With his 2025 recruiting class mostly in the books – the Bulls could still bring in new players during the spring transfer portal window – football coach Alex Golesh is busy working on his 2026 class.
Mike Singer of On3.com reported that USF offered quarterback Rhys Brush from the powerhouse Armwood High program in the Tampa suburb of Seffner.
The Bulls have targeted another highly sought local high school player in running back Javari Barnett from Tampa Bay Tech. On3 rates him a 4-star player and reported he has offers from Miami, Texas A&M and USC.
Singer reported that Golesh has recently hosted multiple players on campus who are also pursued by high-level Power 4 programs.
Women’s lacrosse off to a blazing start
Fresh off its historic inaugural game 19-6 blowout of Kennesaw State, the USF women’s lacrosse team heads to Mercer on Tuesday afternoon for the first road game in team history.
The Bulls return home on February 14 to face Lehigh at 7 p.m. That game will be available on ESPN+.
USF showed what kind of night it was going to be in the opening game when attacker Juliana George scored an unassisted goal 48 seconds after the opening draw. That delighted the crowd of 2,386 at Corbett Stadium and the Bulls kept up the pressure.
An Inaugural game goal-fest1⃣9⃣#HornsUp🤘 pic.twitter.com/MUV2U7LI0m
— USF Women's Lacrosse (@USFWLAX) February 9, 2025
It was 7-1 after one period and 12-3 by halftime.
"We've been preparing for this moment for a long time, and to see this team come out with so much energy and execution was incredible," USF coach Mindy McCord said. "This is just the beginning for USF lacrosse, and I'm so proud of how we played tonight."
Softball team gets the season rolling
The Bulls took three wins in five games in the USF-Rawlings Invitational at the USF softball stadium.
After opening with a 9-1 win over Delaware to start the season, the Bulls rallied past Illinois State 5-3. USF trailed in that game 3-0 but scored five times in the fourth inning to take command.
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT‼️https://t.co/Vruf3QrA0s #HornsUp🤘 pic.twitter.com/FuackKR7Bl
— USF Softball (@USFSoftball) February 9, 2025
On Friday, the Bulls dropped a heart-breaker to 22nd-ranked Michigan 1-0 on an unearned run. USF had two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t push the tying run across.
The Bulls had another come-from-behind 7-4 win in Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern, but were blanked Sunday 8-0 in five innings against the 2nd-ranked University of Florida Gators.
The Gators, who advanced to the semifinals of Women’s College World Series last year, jumped in front 4-0 in the first inning and cruised.
The Bulls shouldn’t feel too bad about that game, though. The Gators won all five games they played in the tournament and moved to 6-0 on the season. They outscored opponents during the invitational by a combined 45-8, including a 13-1 win over Michigan.
The Bulls return to action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at home against Florida Gulf Coast.