USF Baseball to Play the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019
TAMPA, Fla., SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 – The USF baseball team will face the Tampa Bay Rays as part of their spring training slate at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla., on March 5, 2019.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to go down to Port Charlotte and play the Rays in a spring training game on March 5, 2019," said second-year head coach
Billy Mohl. "Our kids are looking forward to the experience of playing a Major League team, and it makes it even better that it is our hometown team."
The game will be part of the Rays 33 Grapefruit League contests. USF is no stranger to facing MLB teams, having most recently played the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on March 2, 2012. The Bulls also hosted the Yankees in 2008, played the Rays in 2000 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1999.
"We want to thank the Rays for this opportunity and we look forward to seeing all of our fans out there on that night," says coach Mohl.
The USF baseball program has earned an NCAA Regional appearance in three of the last four years. Under coach Mohl in 2018, the Bulls were the No. 2 seed in the DeLand Regional and were ranked in the top 25 of at least one national poll for the last eight weeks of the season. The Bulls appeared in The American semifinals and won three games at the conference tournament for the first time since 2012 as a member of the Big East.
Lefthander
Shane McClanahan became the fourth first-round selection in program history when he was selected 31
st overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the MLB Draft. A total of four Bulls were selected in the MLB Draft, as
Andrew Perez,
David Villar and
Coco Montes were also drafted within the first 15 rounds. Villar was named an All-American by a pair of publications and the program has had at least one All-American in three of the last four years.
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and followed that success with a 42-19 record and second NCAA regional trip in three years in 2017. The Bulls continued the success under first-year head coach Billy Mohl in 2018, reaching 36 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls since mid-April. USF earned its third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. The team had four players drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first rounder Shane McClanahan. Junior third baseman David Villar was taken in the 11th round after tallying 24 doubles and hitting better than .370, being named a first team all-conference and to a pair of All-America lists. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.
– #GoBulls –
