South Florida Bulls
Overall Rank: #43
Conference Rank: #3 American
South Florida had a superb 2016 campaign. However, their trip to the NCAA Tournament was short lived. The Bulls lost twice to South Carolina, with a win over Florida A&M in-between and were eliminated from the Tallahassee Regional. Success for Ken Eriksen and company this year will largely depend on replacing star pitcher Erica Nunn. She went 27-12 last season and pitched 221.2 innings. Sophomore Cheyenne Eggens and senior Susan Wysocki are the returning pitchers who saw quality playing time last season. Yet, Kalen McGill will be in the mix as well. McGill spent her freshman campaign at South Florida where she went 16-4 with a 1.92 ERA. Last season she was at the College of Central Florida. Expect Wysocki and McGill to battle for the top spot in the rotation and for at least one of them to be nearly as productive as Nunn was last year.
2016: 45-16, 15-3
2016 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Ken Eriksen
Key Departed Players:
Erica Nunn, P, 1.71 ERA, 221.2 IP, 223 SO
Lee Ann Spivey, C/OF, .319 BA, 15 HR, 41 RBI
Monica Santos, IF, .256 BA, 4 HR, 30 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Susan Wysocki, P, 3.32 ERA, 69.2 IP, 36 SO
Juli Weber, OF, .406 BA, 5 HR, 39 RBI
Kristen Wyckoff, 2B, .404 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI
Astin Donovan, OF, .369 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Lauren Evans, IF, .313 BA, 3 HR, 29 RBI
Mia Fung, C/OF, .270 BA, 9 HR, 29 RBI
Projection:
The Bulls lost their top power hitter too. Lee Ann Spivey hit 15 homeruns and added 41 RBIs. The pressure will be on players like Mia Fung to step up their power hitting production. South Florida should have plenty of baserunners waiting to come around to score though. Juli Weber and Kristen Wyckoff both return after batting over .400 last year. Astin Donovan and Lauren Evans will get on base plenty of times as well. As long as South Florida can find a couple players who can consistently drive them home, this will be a very good offense. And even though Wysocki and McGill need some time to emerge as consistent pitchers, this is a team that will compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
Madness 2017 Draft Rankings:
#18 Juli Weber
