TAMPA, September 6, 2023 – The University of South Florida Athletic Department is pleased to announce the officers for the 2023-24 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), American Athletic Conference SAAC representatives, and the Black Student-Athlete Council (BSAC) leadership.
2023-24 SAAC Executive Board Members
President – Madeleine Penman-Derstine (women's soccer)
Secretary – Allana Consolazio (softball)
Community Engagement Liaison – Ragan Kinard (volleyball)
Social Media Representative – Amanda DeWitt (volleyball)
Diversity Chair – Brandon Stroud (men's basketball)
Penman-Derstine enters her junior year on the women's soccer roster. In her rookie season (2021), the Toronto, Canada native played in 17 games while making eight starts, was named to the AAC all-Conference Rookie Team, and earned a single Rookie of the Week and Honor Roll nod.
Consolazio will be a redshirt junior on this year's softball squad. During the 2023 season, the Fort Myers, Fla. appeared in 17 games and tallied seven hits with one RBI.
Kinard enters her junior season on the volleyball squad. The outsider hitter saw action in seven matches last season. She floored a career-best 17 kills against Memphis during her freshman season of 2021.
DeWitt, a junior, has been a staple on the court for the Bulls since her freshman campaign of 2021. She has ranked third on the team in total kills in each of her first two season.
Stroud, a senior transfer, enters his first basketball season at South Florida in 2023-24 under new head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
2023-24 AAC SAAC Representatives
Melanie Green (women's golf)
Leonor Medeiros (women's golf)
Mike Lofton (football)
Green enters her senior campaign with women's golf. The Medina, N.Y. native was named an All-American Honorable Mention after the 2022-23 season after a record-breaking season on the golf course. She is a three-time All-AAC recipient.
Medeiros enters her junior year on the women's golf team. Last year the Palmela, Portugal native helped lead the squad to its first NCAA regional since 2012. During the 2022-23 season, Medeiros posted a career-low 74.00 stroke average across 12 events and finished in a tie for 14th place at AAC Championships.
Lofton, an offensive lineman, enters his second season on the football squad. The Clearwater, Fla. native saw action in 12 games and made three starts at guard on the year as a vital member of the two-deep on the offensive line. Lofton's trio of starts were against ECU, Cincinnati, and Tulane.
2023-24 BSAC Leadership
President – Shaniya Benjamin (women's track and field)
Vice President – Amiree Hendricks-Walker (volleyball)
Social Media/Community Engagement Liaison – Michael Bourne III (men's track and field)
Benjamin is setting the standard high as the senior enters her final year of competition. Last season the Tampa, Fla. Native set program records in the indoor 4x400 Relay (3:38.35, 2023), Outdoor 4x100 Relay (43.95, 2021), Outdoor 4x400 Relay (3:32.24, 2023) and the Outdoor 200m (23.11, 2023). Benjamin is also a member of the first-place 4x400 AAC outdoor relay champion squad.
Hendricks-Walker saw action in 15 matches during the 2022 season. The middle blocker finished the year fifth in the AAC and first on the team in blocks/set (1.08) and second on the team with 64 blocks and 10 solo blocks.
Bourne enters his junior year with the men's track team. This past year the Midlothian, Va. native became the program record holder in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.91 seconds.
Sponsored by the athletic department, the student-athlete advisory committee consists of representatives from all of USF's sponsored intercollegiate teams. In addition to the named officers, representatives for the committee are selected by the team's coaches and USF Athletics administration. Among its responsibilities, SAAC is the student-athlete's platform to discuss issues and voice concerns on various topics, including NCAA legislation, student-athlete affairs, and community involvement. The committee also works together to advocate for department regulations, institute new initiatives, and discuss ways to enhance the student-athlete experience at USF.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics currently 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, which will expand to 21 teams with the recently announced additions of women's lacrosse (2024-25) and women's beach volleyball (2025-26). The Bulls' athletic program began in 1965 and will be in its 58th season in 2023-24. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. USF garnered two national championships in 2022-23 as Romaine Beckford for NCAA indoor and outdoor high jump titles. The Bulls have claimed 26 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013 and own 140 conference titles claimed in 15 sports in department history, led by 20 each for men's tennis and men's soccer. USF has claimed 74 men's conference championships and 64 women's titles, led by 14 in women's tennis and 12 in volleyball. The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for more than eight straight years and are in the midst of a program record of 17 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0 as of the spring of 2023. USF has had over 600 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
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– #GoBulls –
