USF will begin its historic first women’s lacrosse season on Friday, February 7 with a 7 p.m. game against Kennesaw State at Corbett Stadium.
The Bulls were picked to finish fifth out of seven teams in a reconfigured league under the American Athletic Conference banner.
James Madison was picked to place first, followed in order by Vanderbilt, Temple, East Carolina, USF, Charlotte, and Old Dominion.
Defender Ansley Knor and Attacker Sofia Chepenik were preseason All-Conference selections.
Softball
Ken Eriksen begins his 28th season as USF’s softball coach with a game on Thursday, February 6 with a doubleheader against Delaware and Illinois State in the annual USF-Rawlings Invitational.
The first game starts at 2:30 p.m. followed by the nightcap.
Following that, the Bulls face Michigan on Friday at 4:30 and Georgia Southern on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
The Invitational concludes on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when USF squares off will continue with a game against Michigan and Georgia Southern. The Bulls will close out the tournament on Sunday, February 9, with an afternoon game against the Florida Gators.
Last season, the Gators advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series before losing to eventual national champion Oklahoma 6-5 in eight innings.
USF’s schedule includes eight teams that made it to the 2024 NCAA regionals, and two that made it to the College World Series. Besides Florida, USF played national runner-up Texas.
"Staying with the mantra 'challenge yourself every day,' I feel once again the softball schedule for this spring will not only challenge our team on its journey towards winning the conference championship but also showcase the exciting, fast-paced sport of women's softball,” Eriksen said.
In the preseason AAC poll, USF was picked to finish fifth. Wichita State is the preseason favorite.
Baseball
As head coach Mitch Hannahs prepares for his first season as USF’s baseball coach, he has left no doubt about where he believes this program can go.
"The path to Omaha (and the College World Series) is a little cleaner here,'' Hannahs said at his introductory news conference. "I think if you don't have the expectation of getting to Omaha and playing well in Omaha, you probably shouldn't be coaching Division I baseball.''
The Bulls open the season on February 14 at home with a three-game series against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
USF was picked to finish seventh in the preseason AAC poll. Designated hitter Rafael Betancourt was a preseason all-conference selection.
FOOTBALL
Even though the college football season has ended, it’s never really over. With that in mind, Wednesday February 5 marks the national signing day.
Currently uncommitted players have from Wednesday until February 7 to sign with their schools.
No better way to welcome our newest Bulls to Tampa than dinner at the Golesh’s. 🙂↕️#ComeToTheBay | #StayInTheBay pic.twitter.com/vxWep8g65D
— USF Football (@USFFootball) February 3, 2025
After the early signing period in December, USF reported that 27 players from that group are already on campus as early enrollees.
The Bulls start the first of their allowed 15 spring practice sessions on March 25. The spring game is April 26, 6 p.m., at Corbett Field on the USF campus.
Track and Field
The USF track and field team continued had a strong showing at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on February 1 in Louisville.
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Markel Jones and Michael Bourne III advanced to the final round. Jones finished fourth in the finals with a time of 7.84 seconds, while Bourne III placed sixth with a 7.98-second performance.
The women's 60-meter hurdles featured a dominant showing from Tyra Thomas, Doris Quainoo, and Madeline Abega, who all qualified for the finals. Thomas finished second with a time of 8.31 seconds, tying her for fourth on the Bulls' all-time top 10 list. Quainoo clocked 8.39 seconds to place third, earning the sixth-best time in program history, while Abega finished eighth, remaining on the top 10 list.
The AAC indoor championships start February 28 in Birmingham.
The outdoor season begins February 7 with the Tampa Distance Classic at the University of Tampa.