Bulls Increase Total to 75 Graduates for 2017-18
PHOTO GALLERY
TAMPA, MAY 3, 2018 – USF Athletics congratulates another large group of student-athletes receiving their degrees this week during spring commencement ceremonies at the Sun Dome.
With 58 student-athletes projected to receive degrees this spring, USF Athletics' total number of graduates for the 2017-18 school year will climb to 75. USF student-athletes are currently on a program-record run of six straight semesters with a cumulative grade-point average above 3.0 and have posted a Graduation Success Rate above 80 percent for four straight years. The Bulls built more academic momentum in fall 2017, when 247 student-athletes earned a 3.0 GPA or better representing nearly 60 percent of all USF student-athletes.
Among the student-athletes projected to receive degrees this weekend are 17 members of head coach
Charlie Strong's football team, which posted a 10-2 record and defeated Big 12 foe Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl to secure the program's second straight bowl victory in 2017.
Linebacker
Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg), the program's all-time leading tackler with 388 stops, will receive his master's degree in physical education. Sanchez, who was named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society earlier this spring, is carrying over a 3.9 GPA in his master's classes and has been invited to rookie minicamp with the NFL's New York Giants. Defensive end
Mike Love (Clearwater, Fla.) is also expected to earn his master's degree in entrepreneurship in applied technology after recently signing an undrafted free agent deal with the Buffalo Bills.
Projected spring graduates from football also include seven players that will return for the 2018 season, including two starters from last season. Among the returning starters earning degrees are receiver
Tyre McCants (Niceville, Fla.), who hauled in the game-winning touchdown catch in the Birmingham Bowl, and
Eric Mayes (Sarasota), who started 12 games at left tackle.
Greg Reaves (Bradenton), who started 12 games in 2017 and led the team with 14.0 tackles for loss, is slated to earn his degree this summer.
Kat Elliott,
Jessica Hamrick and
Ocean Parr are projected to graduate after helping USF women's soccer post a 13-4-2 record in the 2017 season that saw the Bulls capture their first American Athletic Conference tournament title. Hamrick won't be walking this week because the midfielder is in Sweden after recently signing a pro contract with Kvarnsvedens IK.
Claudio Correa (Santiago, Chile) will graduate with a degree in business management after leading USF men's golf to its fourth consecutive wire-to-wire victory at the American Athletic Conference Championship last month. Correa also took home the individual conference title after posting a three-shot victory ahead of USF's upcoming trip to NCAA Regionals.
The No. 24-ranked USF women's basketball will be well represented at the Sun Dome this week with
Laura Ferriera (Lisboa, Portugal),
Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) and
Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) set to receive their degrees. The trio helped USF register its sixth straight 20-plus win season in 2017-18. Flores and Jespersen, an All-America honorable mention, finished their USF careers as the program's first graduating class to reach four NCAA tournaments and surpass 100 career wins in four seasons.
Cassidy Boyle (Buchanan, N.Y.) is one of seven projected USF softball graduates and the shortstop will be receiving two degrees in health science and business management.
USF Athletics' newest group of graduates will be a part of commencement ceremonies that will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Sun Dome. View the complete commencement ceremony schedule
HERE.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, having begun with a men's soccer contest in 1965. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 14 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2016-17, and own 111 conference championships overall. Ten USF programs reached national post-season competition in the 2016-17 season and nine were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a program-record 86 percent Graduation Success Rate in 2016, has logged an annual department grade-point average over a 3.0 for the six straight semesters, and saw 106 student-athletes earn their degree during the 2016-17 academic period.
– #GoBulls –
