USF softball will play 13 NCAA tournament teams, including reigning national champion, UCLA
TAMPA, FLA. Dec. 17, 2019 – Back-to-back American Athletic Conference Champions University of South Florida Bulls return to the softball field with a challenging 2020 schedule loaded with NCAA tournament teams.
“This season we look to continue the USF softball tradition of giving our student-athletes the greatest opportunity to play against the nation’s best and this year’s schedule will do just that,” interim head coach Jessica Moore said. “We look forward to the challenges that have been put in front of us and the opportunities to continue to raise the level and standard of play within the USF softball program.”
Interim head coach Moore will lead the Bulls this season, with head coach Ken Eriksen taking a leave of absence to lead Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s Moore’s first time with the head coach title and she’ll lead alongside assistant coach Tommy Santiago, who rejoined the program this season, and assistant coach Morgan Gross, a 2018 graduate of USF softball. Moore is entering her fifth season with the program, joining USF in 2015 as an assistant coach and has helped the Bulls win three regular season conference championships.
USF will face off against eight teams that participated in the NCAA Regionals in 2019, as well as a Super-Regional squad. The Bulls will also go head-to-head against three Women’s College World Series teams and the reigning national champion in UCLA.
South Florida will meet two new opponents in 2020, with Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi battling USF for the first time. The Bulls also revive series against Fresno State, who last played the Bulls in 1986, Georgia, who USF last met in 2000, and Iowa, with the last meeting in the all-time series being in 2002.
The Bulls open with the USF-Rawlings Invitational, that runs Feb. 6 through Feb. 9 and features No. 8 Florida, No. 19 Michigan, Illinois State, Fresno State and Georgia State at the USF Softball Stadium.
USF follows up its opening weekend with a trip to Clearwater to participate in the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational from Feb. 13-16, taking on five teams that were ranked in the top 15 at the end of last season. In addition to No. 14 Georgia and No. 15 Texas Tech, USF will play Women’s College World Series participants No. 5 Alabama, No. 13 Oklahoma State and reigning national champion UCLA. The games will be played at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
The Bulls will host four additional tournaments during February and March. The weekend of Feb. 21, USF will host FIU and No. 11 Tennessee at the USF Invitational. From Feb. 28 through March 1, the Bulls play Rutgers, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Syracuse in a tournament, followed by another tournament on the weekend of March 6 will have UMASS, Iowa State and RV Wisconsin visiting Tampa. The last tournament consists of Southeast Missouri State, Ohio University and Iowa and runs from March 13-15.
South Florida will also have a midweek doubleheader in Fort Myers, Fla., against FGCU (Feb. 26), as well as Wednesday matchups against Detroit Mercy (March 4) and Penn State (March 11).
Conference play opens up with Houston visiting USF from March 20-22, followed by a trip to Memphis on March 27-29 before returning to Tampa for a Wednesday matchup against Jacksonville on April 1.
Two days later, Wichita State visits USF Softball Stadium for a three-game series, followed by the War on I-4 series against UCF in Tampa on April 9-11.
After an April 15 rematch against Florida in Gainesville, marking the 62nd all-time meeting of the two teams, the Bulls finish their regular season road schedule with trips to ECU (April 17-19) and Tulsa (April 24-26). USF wraps up its regular season slate with a homestand against UConn, May 1-3.
The American Athletic Conference Tournament will take place from May 7-9, followed by NCAA Regionals from May 15-17. The NCAA Super Regionals will occur May 21-24 with the Women’s College World Series being played from May 28-June 3.
Ticket information will be available for fans in early January. Fans can visit usfbullstix.com for updates on USF softball tickets.
View the full 2020 schedule HERE.
About USF Softball
Be sure to follow USF softball on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. The USF softball program has been one of the most successful on campus, making 15 NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Women’s College World Series in 2012.
– #GoBulls –
