Since USF was ousted in the first round of the AAC Tournament, there have been many changes quickly.
Bryan Hodgson was named the new basketball coach in March, and while many of the roster players either graduated or entered the transfer portal, Hodgson has hit the portal and brought in a lot of top talent to South Florida.
Hodgson, known as one of the best recruiters in the country, had his work cut out rebuilding the roster and transforming the men’s basketball program before he even stepped on campus.
In his opening press conference, Hodgson said, “USF basketball is going to become a household name in the college hoops world.”
Jay Bilas said that Bryan Hodgson is a home run hire for USF. We can expect a high-octane, winning brand of basketball on the court at USF this winter.
USF did lose Kobe Knox, Kasen Jennings, and Jayden Reid to the transfer portal, but forward De’Anta Green told Hodgson he would be a Bull in the 25-26 season.
CJ Brown, the 6-2 guard on the Bulls roster last season, entered the transfer portal but returned to USF after meeting with Hodgson. Brown averaged 7.2 points per game in 22 minutes per game.
Some of the new talent at South Florida include Wes Enis, a guard from Lincoln Memorial who averaged 20.6 points per game last season. Damien Collins is a forward who played previously at LSU and Kentucky. Xavier Brown, a guard from James Madison, averaged 10.7 points per game and shot 34.5 percent from the three-point line. Izaiyah Nelson, a transfer from Arkansas State, averaged a career-high 10.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. Joseph Pinion, a great three-point shooter, transferred from Arkansas State. Pinion will give the Bulls a legitimate deep threat, as he made 142 three-pointers last season and shot 38 percent from the three-point line. Isiah Jones is a guard/forward from Oakland University. Jones played in 24 games last season averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Devin Haid is a forward from Central Connecticut State. In 32 games last season, Haid averaged 14.2 points per game, shooting 31.8 percent from the three-point line.
Hodgson has also built an excellent coaching staff. Tobin Anderson will be the special assistant to the head coach. Anderson brings nearly 30 years of experience as an assistant coach across all levels of basketball, primarily in the Northeast. Anderson spent the last two seasons as head coach at Iona, where this past season, his Iona Gaels upset number one seed Quinnipiac to reach the championship game in the MAAC title game.
Tee Butters is also joining Hodgson from Arkansas State where he will serve as Associate Head Coach. Jamie Quarles and Derek Rogstand also join the Bulls as assistant coaches. All three coached with Hodgson at Arkansas State. Logan Ingram joins the Bulls staff as Director of Scouting and Analytics. He was primarily responsible for producing scouting reports and game planning for opponents. Alex Harris, Kainan Justiano, and Max Wittenberg will join Hodgson’s staff for the 24-25 season.
This is surely shaping up to be an exciting season of Bulls basketball at the Yuengling Center.