USF baseball: players are departing and a new coach has arrived

The first moves of what could be a season of significant change with the USF baseball program have been made.

Baseball America reported that freshman pitcher Michael Senay and outfielder Gabe Graulau have entered the Transfer Portal, while former Bull Dave Eiland takes over as the pitching coach after serving as Player Development Coordinator. He replaces Daniel Schlereth, who departs after two seasons.

As of Tuesday morning, there was no formal announcement about either move, but Eiland's job description on the USF baseball website was changed to reflect his new duties and Schlereth's bio was removed.

Eiland brings extensive experience to his new role. He pitched for the Bulls in 1986-87 and later spent nearly 10 seasons in the majors, with the New York Yankees, San Diego, and Tampa Bay. He was a pitching coach for 11 seasons for the Yankees, Kansas City, and New York Mets.

He was twice on a World Series championship team -- the Yankees in 2009 and Royals in 2015.

On a side note, Eiland served as Kevin Costner’s body/pitching double in the movie For Love of The Game.

He is a native of nearby Zephyrhills and also pitched one season at the University of Florida.

Senay figures to attract considerable attention in the portal. A native of Orlando, Senay became a

He was 5-2 this season in 12 appearances (11 starts) with a 3.52 ERA. He allowed only 59 hits in 70.1 innings.

Bulls head coach Mitch Hannahs told GoUSFBulls.com that Hannah's unflappable nature was a key to his success.

"I've always said maturity doesn't have an age,'' Hannahs said. "I mean, Michael is an 18-year-old, but he's as mature as a 38-year-old. It's that ability to turn the page and move on, that's what separates him from a lot of guys. He has been a rock, just so, so steady.

"He's still good when he doesn't have his best stuff and that's rare in a freshman. It's very easy for a young kid to get flustered by what happened the batter before. It gets in their head and they try to overthrow the next one. But Michael just settles back in. Great mechanics, really solid mechanics, have gotten him here. He has the ability to repeat the delivery, then he has the mindset to go with all of that.''

In 2024, while still a junior in high school, he pitched for the Czech National Team on a tour to Taiwan and Japan (he has dual citizenship and regularly visits the Czech Republic, the homeland of his mother, Lucie). He threw six scoreless innings in his appearances there.

Graulau, also a freshman, appeared in only 11 games this season and made five starts. He hit .231 in 26 at-bats.

While the Bulls finished the season with a 32-21 record, they were just 11-16 in the American Conference and failed to qualify for the post-season tournament.

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