Fun facts About Bryan Hodgson, the new men’s basketball coach at USF.
His Arkansas State team won 25 games this year and finished in a four-way tie for first in the Sun Belt Conference regular season.
The Red Wolves had wins over NCAA tournament teams Akron, Troy, and – get this – Memphis, the latter by 13 points. They beat St. Louis in the NIT before losing in the second round by two points at North Texas.
If a lot of that sounds familiar to USF fans, it’s because the late Amir Abdur-Rahim’s only Bulls team won 25 games, a regular-season title, and beat UCF (yeah!) in the NIT before falling to VCU in the second round.
For those USF fans concerned that three key players have declared for the transfer portal, Hodgson is considered a ferocious recruiter.
His incoming class at Arkansas State is ranked 35th in the nation, and it will be interesting to see if any of those players take a detour to Fowler Avenue in Tampa.
Source was jumping on a plane as he hung up phone with me. His agent got him more $$$$ and longer deal with South Florida instead of UNLV. I would rather live in Tampa than Vegas also.
— Trey Schaap (@TreySchaap) March 25, 2025
There was a lot of social media speculation on Monday that Hodgson was headed to UNLV. Trey Schaap, an Arkansas announcer and podcaster, tweeted that it was a done deal, only to recant that shortly afterward.
“Source was jumping on a plane as he hung up phone with me,” Schaap said. “His agent got him more $$$$ and longer deal with South Florida instead of UNLV. I would rather live in Tampa than Vegas also.”
Mr. Schaap is a wise man.
Hodgson’s buyout at Arkansas State was a reported $800,000. Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 reported his deal at USF is for six years.
BREAKING: South Florida is hiring Arkansas State head coach Bryan Hodgson, sources told @TheFieldOf68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 25, 2025
It’ll be a six-year deal.
Hodgson, a former Nate Oats assistant at Buffalo and Alabama, has done a terrific job since taking over at Arkansas State, going 45-28 overall and…
Also, four Arkansas State players described by RedWolfReport.com as “significant contributors” entered the transfer portal.
They include junior guard Darian Ford, who shot 35 percent from 3-point range this season.
Redshirt sophomore guard Terrance Ford led the team with 170 assists. Joseph Pinion, a junior guard, led the team with 85 made three-pointers.
And how about this for fast action? Junior forward Isayiah Nelson, an All-sun Belt selection the last two tears, already committed to USF.
#Committed pic.twitter.com/dBVLzPNB68
— Izaiyah Nelson (@IzaiyahN) March 25, 2025
That doesn’t mean they’re all coming to USF, but it doesn’t mean they won’t. If any of them do come to Tampa and have anywhere close to the impact the transfers Coach Amir brought from Kennesaw State, this could be special.