Zak Skinner has played baseball in some unique settings, from setting up cones to mark home run fences back in Australia to representing his country at the U23 World Cup in China. Now, he's headed to UCF for his final season of college baseball.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Skinner recently committed to the Knights after two strong seasons at Lamar University, where he was a consistent offensive presence and saw time at both catcher and third base. Prior to that, he was a JUCO All-American at Vernon College in Texas.

"This was a really easy decision for me," Skinner said of choosing UCF. "Almost right away, they jumped on me in the portal. Everything I heard sounded amazing."

Skinner batted .339 as a junior at Lamar in 2024, earning second team All-Southland Conference honors while leading the team in average, doubles and RBIs. This past season, he hit .277 in 57 starts while splitting time between catcher and third base.

"I think my best strength is my approach at the plate, hitting to the backside, making contact, not striking out," Skinner said. "I'm very good at, if there's a runner on third and less than two outs, just hitting the ground ball to score him. I guess the small fundamentals of baseball that are sometimes easily passed over, I try really hard to focus on.

"And defensively, being a leader behind the plate. Helping my pitcher and making everyone's job easier."

That trait definitely stood out to UCF head coach Rich Wallace and assistant coach Norberto Lopez.

"One big thing for me was they said being a leader was something they really saw in me," Skinner said. "That's something I really take pride in, being a guy who can come in and make an impact, whether it's in the weight room, on the field, during BP, whatever it is."

Lopez was Skinner's primary contact during the recruiting process. By that time, Skinner had already returned home to Australia for the summer.

Aside from a past visit to Universal, his time in Orlando has been limited, but he's been doing his homework on UCF ahead of his August arrival.

"Now, everything I heard from Coach Lopez, especially compared to what I've been used to and coming from baseball fields where we have to set up cones as our home run fence, was so eye-opening, so this is an opportunity I really couldn't turn down."

While baseball may not be a mainstream sport in Australia, Skinner is part of a growing group of players from the country making their mark in college and professional baseball. Last year, Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, also from Australia, was selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 MLB Draft.

"There are definitely more guys starting to break through now," Skinner said. "You've got guys like Brent Iredale at Arkansas and Conor Myles at UTSA. So it's growing."

Skinner's own resume includes an international experience few college players can match. Last fall, he represented Australia at the U23 WBSC World Cup in China, competing against teams like Japan, Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

"That was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in baseball," he said. "Just being able to see how we match up against the best of the best, it was really eye-opening."

Skinner grew up around the game, influenced heavily by his father, a former Australian Baseball League player and now coach. His passion for the sport intensified after attending a 2014 MLB Opening Series game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in Sydney, an event that turned him into a Dodgers fan.

He also spent time in the ABL himself, playing as a developmental player for his hometown team. One season, he even shared the field with Ronald Acuña Jr., who had a brief ABL stint before becoming an MLB star.

"That was a great experience, just being at practices and learning from a guy like that," Skinner said.

He hopes to bring a winning mindset to UCF as the Knights continue to build in the Big 12.

"My main goal is to help this team win," he said. "Obviously, like any player, I want to get into pro ball and make the major leagues, but first I want to bring a Big 12 championship to UCF and even bigger. That'd be amazing.

"We've missed out the last couple years (at Lamar) on doing stuff like that. We won a regular season title, but once the games got important, things kind of fell apart. So, at UCF, I really want to win and bring home the hardware when it matters."