Ken Eriksen has been USF's head softball coach since 1997 and has led the Bulls to 17 of their 18 NCAA tournament appearances, including last year. That's a roundabout way of saying his words carry some weight.
So when he says something like the following comment, it might be time for USF fans to buckle their seatbelts.
"We have not just good athletes, but we got smart athletes, and smart athletes can get better faster. I believe we have the ability to win every time we step on the field. So to me, the enthusiasm on the ball field is keeping me out there, and I enjoy it," he said.
"Our recruiting has really been off the charts the last couple of years. Some of the players that have committed to us coming in next year and the year after already are continuing to get better and better each year. So yeah, man, let's go, you know, and as long as (CEO of Athletics) Rob (Higgins) is gonna have me around, I'll be here."
The Bulls were picked to finish second in the preseason American Conference coaches poll, trailing only Florida Atlantic. USF is the defending conference tournament champion and Eriksen is confident the Bulls will be one of the top teams in the league agin this season.
"We're strong up the middle with some great gloves there," he said. "We've got great experience at the top of the lineup. We have a staff right now that we have multiple pitchers that can start, multiple pitchers that can come in the middle, and multiple pitchers that could kill a game at the end. I've never had that before. So we're in really good shape, and you're also in good enough shape where you can say to one or two pitchers that day that, hey, you got the day off, you know. And that in itself, is a big deal when you go into a 56 game schedule, you know, in three months," he said.
Graduate student Belle Sardja returns to anchor a versatile pitching staff. She led the Bulls last year with a 17-4 record and a 1.99 ERA in 37 appearances, including 19 starts.
"We feel strong about the ability for our pitchers to go out there and give us good innings. If they can give us consistent, good innings and limit the walks will be, will be competitive right from the get go. So right now, it's like me trying to stay out of the way and not screw them up," Eriksen said.
Josie Foreman (13 home runs last season) and graduated Alana Rivera (seven homers) graduated, but there is some good pop returning in Alex Wilkes (11 home runs in 2025), Olivia Elliot, and Jamia Nelson should help mitigate that somewhat.
"I don't think we'll diminish in the home run areas whatsoever or the extra base hit areas, but I do believe that we'll probably increase our on-base percentages in our run production," he said.
The Bulls will jump into the fire right away.
After opening at home on Thursday against Bethune-Cookman at 3:05 p.m. followed by Illinois State at 6:05 p.m., USF will host Michigan, Kansas, and the Florida Gators starting on Friday through Sunday.
The Gators rank No. 8 in the preseason Power 10 softball rankings.
"We always do that every year, you know? There's been times that we started out like two and eight and we finished 42 and 16. It's a marathon and you have to have the wherewithal and the maturity to understand that," Eriksen said.
"You can play really well and not win, and you can play like crap and win. So if you can get your kids to understand it's not a game of failure, it's a game of opportunity, we got a great chance to be pretty successful in the long term."