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Top 100 UCF Knights Male Athletes of All-Time: #40-31

Basketball and football stars take center stage

Raiders v Rams
Travis Fisher
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

T-#40 - Darryl Davis (Basketball)

Daryl Davis
Daryl Davis
Photo courtesy: Valencia College

Daryl Davis was a four-year starter at UCF from 1991-1995, scoring 1,540 career points, which ranks 9th all-time at UCF, and pulling down 500 career rebounds. Davis also ranks 8th all-time in assists (294).

He led UCF to its first NCAA Tournament in D-I in 1994 and was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.

Davis is currently an administrator at Valencia College, and is also the elder cousin of fellow UCF Knights star Jermaine Taylor.


T-#40 - Sinua Phillips (Basketball)

Phillips was the Knights’ starting point guard from 1990-94 and was also an integral member of UCF’s first NCAA Division I Tournament team in 1994.

He led UCF in assists each of his four years and holds the single-season (183) and career records (531) for assists. He also scored 1,028 points, which is 20th all-time at UCF, and is the only player in Knights history to score more than 1,000 points and dish out more than 500 assists.

Phillips was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.


#39 - Beau Taylor (Baseball)

Cleveland Indians Photo Day
Beau Taylor #46 of the Cleveland Indians poses during MLB Photo Day on February 19, 2020 in Goodyear, Arizona.
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

Rockledge product Beau Taylor hit .337 with 16 home runs, 42 doubles, 105 RBI and a .990 fielding percentage during his time with the Knights from 2009-2011. He was named a Perfect Game and Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2009, becoming the first UCF catcher to receive the honor. Taylor was the third UCF catcher to make the Johnny Bench Awards Finalist in 2011, joining Drew Butera (2005) and Ryan Bono (2006).

Taylor threw out 26 baserunners in 2009 which led Conference USA. For his career Taylor threw out 58 baserunners, which is second-most ever in UCF history behind only Drew Butera’s 63.

Taylor also tied the UCF record with a 26-game hitting streak from April 13, 2010 to Feb 25, 2011. He shares that record with Mike Myers, who set it back in 2001.

Tallahassee Regional NCAA Baseball Championship
Beau Taylor (13) looks on in the Tallahassee Regional at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, Friday, June 3, 2011 as UCF took on Alabama.
Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Taylor helped lead the Knights back to the NCAA Tournament in his final season of 2011, hitting .325 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 47 RBI and 51 runs scored. He also made just one error all season behind the plate for a .998 fielding percentage, and threw out 20 baserunners.

Taylor was selected in the fifth round (166th pick) of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s, and has had brief stints in MLB with A’s and the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting .167 with 2 homers in the 2019 season. He most recently signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians in 2019.


#38- Josh Robinson (Football)

Central Florida v Kansas State
MANHATTAN, KS - SEPTEMBER 25: Defensive back Josh Robinson #20 is seen during a game against the Kansas State Wildcats on September 25, 2010 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

Plantation High graduate Josh Robinson was a two-time first team All-C-USA performer in 2010 and 2011, as well as 2nd team in his freshman season of 2009. He was a key part of UCF’s C-USA Championship team in 2010, and was a tremendous contributor to UCF’s first-ever bowl win as he held then Georgia WR and future NFL star A.J. Green to just 77 yards and no TDs, helping the Knights beat the Bulldogs in the Liberty Bowl.


#37 - Ken Leeks (Basketball)

A 6-9 center, Ken Leeks led UCF in scoring and rebounding for four consecutive years from 1988-1992, and finished his career as the Knights’ third-leading scorer (1,763) in school history and the school’s all-time leader in rebounds (942), and blocked shots (141). His single-season rebound record of 268, set in 1991, would stand until Tacko Fall broke it in 2017. For his career, he averaged 16.5 point and 8.8 rebounds a game, and shot 56% from the floor. Leeks was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004 after a long career playing professionally overseas, including in Turkey, Russia, Chile and Portugal.


#36 - Kemal Ishmael (Football)

Atlanta Falcons v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: Kemal Ishmael #36 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers missed a field goal during the second half at Raymond James Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Tampa, Florida.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Ishmael was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, and was a two-time First Team All-CUSA choice in 2010 and 2012. He led Knights in tackles three straight years becoming only the third UCF player to do that.

He finished his career as UCF’s all-time top tackler among defensive backs and ranked third overall with 368 tackles.

Ishmael was drafted in the 7th round of 2013 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, and has played his entire career there.


#35 - Cliff Kresge (Golf)

Mastercard Japan Championship - Round Two
Cliff Kresge of USA hits a tee shot on the 2nd hole during the second round of the Mastercard Japan Championship at Narita Golf Club on June 08, 2019 in Narita, Chiba, Japan.
Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Cliff Kresge is one of nine UCF players all-time with multiple career college victories, winning two events in 1990. His season stroke average of 72.12 in 1989-90 was the third-lowest in school history.

He led UCF to its first two NCAA East Regional appearances in his two seasons in Orlando, as well as UCF’s first NCAA Championship round appearance in 1990. In his final season, 1990, the Knights won six tournaments, including five straight, finishing at #21 in the final poll, and were recognized as the nation’s most improved team that season. Kresge would end his career with second-team All-America honors.

After UCF, Kresge moved onto the Nationwide Tour, and then to the PGA Tour. For his pro career, he has four wins on the Nationwide Tour. He opened the 2007 PGA Tour season by finishing tied for sixth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. In 2008, Kresge finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fifth at the Verizon Heritage Classic.


#34 - Greg Jefferson (Football)

Greg Jefferson #79...
Greg Jefferson played for Philadelphia Eagles from 1995-2001 and was inducted in UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011
Getty

Greg Jefferson played four years for the Knights under Gene McDowell before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft.

In Philadelphia, Jefferson would play for the Eagles through 2001, recording 13.5 sacks for his NFL career. He would later return to Orlando to play for the Predators in the Arena Football League.

At UCF, Jefferson was a honorable mention All-American in 1994, and finished his UCF career with 31 sacks, good enough for 3rd all-time. Jefferson was inducted into UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.


#33 - Keith Clanton (Basketball)

Memphis v Central Florida
Keith Clanton (33) blocks a shot by Memphis’ Tarik Black (10) in the first half at the UCF Arena in Orlando, Florida, Saturday, March 2, 2013.
Joshua C. Cruey/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Keith Clanton started all four years at UCF, and finished career as UCF’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,000), blocks (227), games played (129) and starts (121) and sixth in points (1,718). He led UCF to two postseason appearances in the CBI and NIT and was only the second player in C-USA history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. In UCF’s 2012 victory over Memphis, the most memorable win for UCF Basketball in C-USA, Clanton dropped 23 points, including the game-winning 3-point play with four seconds remaining.


#32 - Dee Brown (Baseball/Football)

Dee Brown, son of the late Philadelphia Eagles star Jerome Brown, was a two-sport star and the only Knight in history to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same season.

Brown caught 38 passes during his football career, scoring six total touchdowns while adding 668 yards from scrimmage during his three seasons as a running back.

On the diamond, Brown helped UCF win a pair of A-Sun titles and advance to two NCAA Regionals.

Brown was named a 2002 Baseball America and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, the 2002 A-Sun Freshman of the Year and was a three-time member of the All-A-Sun First Team. He also was on the 2004 A-Sun All-Tournament Team and the 2004 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team.

Brown was selected in the 10th Round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals and played six seasons of pro ball.

Brown entered the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 ranked as the all-time UCF record-holder for hits with 298, RBI with 229 and sac flies (27), and ranked fourth in games (239), third in at-bats (866), third in runs (182), ninth in home runs (26), fourth in total bases (444) and sixth in hit by pitches (45).


T-#31 - Travis Fisher (Football)

Fisher spent the 1999-200101 seasons with the Knights racking up 130 tackles, including 61 during his senior campaign.

Fisher was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the second round with the 64th overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was the highest-drafted defensive back in UCF history before Mike Hughes was selected in the first round with the 30th overall pick in 2018.

Fisher played nine seasons in the NFL - five seasons with the Rams, two with the Detroit Lions and one each with the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens - and led the league with two pick-sixes and 205 interception return yards in 2003.


T-#31 - Atari Bigby (Football)

2011 NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers v Chicago Bears
CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 23: Atari Bigby #20 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after the Packers 21-14 victory against the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field on January 23, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Atari Bigby was a two-time All-MAC first teamer, recording over 100 tackles in a season twice during his UCF Knights career, with 104 in the 2002 season and 112 tackles in 2003. He played in the NFL from 2005-2012 with the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers, and won a Super Bowl ring with the Pack in Super Bowl XLV.