USF baseball betting on fresh talent to continue turnaround as rebuild enters Phase 2

Last season for USF baseball was largely about building a foundation to reverse several years of mediocrity.

First-year head coach Mitch Hannahs accomplished that as the Bulls finished 31-25 overall and 16-11 in the American Conference. They finished third in the conference after being picked to finish seventh. USF had losing seasons in five of the previous six years, and It was their first winning regular-season record in the conference since 2018.

Phase 2 of the rebuild begins Friday night at Red McEwen Field against Illinois in the first of a three-game series.

"We've physically gotten better,'' Hannahs said on GoUSFBulls.com. "The reality for us now is are we detail-oriented? That's the big thing moving forward. Are we (better) at winning the game within the game?

"We're going to have more pitching depth. We're going to put a team on the field that's better equipped to deal with the variables, such as weather. If the wind is howling in and nobody can get it to the warning track, we've got a group to play the short game. If the wind is blowing out, we've got a group that can play the long game. I think you'll see us to be able to go with more lefties against good righties (pitchers) and more righties against good lefties (pitchers). It's all part of the progression.''

Last season Hannahs had to juggle a pitching staff that lacked depth beyond Corey Braun, who was an eight-round selection in June by the Athletics. This year the staff has more options, which should bode well for the Bulls.

"I like the arms that we have,'' Hannahs said. "I feel like we've worked hard to make sure we're not flipping coins on Sunday and Tuesday, which was awfully tough. I feel like we've got five or six guys who can be solid starters. Now that doesn't mean every time they go out they're going to be a Corey Braun and pitch us into the seventh inning, but they certainly have that capability."

Even with all the mixing, matching, wings and prayers, the Bulls made it to the semifinals of the conference tournament before falling to eventual champion East Carolina 9-7. USF led 4-0 in that game, but the lack of pitching depth showed in the later innings.

Hannahs and his staff addressed that with a recruiting class that Perfect Game ranked 38th in the country and No. 1 in the American.

"I think we'll have at least three good full-time starters,'' catcher Lance Trippel said. "Last year, we had the one starter (Braun) and after that, it really wasn't a set rotation. This year, we have enough arms to do that. It's going to help, especially in the midweek games, when we can throw out a starter instead of having to run a bullpen day.''

The Bulls first eight games will be played at home. They begin conference play against Rice on March 20.