ORLANDO, Fla. – UCF alumnus and former assistant coach Richard Wallace was named the new UCF baseball head coach on Monday.
Wallace, an Orlando native and Bishop Moore grad, played baseball as an infielder at UCF from 2000-03 and was an assistant coach 2004-08. This is his first head coaching job. He becomes UCF’s seventh baseball head coach.
“To stand here today and come home and be the head coach of UCF, it’s truly a dream come true,” Wallace said at his introductory press conference on Monday.“ To [become the head coach] in a place that I love and that’s home...words cannot express how special that is.”
UCF hires Wallace after parting ways with former UCF baseball head coach Greg Lovelady. Wallace comes home to Orlando after being an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State. Prior to the Noles, Wallace was a recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame and helped the Irish reach the 2022 College World Series. Other schools Wallace coached include Jacksonville, Creighton and High Point.
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“I am here to create a College World Series caliber baseball program,” Wallace said. “And that start with creating championship men that our alumni, our fanbase and our university can be proud of.”
The Knights get the new hire before the university officially joins the Big12 on July 1. But for Wallace, he wanted to come home to UCF no matter what.
“I’m coming to UCF if we’re playing high school games. This is my home; this is where I want to be. The Big12 is obviously an added, extremely nice bonus.”
UCF vice president and athletic director Terry Mohajir said Wallace was the right hire because he embodied “the UCF way.”
“He was willing to drag the dirt [and] wash the uniforms to get back here,” Mohajir said. “His goal was always to be the head coach of UCF. He wanted to prove himself to be the head coach here and to learn as much as he possibly could. He took advantage of all the opportunities he got and earned his way back here.”
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