South Florida Bulls
Overall Rank: #42
Conference Rank: #3 American
South Florida did not have a great 2018 NCAA Tournament, losing twice to Oklahoma State with an extra innings win against Hartford in-between. The Bulls bring in 15 newcomers, but many of them have experience. And Coach Billy Mohl just needs to fill in some holes around a pretty solid and experienced returning nucleus. If those holes can be filled, South Florida will look to take a step forward in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
2018: 36-22-1, 14-9-1
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Billy Mohl
Key Departed Players:
David Villar, IF, .374 BA, 12 HR, 58 RBI
Coco Montes, IF, .331 BA, 40 RBI
Duke Stunkel Jr, OF/IF, .330 BA, 24 RBI
Peter Strzelecki, P, 3.98 ERA, 9-4 W/L, 92.2 IP, 102 SO
Shane McClanahan, P, 3.42 ERA, 5-6 W/L, 76.1 IP, 120 SO
Key Returning Players:
Kyle Phillips. OF, .333 BA, 5 HR, 22 RBI
Joe Genord, IF/C, .306 BA, 16 HR, 53 RBI
JD Dutka, IF, .299 BA, 26 RBI
Tyler Dietrich, C, .267 BA, 36 RBI
Collin Sullivan, P, 3.80 ERA, 3-1 W/L, 64.0 IP, 66 SO
Projection:
Kyle Phillips and Joe Genord are the obvious key hitters returning to USF. Phillips hit .333 with five homeruns. He will get on-base on a consistent basis and the outfielder should be in for a big senior season. Genord also hit over .300 and led the team with 16 homeruns and added 53 RBIs. Genord will drive in plenty of runs, but Coach Mohl needs to get production from other players in order to have somebody on base for Genord to drive home. This program is building depth though and it should not be a surprise if some of the newcomers or players like JD Dutka or Tyler Dietrich become consistent and very productive contributors at the plate. If that happens, South Florida will reach their fourth regional in the last five seasons.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
