Ben McCabe looks to future after stellar UCF baseball career: ‘I wouldn’t trade it for the world’

When Ben McCabe was 3 years old, he was dropped off at a camp by his mother, Connie.

The camp had five different sports: football, basketball, soccer, tennis and baseball.

Amid the chaos of kids his age running back and forth among the sports, McCabe found his love for the game with a bat, a ball and a glove.

Now the same kid who got dropped off at a summer camp has finished his collegiate career as UCF baseball’s all-time leader in home runs.

“It’s probably one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had,” McCabe said of his time with the Knights. “Some of the most memorable moments of my life and career here. Breaking the home run record is something I’ll never forget.”

With his collegiate career over, McCabe has his sights on the MLB draft, which begins July 9. He already has worked out for multiple teams.

On April 30, McCabe launched a 2-0 fastball from Houston’s Cade Citelli for his 44th career home run.

McCabe surpassed Chris Duffy (2010) and Bobby Kiser (1990), who each hit 43.

McCabe and Duffy first met at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium in the batting cages in the summer of 2021. McCabe recognized him and went to introduce himself. After shaking hands, McCabe lightheartedly called his shot.

“I’m coming for your record,” Duffy recalled McCabe telling him.

After their conversation, McCabe gave Duffy a pair of UCF batting gloves.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better dude,“ Duffy said of McCabe breaking the record. “He’s a good dude, he plays the game the right way, he’s an excellent teammate, I know his team loves him, [and] UCF loves him.”

Big brotherly love

McCabe tied the record on April 28, then broke it two days later. He finished his career with 49 home runs.

“It didn’t hit me until I got to the dugout when all the guys were coming up and congratulating me,” he said. “Just all those guys coming up and congratulating me was sweet and shows how good of teammates we have and how good of friends I’ve had.”

McCabe spent the early part of his life playing baseball and soccer. A 10-goal performance where he scored 4 for his team and 6 for his opponent pushed him toward baseball.

Ben’s pursuit on the baseball field was influenced by older brother Brett, who played catcher at Sarasota Riverview High. After graduating, he became the bullpen catcher from 2015-18 at FSU. Ben was a utility player growing up, but catcher became the only position he played after stepping foot at Sarasota High.

The man who thought Ben would be a good catcher was the former coach of Sarasota’s baseball team, Clyde Metcalf. He coached Sarasota for 41 seasons, accumulating 950 wins, six state titles and two national championships.

“He had a great body type for it, and he also had a cannon for an arm,“ Metcalf said. “At that time, we were a little thin behind the plate. We suggested it to him and, as they say, never looked back.”

Ben took on the challenge of catching and had Brett by his side.

Connie said Brett was Ben’s role model. Brett did anything he could to help his little brother improve.

“We’d go to the batting cages, and I would just try to get a lot of practice to try and do as much as we could,“ Brett said. “Whether that’s working on his receiving, blocking, I would throw bullpen sessions to him and try to use what I learned and found success with.”

Ben started on the varsity team for two seasons. He made the All-Area first team, was a FACA State All-Star selection as a senior and was the Sarasota High  Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018.

Beyond how quickly Ben acclimated to catching, his leadership stood out.

“He was a great leader for our guys,” Metcalf said. “He always set a good example for his teammates — teammates looked up to him.”

In the summer of 2017, Ben played for the Orlando Scorpions, a travel baseball team that’s produced multiple high picks in the MLB Draft. His play caught the eye of someone more than familiar with what it takes to be a catcher.

That would be former UCF baseball coach Greg Lovelady.

With an offer from Lovelady and an opportunity to play college baseball two hours from where he grew up, going to UCF was a no-brainer. Staying close to family was especially important for Ben because of Connie.

“I owe a lot to my mom,“ he said. “When I was in high school and travel ball, she was huge. Helping me get to tournaments, paying for the travel organizations, which I know they’re not cheap and paying for hotels. She was always there every step of the way.”

Life-changing experience

McCabe’s path to becoming UCF baseball’s all-time leader in home runs wasn’t smooth.

As a freshman, he played sparingly to begin the season but saw more time as the year progressed. He was the starting catcher in 13 of UCF’s final 15 games.

Then Josh Crouch transferred from the State College of Florida in 2020. The duo split time behind the dish before the COVID pandemic shut down the season, then Crouch became the Knights’ primary catcher in 2021. Lovelady told McCabe he would DH, play first base and catch.

“I just had a talk with [Lovelady] and said that I don’t mind if I’m not catching,“ he said. “Josh showed that he can catch, and he does it really well at an elite level. Let’s just do what’s best for the team.”

Crouch got drafted in the 11th round by the Detroit Tigers. McCabe hit .242, hit 12 home runs and drove in 56 runs.

With Crouch gone, the starting catching job appeared to be McCabe’s for the taking. As the 2022 season approached, he progressively felt more pain in his right elbow.

McCabe had a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

“When we got back from winter break, the more we got ramped up, something just wasn’t feeling right,“ he said. “So we got it checked out, the MRI came back and it was torn. It was some tough news, not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to be the starting catcher.”

McCabe was still able to hit. He had 14 home runs and had 54 RBI as UCF’s primary DH.

The UCL repair surgery came last June, done by Dr. Jeffery Dugas, M.D. of Andrews Sports Medicine. Dugas put an internal brace, which consists of mesh-type fabric, around McCabe’s UCL.

McCabe was told it’d take him 7-9 months to fully recover. At the beginning of January, he was cleared to play baseball without limitations.

Connie credits Ben’s work ethic to her father and his grandpa, Andrew Luty. Luty, whom her sons called Gigi, came down from Canada during the winter to visit.

Ben maximized his time with Gigi and his grandma, Mary Luty, when he was younger by visiting him nearly every day when they were in town.

The time Ben spent with his grandpa and the lessons learned were invaluable. Before every at-bat, Ben writes a G and a cross behind home plate for Gigi.

“He came from nothing,” Ben said. “I think he left the house at the age of 14 and started working on his own. He built himself up from nothing to something, and he was able to afford a house in Canada, a house in Florida and live a comfortable life. Instilling hard work in me and knowing that nothing comes to you, you’ve got to work for everything you want.”

A light sprinkle fell across John Euliano Park as Ben got to walk across the field one final time with his family for senior night May 20. As raindrops fell, tears trickled down Connie’s face as she held her youngest son’s hand.

Ben walked alongside his father Pat McCabe and his uncle, Chris Luty, who made the trip from Canada to watch his nephew play for the first time.

After the game, Ben saw Duffy for the first time since the summer of 2021. Duffy and his mother, Sarah Duffy, met McCabe’s family for the first time. McCabe showed his family around the team locker room. Behind his nameplate was a card from a kid and his father that read “UCF Knights charge on, home run hitter,” in all caps.

Ben sat on the couch with his brother, and Connie took a picture of them while the rest of their family ventured around the space.

In that moment of solace with the most impactful people in McCabe’s life in the locker room and watching over him, he knew UCF was everything he wanted it to be.

“It’s tough to put it into words,“ he said. “It’s a very special place for me. I spent the last five years here. I made a lot of my best friends here, met my girlfriend here and just getting to play baseball here. It’s been one of the best experiences in my life.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”