and 2) he is one of the best dunkers in UCF history. This photo captures the latter perfectly, while showcasing the emotion that comes with such an athletic highlight.

Ryan O’Keefe celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the Space Game against Houston

Derek Warden

This is my favorite photograph that I took during the 2021 football season. When I look at the photo, I can hear the roar of the crowd when Ryan scored. He’s celebrating with Knight Nation; they’re cheering for him. To me, this is everything great about college football. In color, this photo is okay, but in black & white, the emotion of the moment shines.