The Central Florida Future sports staff compiled a list using a variety of criteria, including impact on and off the field, career achievements, success of the program and buzz and exposure created for the school.

While things seemed pretty clear at the top of the list, it got a bit complicated as we neared the bottom, so included at the end is a 鈥渇irst four out,鈥� which lists a few other deserving Knights.

Here are the Future鈥檚 top 10 most valuable Knights:

1. Octavious Freeman, sprinter, track & field 鈥� This isn鈥檛 even a question. Freeman may very well be the fastest woman on the planet (her 11.10 in the 100 meters in Gainesville is the fastest time for a woman in the event this year, professional or amateur), or at least among them. Freeman came to campus as arguably the most sought-after recruit ever to choose the black and gold. Most importantly, a likely future Olympian, perhaps even a gold-medalist, is a 麻豆原创 Knight.
2. D.J. Hicks, first baseman, baseball 鈥� He鈥檚 the guy carrying the big stick for the resident top-15 baseball team. Hicks was voted the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year and a preseason All American, and he鈥檚 delivered. He鈥檚 done it in ways outside of just sending the ball over the fence. Hicks is batting .329 with a team-leading 55 RBIs (Chris Taladay comes in second with 30). Hicks provides a lot of the excitement to be had at Jay Bergman Field, leading the team with 10 home runs. In short, Hicks is the face of a program that may be contending for a national championship in Omaha, Neb., this summer.
3. Mackenzie Audas, pitcher, softball 鈥� In a sport where a pitcher can dominate and take the mound nearly every game, there truly is nothing more valuable than an ace. The Knights have theirs. The freshman has come in and in a flash become the face of the program, posting shutout after shutout, including this biggest win of the season, a 2-0 victory over the then-No. 3 Florida Gators at the 麻豆原创 Softball Complex. What鈥檚 more? She鈥檚 going to be rocking the black and gold for three more years.
4. Keith Clanton, forward, men鈥檚 basketball 鈥� He鈥檚 Mr. Reliable for a program that is on an upward trend and has embraced increasing expectations. Clanton is one of the few players who can quietly register a double-double, racking up rebounds and often scoring at ease in the paint or on the perimeter. Clanton led the Knights, averaging 14.5 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game, and perhaps most importantly hit the go-ahead free throw with just seconds remaining in 麻豆原创鈥檚 historic win over Memphis.
5. Kevan George, midfielder, men鈥檚 soccer 鈥� The 29th pick in the this year鈥檚 MLS SuperDraft, selected by Columbus Crew, was an integral part of a loaded men鈥檚 soccer team that took the program to new heights in 2011. George led the team in assists (7) and had two game-winning goals to his credit in 2011, one of which game in the first round of the NCAA Championship against Florida Gulf Coast.
6. Isaiah Sykes, guard/forward, men鈥檚 basketball 鈥� Sykes was easily the most improved player on the roster this season and made a strong case for most improved player in the nation. The sophomore from Detroit continued doing the things he did well as a freshman: rebounding, defending and grabbing loose balls. But in the 2011-12 season he started scoring. A lot. Sykes averaged 12.3 points per game and had a few 20-point efforts to his name. Sykes got more confident in his jump shot as the season went on and, of course, delivered more than a few SportsCenter-worthy highlights.
7. Josh Robinson, defensive back, football 鈥� The Knights鈥� defensive backfield took a blow when this junior defender declared for the NFL Draft. Then, the program enjoyed some exposure when Robinson made a huge splash at the NFL Combine. Robinson鈥檚 4.33-second time in the 40-yard dash was the fastest of any athlete at any position at the Combine. Accordingly, Robinson, who came to the program as a four-star recruit out of high school, saw his stock shoot upward. Any time a Knight goes in the earlier rounds of the Draft, it鈥檚 a victory for everybody.
8. Tishia Jewell, forward, women鈥檚 soccer 鈥� The 5-foot-6 senior out of Satellite Beach was an integral part of a women鈥檚 soccer program that ranked among the top in the nation. Jewell finished 2011 as a Third Team All-American and a C-USA First Team honoree. Jewell dished out 10 assists, putting her at No. 24 nationally, and scored seven goals. On a program that has been consistently good for quite some time, Jewell shined this year, scoring two game-winning goals.
9. Jackie Coward, sprinter, track & field 鈥� She is the most accomplished athlete in the program鈥檚 history, and Coward is also the commitment that started it all. Coward was the first All-American to come to 麻豆原创 and join coach Caryl Smith Gilbert in her vision of what the program could become. Speedsters like Freeman and Aurieyall Scott may not have selected 麻豆原创 out of high school had it not been for Coward. The senior sprinter will be chasing Olympic dreams at the U.S. Trials this summer.
10. Alex Friedrich, right fielder, baseball 鈥� It鈥檚 probably the best sports story on campus. Friedrich, who graduated from nearby University High School, had no major college offers despite his stellar high school career. Undaunted, Friedrich came to 麻豆原创 and walked on with the program, no small achievement. But he wasn鈥檛 done. Friedrich gradually earned more and more playing time, and now the senior right fielder who came to campus without a scholarship offer is one of the top hitters on one of the top baseball teams in the country. Friedrich is batting .351 and also has quite the arm in the outfield with five assists this season.

Just missed out:

Patrick has worked her way onto a number of 麻豆原创’s career record lists this season: steals (No. 2, 281), points scored (No. 7, 1,183), rebounds (No. 3, 814), assists (No. 4, 354), free throws made (No. 6, 267) and double-doubles (No. 5, 17). She is the only Knight in school history to have tallied 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists.

Patrick is the only active guard in C-USA to have recorded at least 10 career double-doubles. This season, Patrick averaged 14 points per game and 8.7 rebounds, both among the top 10 totals in C-USA.

The senior captain has led 麻豆原创 in scoring a team-high 13 games and has scored in double figures in a team-high 21 games. She has paced 麻豆原创 in rebounding nine games and has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 11 games this season.

Patrick, who was named to the 2010-11 C-USA All-Defensive Team, has started all but one of her 118 games played.

Carter picks up the 麻豆原创 women’s basketball team’s first C-USA weekly award of the season and the second College Sports Madness honor. Aisha Patrick was recognized by College Sports Madness, who identifies the highest impact players nationally and from each conference each week, in December.

Carter earns the accolades after averaging 21.5 points last week with clutch performances in 麻豆原创’s wins against Rice and Marshall. In the Knights’ 65-63 overtime win against the Owls, Carter scored all eight of 麻豆原创’s points in the extra period to deliver the victory. She finished with 15 points and eight rebounds and a team-high three assists.

At Marshall, Carter notched a career-high in points for the second time in three games, tallying 28 points off a 10-of-18 performance from the floor. Carter scored 20 of 麻豆原创’s 32 points in the second half and nearly outscored the entire Herd team, who posted 21 points in the second half.

It marked her third 20-point game of the season and her fifth game in double digits out of the previous six. She also tallied a game-high four steals and a blocked shot as 麻豆原创 picked up its third-straight win.

Carter currently ranks first in the league for scoring in conference games with 17.8 points per game. She also ranks fifth for assists in all games this season with 3.1 per game.

Up next, 麻豆原创 looks to extend its three-game win streak when it hosts SMU on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling (407) 麻豆原创-1000 or by visiting 麻豆原创Athletics.com. On gameday, tickets for the contest will be available at the 麻豆原创 Arena box office. All 麻豆原创 students are admitted free with a valid school ID.

Second-seeded 麻豆原创 showed the resiliency of champions, getting contributions from up and down the roster and winning the battle on the boards in an 85-73 defeat of fourth-seeded Tulane in the C-USA title game.

Winners of 11 straight games – an impressive streak that stretches all the way back to late January – 麻豆原创 (22-10) earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament starting on Friday.

When the game ended, confetti poured out of the rafters at the Don Haskins Center and tears streamed down the face of several 麻豆原创 players much to the delight of the black-and-gold clad fans who chanted “U-C-F!”

The C-USA championship is a second in three seasons for standout seniors Chelsie Wiley, D’Nay Daniels and Jelisa Caldwell. The Knights secured the title with a 9-0 run after Tulane (22-10) had gotten to within 70-68 with 5:08 to play.

Caldwell, a 5-foot-10 forward from Macon, Ga., was named the C-USA Championship Most Valuable Player after scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She made nine of 22 shots, two 3-pointers and seven of eight free throws.

Wiley, who moved into a tie for the most career 3-pointers (213) in school history, scored 13 points for the Knights. Daniels, also an All-Tournament performer, scored 12 points.

Junior point guard Aisha Patrick scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out five assists. Ashia Kelly, a spark plug throughout the tournament for the Knights, had 10 points, while sophomore guard Gevenia Carter added 10 more points.

The victory was sweet revenge for a 麻豆原创 team that was beaten 63-62 by Tulane last season in the C-USA tournament in Tulsa, Okla. The Knights used the defeat as motivation all season, posting the score in players’ lockers and scrawling it all throughout the dressing room.

麻豆原创 reached the championship game by rallying back from 15 points down on Thursday against UAB and routing Memphis on Friday in the semifinals. The Knights are attempting to win their second C-USA title in three years after doing so in 2009.

Tulane, the defending C-USA champs, got to the title game a second straight year by upsetting Houston on Friday. Top-seeded Houston had gone 16-0 in conference play during the regular season.

麻豆原创 led 41-35 at the break after dominating the glass early on, but the tenor of the game changed somewhat in the first four minutes of the second half. Tulane made six of its first 11 shots to start the second half and stormed to a 47-46 lead.

By the midway point of the second half, the two teams had already exchanged the lead a whopping 14 times in the game. No more than six points separated the teams through the first 30 minutes of play.

麻豆原创 defeated Tulane in the regular season by rallying back from 10 points down in the final seven minutes. The Knights won 73-69 in overtime on Feb. 17 by getting clutch performances from Aisha Patrick, Gevenia Carter and Caldwell.

麻豆原创 led 41-35 at the half on the strength of its work on the glass and its balanced scoring.

Caldwell and Carter, two of the heroes of 麻豆原创’s overtime defeat of Tulane in February, combined for 19 points in the first half. Their production was a welcomed site what with Daniels having played just five minutes in the opening half after picking up two quick fouls.

Caldwell started the game strong and had 11 first-half points, while Carter scored eight points off the bench in the first 20 minutes. Wiley, who struggled mightily with her shot a month ago against Tulane, had eight first-half points, while junior forward Ashia Kelly continued her strong play in the tournament with seven points in the first half.

麻豆原创 was the tougher, more physical team early on, owning a decisive 25-12 advantage on the boards. That allowed the Knights to get up 12 more field goal attempts early on.

The Knights jumped to a 19-14 lead early in the game by making eight of their first 14 shots and getting nine early points from Caldwell. The senior guard made four of her first five shots, including a deep 3-pointer from the wing.

Tulane stayed close in the first half by making 52 percent of its shots (14 of 27). Barnes was aggressive on the break, scoring 15 first-half points.

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创Athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Daniels, a senior from Atlanta, recently became the 14th player in 麻豆原创 women’s basketball history to score 1,000 points, but it came on a night when she was knocked from the game and had blood pouring out of her mouth.

A front tooth that was broken in half when she face-planted into the floor is a not-so-subtle reminder of Daniels’ joining the 1,000-point club. Even now, watching the video of a Memphis player landing on her head as she dived for a loose ball is difficult.

“I was trying to be that hustle player for us and I dove for a ball and she landed on my head,” Daniels recalled following 麻豆原创’s rout of Marshall on Sunday. “I was freaking out. I knew something had happened, but I didn’t know how bad it was. When it happened, I was screaming and you can look at the tape of me kicking my legs up in the air. And one of my friends who plays for Memphis, she ran over to me to check on me. I never thought that something like that could happen to me, but hey, it did.”

Of course, it only slowed down Daniels, one of 麻豆原创’s toughest, most vocal players. Minutes after stopping the bleeding, the 5-foot-10 power forward was back on the floor to knock down a mid-range jump shot from the left corner for her 1,000th point.

Combining with senior guard Chelsie Wiley’s accomplishments, 麻豆原创 (11-8 overall and 4-2 in Conference USA play) is one of only two schools in the conference with two active 1,000-point scorers. But Daniels said she is far more focused on 麻豆原创’s Thursday night showdown against Houston (15-4 and 6-0) than a personal gain.

“I got 1,000 points, but really I could care less,” Daniels said with a shrug. “But if we win a conference championship, that’s all that’s on my mind right now. I’m just about doing what my team needs me to do for us to be successful.”

麻豆原创 has been largely successful at home this season, compiling an 8-1 mark at 麻豆原创 Arena. The Knights throttled Marshall 68-40 on Sunday in their finest all-around performance of the season. Up next is a key game against a Houston team that has the conference’s reigning Player of the Week (6-foot senior forward Courtney Taylor) and the league’s only unbeaten mark.

Daniels knows that Thursday night’s game is a chance for the Knights to announce themselves as favorites to win C-USA – much the way they did two seasons ago with a stirring postseason run in the tournament.

“It’s another opportunity to show the league what we’re all about,” Daniels said. “And let them know that 麻豆原创 is back and that this season is going to be a very, very good one for us.”

It’s been a very good one for Daniels, who leads the Knights in scoring (14.7 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (7.7 rpg.). Despite being undersized in the post, Daniels has hustled her way to scoring in double digits in 16 games this season. She scored a career-best 25 points earlier in the season against FIU and she’s been a model of consistency in conference play, averaging 17.2 points and 8.6 rebounds with two double-doubles.

“D’Nay is a wonderful player and she is a good leader for us on and off the court. This is her last year and she wants to go out with a bang,” 麻豆原创 guard Aisha Patrick said. “Whether it’s offense, defense or whatever, she drives us and we’re just playing off of her.”

Patrick and other teammates still kid Daniels about the crack in her front tooth and her hysterical reaction upon snapping her chomper in half. But Patrick says that it was emblematic of Daniels that not long after suffering the injury she was back in the game scrapping in the post and sprinting on the fastbreak.

“It wasn’t so pretty with the tooth,” Patrick said with a laugh. “It’s tough to get your tooth knocked out and then get into the mindset of getting back into the game. She did a wonderful job fighting through that adversity.”

Daniels and Wiley are two of the leaders of head coach Joi Williams’ first true senior class, and the finality of their basketball careers has helped to ramp up their intensity down the stretch of the season. Angelica Mealing, Jelisa Caldwell and Leah Paige are the other three seniors on a 麻豆原创 team that hopes to win its second C-USA title in three seasons.

“D’Nay has grown a lot and I think there’s a sense of urgency there with her now. I think these seniors know now that they have 10 regular-season games left and D’Nay wants to leave as a champion,” said Williams, who is in her fourth season as 麻豆原创’s head coach. “She’s doing everything that she can to help us and hopefully we’ll get others to help her.”

Daniels will leave the program this spring with her name forever etched into the record books, but her only goal, she stressed, was to win another title. She won a state title in high school in Georgia and played in all 34 games the year 麻豆原创 won the C-USA crown and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Championship hardware, and not points scored, will define her legacy at 麻豆原创, she said.

“(Scoring 1,000 points) is very special, but I could care less about the recognition and being in the record books,” she said candidly. “If I could be zero points and 10 rebounds a game, if that’s what would help our team, that’s what I’d want. It’s not about the personal achievements to me.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Senior D’Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) picked up her second double-double in as many games and her fourth this season, scoring 16 points and posting 10 rebounds as the 麻豆原创 women’s basketball team defeated Conference USA opponent UAB (8-8, 0-3) Thursday night at the 麻豆原创 Arena, 65-55. Knights’ (10-6, 3-0) guard Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) recorded her first double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Patrick joins Daniels as the only two 麻豆原创 players to record a double-double this season. She was aided by a career night at the free-throw line, connecting on 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.

Chelsie Wiley (Rockledge, Fla.) matched Patrick with a team-high 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line.

The victory was the fifth-straight for the Knights, who move to 3-0 in C-USA contests this season for the first time since winning the league title in 2008-09. It also improved their record at home to 7-1 this season with all seven wins coming by double-digit margins.

Runs by both teams were the story of the first half. After taking an early lead, UAB fell behind by as much as 12 in the opening period as Daniels and Wiley combined for 16 points. However, a 12-2 run by the Blazers in the final five and a half minutes made it a two-point game at the break, 30-28.

The Knights stormed out to start the second half on an 11-0 run in the first five minutes. But it was another run by UAB that made it a much closer game with the surge time coming midway through the half.

The Blazers used a 16-4 run to pull within a point at 45-44 with 8:30 showing on the clock. That would be as close as they would get as 麻豆原创’s defense made key stops and scored in transition to pull away down the stretch, holding on for the 10-point win.

A season-best 88.9 percent (24-27) from the free-throw line sealed the win for the Knights. UAB was just 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the line in the game as they remain winless in league play.

麻豆原创 continued to dominate the glass, outrebounding its opponent for the tenth time this season, 37-29. The Knights have nine victories, including in all three C-USA games, when pulling down more boards than their opponents.

麻豆原创 will now head back out on the road for two-straight league games starting Sunday at SMU. The game between the Knights and the Mustangs is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off and can be seen nationally on ESPN2.

When Chassity Brown converted a fastbreak layup with six seconds left and 麻豆原创’s Aisha Patrick couldn’t made a desperate runner at the horn, the Knights were left with a gut-wrenching 63-62 loss and painful thoughts of what could have been.

“Obviously, we’re very disappointed because we came here with great expectations. It’s disappointing because we felt like we had the game and let it slip through our hands,” 麻豆原创 coach Joi Williams said. “We have a lot to learn from this game. Hopefully this loss will propel us forward and we’ll take it into next season.”

The loss ends a wildly erratic 11-16 season for a Knights team that had hoped to use this tournament to make up for a subpar regular season. 麻豆原创 returns all of its core players and in many ways is already looking forward to next season.

“Everything happens for a reason and we’ve just got to come back as seniors next year strong and with more of a sense of urgency,” said junior forward Emma Cannon, who had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. “Our freshman year when we lost in the first round it drove us to the point where we won the conference championship the next year. We’ll remember this feeling because it won’t go away. We’ll remember this during the offseason and next season.”