USF football is not the only sport at the school that is making news

Things are heating up around the USF athletic department, and not just because we’re neck-deep into summer and melting under an oppressive weather phenomenon known as a heat dome.

While football prepares for the opening of summer camp later this month, other teams have been busy as well.

BASEBALL: Mitch Hannahs, USF’s new head baseball coach, added a couple of key members to his coaching staff.

He hired Daniel Schlereth as the pitching coach and Blake Kangas as an assistant coach.

Schlereth was a first-round draft pick in 2008 by the Arizona Diamondbacks and spent four years in the majors – one with Arizona and three with the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in 94 games, all in relief.

He most recently served as the pitching coach at Western Michigan.

He also worked one year in player development and scouting for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Kangas comes to USF after two years at Oklahoma State as the director of player development.

The Cowboys were 83-39 during Kangas’ time there and won the Big 12 championship in 2023.

Hannahs took over at USF in June after 11 seasons at Indiana State. He replaces Billy Mohl, who was fired after seven seasons. The Bulls were 26-29 this season and finished 11-16 in AAC play.

VOLLEYBALL: The school released its 30-game schedule for the upcoming season. It begins on August 30 when the Bulls meet Florida State in a tournament hosted by the Seminoles. They’ll also play Georgia and U.C. Santa Barbara as part of the competition.

They’ll also participate in the Gator Tournament in Gainesville from September 6-8, opening against the Gators before playing Ohio State.

Their first home match is September 12 against North Florida.

The Bulls are coming off a highly successful season. They finished 22-12, their most wins since 2002. They won the American Athletic  Conference East Division title and advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball  Championship tournament.

HUGE WIN FOR MELANIE GREEN

Former USF golfer Melanie Green put her name alongside the immortal Babe Zaharias when she won the R&A Women’s Amateur Championship in Portmarnock, Ireland, near Dublin.

Green is the first U.S. winner since 1996, and 77 years after Babe Didrikson Zaharias became the first American to win the event, which was then known as the Amateur Championship.

She was born in Texas but settled in Tampa after she married George Zaharias. A golf course in Tampa is named after her.

Winning the event over a field of 144 golfers carries considerable privileges for Green, who was the AAC Player of the Year in 2024. She is the first USF golfer to be so honored.

She now gains an automatic entry to the AIG Women’s Open,  the U.S. Women’s Open, and an invitation to the August National Women’s Amateur Championship.