Maryland’s individual stats through the opening 17 games of the year are indicative of a top-end team. 

Four qualifying Terps are batting over .300, with sophomore Chris Hacopian averaging a hit in every other at-bat. Catcher Alex Calarco has also received national recognition for his exploits thus far. The senior was the nation’s first player to reach double-digit home runs, and he enters this weekend tied for second amongst Division I hitters. 

On the other side, Maryland’s ace Kyle McCoy has exceeded expectations in his return from Tommy John surgery. The left-hander holds a 1.93 ERA and sub-one WHIP in his four starts thus far. McCoy also leads Terp’s pitchers with 23 strikeouts.

Yet, those gaudy individual numbers have yielded mixed success as far as the team is concerned. 

After an inauspicious opening month, the Terps sit at 9-8 with a handful of monumental victories in addition to several humbling losses.

Nevertheless, in a regular season that runs until late May, Maryland still has ample time to alter that narrative. The Terps hope to do just that this weekend, as they travel down to Tampa for a weekend series against South Florida — Maryland’s final non-conference set of the year.   

USF Bulls (7-7)

Last Season

The Bulls wrestled through mediocrity in 2024. They finished toward the bottom of the American Conference last season behind an 11-16 record in league play. 

USF played above .500 at home but only managed eight wins from its 22 road contests. Those splits saw the Bulls end their campaign at 26-29 overall. They missed both the American Conference and NCAA tournaments. 

Team statistics painted a fairly mundane picture as well. USF’s collective batting average sat marginally above par at .286. Though, that was countered by a lofty 5.96 team ERA. The Bulls’ most eye-popping statistic on either side of the ball was their 58 home runs in 55 games played. 

This Season

The 2025 USF squad hasn’t fared much better. The Bulls are 7-7 entering this weekend’s series and are 2-2 in their four weekend sets thus far. 

USF bested Iowa and Georgia Southern in its first two series of the campaign, but the Bulls have since dropped their two most recent homestands to UCF and Villanova. All four of South Florida’s series have ended in 2-1 splits as well. 

Hitters to Watch 

The duo of Ryan Pruitt and Sebastian Greico has single-handedly led South Florida’s offense through its first 14 games. 

Pruitt spent the past three years bouncing around various JUCOs, but he’s established himself as an elite Division-1 hitter this season. The outfielder’s .373 average leads all USF hitters by a considerable margin. He’s also one of two Bulls with an OPS above 1.000.

The aforementioned Greico is South Florida’s other over-1.000 OPS hitter. He sports a .317 average and has also slugged half of the team’s 12 home runs. Naturally, Greico’s driven in a team-best 20 runs as well. 

Senior Marcus Brodil and sophomore Carter Murphy are the only other qualifying Bulls hitters batting over .300. 

Pitchers to Watch

Friday night starter Corey Braun has unsurprisingly been USF’s best pitcher this year. 

The redshirt junior has gone progressively deeper in each of his four starts, with Braun’s most recent outing against Villanova being his best. He delivered seven innings of one-run ball, striking out eight Wildcats over that stretch.

Braun also totes a team-best in ERA (2.59) and punchouts (30). The Bulls are a perfect 4-0 on Fridays this season, mostly thanks to Bruan’s terrific work on the hill.

The rest of USF’s staff has struggled throughout the young season. Bryce Archie — who will likely get the start on Saturday or Sunday — is second on the team in ERA, at 3.27. No other Bulls pitcher holds an ERA below four. 

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday (3/14): Joey McMannis vs. Corey Braun

Saturday (3/15): TBD vs. TBD

Sunday (3/16): TBD vs. TBD

Sophomore Joey McMannis made an appearance in the final inning of Wednesday’s midweek against Mount St. Mary’s, though head coach Matt Swope said McMannis will likely make a start this weekend. The tall right-hander is expected to take the ball on either Saturday or Sunday.

Other Notable Points

Swope provided word on injuries to two Terps sophomores following Wednesday’s win. 

He said that Jordan Crossland will miss the remainder of the 2025 season with a hand injury.

Swope also noted that Michael Iannazzo is expected to be available at some point later this season. Iannazzo sustained multiple facial fractures after getting hit in the face by a pitch during Tuesday’s game against Virginia, but those fractures won’t require surgery.