2022 Banneret Awards: Men’s Assistant Coach 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 Assistant Coach of the Year. Here are your nominees:

Paul Souders

Men’s Soccer

UCF Athletics

While the UCF Men’s Soccer team finished its season just above a .500 win percentage, Associate Head Coach Paul Souders and the offensive attack were a major factor that in the prevention of an entire season derailment. Forwards Lucca Dourado and Gino Vivi finished the season as two of the premier scorers in the American Athletic Conference, with Dourado finishing among the nation’s leading goal scorers. Additionally, Souders recruited forward/midfielder Nick Taylor to transfer to UCF from SMU for his 5th-year of eligibility, where he proceeded to become one the nation's assist leaders.

Resume:

• Ranked 5th in the nation in scoring offense (Lead AAC)
• 8th in the nation in Points Per Game (Lead AAC)
• 14th in the nation in Total Goals (Tied for lead in AAC)
• 21st in the nation in Total Points (Lead AAC)
• 25th in the nation in Assists Per Game (Lead AAC)
• Lead AAC in Goals Per Game
• Lucca Dourado and Gino Vivi ranked among the Top 100 goalscorers in the nation (13th and 94th) and Top 5 in AAC (1st and 5th)
• Recruited Nick Taylor to UCF (Taylor ranked 18th in the nation in Assists)

Ted Tom

Hitting Coach — Baseball

UCF Athletics

The UCF Baseball team had a slow start to its 2022 campaign in the batter’s box, with the team hitting a .266 batting average in February and March. However, as injuries debilitated the pitching staff, hitting coach Ted Tom’s batters came alive during after the beginning of conference play. In the last two months of the season, the Knights hit for a .305 team batting average, keeping the team in the hunt for the conference title.

Resume:

• Lead AAC in Batting Average and On-Base Percentage
• 2nd in the AAC in RBIs and Slugging Percentage
• 19th in the nation in Stolen Bases and 29th in Stolen Bases Per Game (Lead AAC)
• Coached four of the Top 15 highest batting averages in the AAC (min. 42 ABs)

Travis Williams

Defensive Coordinator and Linebacker Coach — Football

UCF Athletics

After a dip in defensive quality in the 2020 season, Travis Williams’ arrival as defensive coordinator rejuvenated a unit that needed to be at its best to make up for an injury-ridden offense. He led a Knights defense that gave up 332 points in 10 games in 2020 to only give up 319 points in 13 games last season. Williams also served as Linebacker Coach, working with LBs Tatum Bethune and Bryson Armstrong as they became defensive leaders in the American Athletic Conference.

Resume:

• 6th in the nation in Team Passing Efficiency Defense (2nd in AAC)
• Tied for 27th in the nation in Team Tackles For Loss (3rd in AAC)
• Tied for 34th in the nation in Team Sacks (36) (3rd in AAC)
• 49th in the nation in Scoring Defense (3rd in AAC)
• LB Tatum Bethune was 24th in the nation in Tackles Per Game (2nd in AAC)
• LB Bryson Armstrong was 6th in the AAC in Tackles Per Game
• Bethune and S Quadric Bullard were Top 10 in AAC in Total Tackles (3rd and 10th)
• DL Big Kat Bryant was 3rd in AAC in Tackles For Loss and 4th in sacks
• DL Tre’mon Morris-Brash was 6th in AAC in Average Tackles For Loss Per Game and 9th in Sacks
• CB Davonte Brown was 4th in AAC in Passes Defended

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