TAMPA, Fla. (December 23, 2015)—Thirteen opponents that reached the 2015 NCAA softball tournament and half the Women's College World Series field highlight an impressive 2016 USF Softball schedule, head coach Ken Eriksen announced Wednesday.
“When you start training in September, you don't go into that part of the year saying, 'I hope we win the conference'; the mentality is about winning the national championship,” Eriksen said. “We need to see the best possible pitching we can face, not just early, but all year.”
The Bulls will face four of the eight teams that advanced to Oklahoma City last season in the first two weekends of the season. USF will also face eight opponents that reached the 2015 NCAA tournament in the first three tournaments of the year.
“As a former player, I wanted to see 'everything' that I would see in the national championship,” Eriksen said. “If I am used to the level that it takes to win, then I wasn't surprised or intimidated by the best when it came down to championship play.”
USF opens the season with the USF-Wilson DeMarini Tournament, Friday, Feb. 12, when the Bulls take on 2015 NCAA tournament opponents, South Carolina and Virginia Tech in a doubleheader. Saturday, Feb. 13, features a doubleheader with 2015 NCAA runner-up Michigan and Illinois State. The tournament concludes with an instate matchup against the 2015 National Champion Florida Gators Sunday, Feb. 14.
The Bulls will continue their stretch against tournament teams when they travel to Clearwater Feb. 19-20. USF will face another pair of WCWS teams in Auburn (Feb. 19) and Tennessee (Feb. 20), and regional team Fordham (Feb. 19). The Bulls will also face Oklahoma State (Feb. 20) in the second tournament of the season.
To close out February, USF will host the USF Tournament, welcoming Kansas, UNLV and Wisconsin to Tampa for a round-robin style tournament. The Bulls open with a doubleheader against Kansas (Feb. 26), who advanced to the Columbia Regional in 2015, and UNLV.
The USF Series, comprised of three separate tournaments, begins with the Under Armour Invitational, March 4-5. The Bulls are set to face Texas State, Purdue, College of Charleston and Illinois.
In the Under Armour Showcase, March 11-12, USF will face another pair of 2015 regional teams when it takes on USC-Upstate and New Mexico State in a double header. Wrapping up the 2016 tournament slate is the Michelle Smith Invitational, March 18-20, with games against Chattanooga, Georgia Tech, Kent State, Marist and Samford.
Conference play will take the Bulls to East Carolina, Memphis and Tulsa, beginning with a three-game series at ECU, March 24-26. USF will travel to Memphis and Tulsa in back-to-back weekends, taking on the Tigers, April 15-17, and the Golden Hurricane, April 22-24.
Houston, UConn and UCF will all make trips to Tampa for the remaining conference series'. The Bulls will welcome Houston (April 1-3) and UConn (April 8-10) in back-to-back home weekends. Closing out the Bulls' home slate is a three-game series with in-state rival UCF, April 29-May 1
USF will play various midweek games throughout the season, welcoming Jacksonville (Feb. 24), Detroit (March 7), Utah (March 9), Lehigh (March 16), Maine (March 16), Northwestern (March 22), and Bethune-Cookman (April 6). The Bulls will travel to Bethune-Cookman (Mar. 14), Florida (April 20) and Jacksonville (May 5) for midweek games.
USF will have a bye week before heading back to Tulsa for the American Athletic Conference Tournament May 12-14. The 2016 NCAA Tournament begins with campus-site regionals May 20-22, and ends with the Women's College World Series, June 2-8, in Oklahoma City.
“Year in and year out, our teams look back and can say that by coming to USF, they always had an opportunity to play against a championship schedule,” Eriksen said. “We want to compete against the best the country has to offer.”
2016 softball season ticket deposits are now available. Click here today to place you $25 deposits. For more information call 1-800-Go-Bulls or head to USFBullsTix.com.
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 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Women's College World Series in 2012. The Bulls made their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2014 and posted their 14th season with 40 plus wins under head coach Ken Eriksen.
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