College baseball is coming to Rex Weech Field in Key West. It is the southernmost baseball field in the United States of America and normally home to the Key West High School Conchs.
According to College Baseball Central reporter Andrew Riedell, the UCF Knights and the Florida International Panthers will play an exhibition game at Rex Weech Field on Saturday, October 17. The two teams played in Key West last year on October 11.
UCF Knights have made two NCAA Tournaments in three years
The UCF Knights had a solid 2026 college baseball season. They finished with a 32-23 overall record and a 19-11 record in Big 12 play. The Knights finished fourth in the Big 12 standings behind the Kansas Jayhawks, West Virginia Mountaineers, and the Arizona State Sun Devils.
UCF made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and played at Plainsman Park in the Auburn regional. The Knights won their first game of the NCAA Tournament 9-3 over N.C. State. However, they were knocked out after losing their next two games to Milwaukee and Auburn.
UCF head coach Rich Wallace continued to put the Knights’ baseball program on a good trajectory in his third season. He has won 98 games in his three full years in Orlando.
A new era of Florida International baseball
In 2026, the Florida International Panthers finished with a 19-35 overall record and a 10-20 record in Conference USA games. This led to the Panthers hiring former Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol in May.
Grifol managed the White Sox in 2023 and 2024. In those two seasons, he finished with a managerial record of 89-190. Chicago fired him after 117 games in the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
Grifol is now tasked with rebuilding Florida International baseball down in Miami. The Panthers have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2015.
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PHOTO: Central Florida pitcher Max Murray (31) throws during an NCAA college baseball game against South Florida, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
