Iowa Baseball Series Preview: South Florida

WEEKEND SERIES: AT SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS (0-0)

Iowa Baseball is officially back. The Hawkeyes have traveled to Tampa, FL, and will kick off their season this weekend with a three-game series against the South Florida Bulls. The two programs have combined for just five all-time meetings, with USF leading the series 4-1, including a series win back in 2017.

The Bulls have made an NCAA Tournament as recently as 2021, but quickly declined, combining for a 47-68 record over the last two seasons. USF finished in 8th in the AAC with an 11-16 record last season and were just 1-8 against NCAAT participants, which led to the firing of head coach Billy Mohl. They hired Indiana State head coach Mitch Hannahs, who took over the Sycamores program when Rick Heller left ISU to take the Iowa job back in 2014. Heller is just 1-3 all-time against Hannahs, including going 0-2 at the 2023 Terre Haute Regional.

Although Hannahs was highly successful at Indiana State, appearing in five NCAA Tournaments, the expectation is that his first season at USF will be a rebuilding year. The Bulls are set to return just 4 of 11 position players that started 25+ games last season, while they return 4 of 12 pitchers that appeared in 10+ games. HawkeyeReport has your preview of the Hawkeyes opening weekend trip to face the USF Bulls in Tampa.

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Cade Obermueller (Friday) – After floating around the rotation last season, including four starts on Friday, four starts on Saturday and three starts on Sunday, Cade Obermueller is hoping to find a home as the Hawkeyes Friday night ace this season. In 13 starts last season, Obermueller posted a 3.92 ERA over 59.2 innings, including 73 strikeouts.

RHP Aaron Savary (Saturday) – The junior from Dubuque put together a solid season that didn’t get much recognition because of the struggles the entire staff endured. Aaron Savary appeared in 18 games, posting a 4.19 ERA over 38.2 innings, including 40 strikeouts to 17 walks. He followed that up earning Cape Cod League All-Star status with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. The coaching staff is looking for Aaron to take the next step this season as a weekend starter.

RHP Reece Beuter (Sunday) – The former Dallas Baptist transfer was expected to earn a large role on the pitching staff last season, but it didn’t quite come to fruition. Reece Beuter appeared in 16 games, posting a 12.54 ERA over 18.2 innings, including allowing opponents to total 1.77 hits per inning. Reece worked with the analytics team and new pitching coach Sean Kenny to refine his delivery, which has led to a consistent offseason.

SOUTH FLORIDA PROJECTED STARTING ROTATION

LHP Corey Braun (Friday) – It will be a pair of lefties on the mound in the season-opener, with Ole Miss transfer Corey Braun on the mound for the Bulls. The redshirt junior did not appear in a game for the Rebels last season, but spent his sophomore season at Santa Fe Junior College. As a starter for the Saints in 2023, Braun appeared in 13 games, with 12 starts, posting a 3.78 ERA over 64.1 innings, earning First Team All Mid-Florida honors. He totaled 10.64 K/9 and finished with a 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

RHP James Hill (Saturday) – A transfer from College of Central Florida, right-hander James Hill get the ball on Saturday for USF. Last season, at CCF, Hill appeared in nine games, with eight starts, posting an 8.53 ERA over 25.1 innings. Prior to getting Tommy John in 2023, Hill pitched in 20 games, including seven starts, with a 4.42 ERA over 57.0 innings, including 62 strikeouts.

TBD (Sunday) – The Bulls declined to announce a starter for Sunday, but there a couple of names to keep an eye on. Junior right-hander Austin Newton appeared in 18 games last season, posting a 6.20 ERA over 20.1 innings, including 22 strikeouts to eight walks. Newton did not allow a run in 12 of his 18 outings, including zero runs over his final three appearances.

The other name to know is DII Lee University transfer Jack Nedrow. Named Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Year and a DII First Team All-American, Nedrow started 14 games, posting a 3.22 ERA over 78.1 innings, including totaling 84 strikeouts to just 21 walks. He completed 7.0 innings in six starts and 8.0 innings in three starts.

BULLS PLAYERS TO WATCH

1. DH Rafael Betancourt – The Bulls return just three of ten players that started 30+ games last season, and Rafael Betancourt is one of them. He started 42 games last season, slashing .302/.359/.420, totaling 49 hits, ten doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI’s. Betancourt did bat .321 in AAC play, including a ten-game hitting streak, where he totaled 17 hits in 39 at-bats (.435). He was voted to the preseason All-AAC Team this season by the coaches.

2. OF Marcus Brodil – The Bulls leader in batting average last season, Marcus Brodil returns after appearing in 41 games, including 34 starts in left field. Brodil slashed .319/.500/.469, totaling 36 hits, eight doubles and three home runs, including ten multi-hit games. His .354 batting average in AAC ranked fifth in the conference, while his .518 on-base percentage in conference games led the league. Brodil finished the year with an elite 26.6% walk+hbp rate, totaling 41 walks+hbp to 36 strikeouts.

And just like that, we're all tied up!

A rocket shot by @BrodilMarcus and @BoserBobby on his horse all the way around from first.

ESPN+ 📺 https://t.co/A0QEdTrjIT#HornsUp 🤘 #CarryTheBoat pic.twitter.com/2TrBFFh3Wn

— USF Baseball (@USFBaseball) May 17, 2024

3. 1B Sebastian Greico – A transfer from Florida A&M, Sebastian Greico put up impressive numbers is his two seasons with the Rattlers. In 100 games, Greico slashed .299/.411/.634, with 108 hits, 27 doubles, 28 home runs and 120 RBI’s. As a junior at FAMU, Sebastian hit a program record 17 home runs en route to Second Team All-SWAC honors. He did strike out 100 times in 433 plate appearances for a 23.1% strikeout rate, which was well above his 16.6% walk+hbp rate.

4. OF Jackson Mayo – South Florida’s leading returner in starts from last season, Jackson Mayo appeared in 51 games, with 48 starts in centerfield. Mayo slashed .262/.367/.486, totaling 48 hits, 15 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI’s. He finished with 11 multi-hit games and ten multi-RBI games. Mayo did strikeout 54 times for a 25.2% strikeout rate.

5. UTL Stewart Puckett – A part-time starter for the Bulls as a redshirt freshman last season, Stewart Puckett appeared in 36 games with 26 starts. He made 13 starts at first base, seven at third base and six at designated hitter. Puckett slashed .307/.385/.535, with 31 hits, six doubles, five home runs and 28 RBI’s. He totaled ten multi-hit games and was on pace for 62 hits, 12 double and ten home runs over a 200 at-bat season.

6. LHP Brandon Keyster – A transfer from Indiana, left-hander Brandon Keyster is a name to know in the South Florida bullpen. As a junior for the Hoosiers last season, Keyster appeared in 17 games, with two starts, posting a 4.71 ERA over 21.0 innings. He had at least two strikeouts in six outings, totaling 18 strikeouts to five walks. Keyster’s longest outing came at the NCAAT, when he allowed one run over 5.0 innings against Southern Miss.

FINAL THOUGHT

Set the over/under at 2.5 wins for the opening weekend. This is expected to be a bit of a rebuilding year for South Florida, with first-year head coach Mitch Hannahs at the helm. They were picked 7th in the AAC preseason poll and have plenty of turnover on the pitching staff that might not quite be in place for the opening weekend. I like the Hawkeyes to get a win in the opener with Cade Obermueller on the mound, which would put them in fantastic position to take the series. The Bulls do have some solid pieces on the offensive side that will test the Iowa pitching staff, but this is a series that the Hawkeyes should win.