Local star inks with Bulls
Jermaine Smith, a standout shortstop at Tampa’s King High School, signed a national letter-of-intent Wednesday to play baseball at the University of South Florida.
Smith hit .357 (30-for-84) with five home runs, a triple and 12 doubles in his senior season. He was named first team All-Hillsborough County by the Tampa Tribune and by the St. Petersburg Times and was an honorable mention all-state Class 5A selection. Smith was also named to the All-Western Conference first team.
“We think Jermaine is a heck of a player,” said USF coach Eddie Cardieri. “He is a very good athlete, and I think he’ll enjoy a great career. It will be interesting to see which position he ends up playing, but I suspect he will play a lot of shortstop in the fall.”
Smith, 6-foot, 171 pounds, was selected in the 36th round of the June amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners.
“I’m really excited about playing baseball at USF,” said Smith. “I’m looking forward to playing at the NCAA Division I level and playing for coaches that have as their main interest to bring the best out of me as a ballplayer and as a person.”
“What I’ve heard from people is that I have a plus arm,” said Smith. “I work very hard on defense, I have soft hands and I’ve been told I have good range.”
More Stories
USF gives it away in Memphis 34-33
At the half, a 14-point lead meant USF was on track to win its first conference game in over a calendar year. That energy was kept up even with under five minutes to go when the Bulls were up 33-20. Then USF watched as its lead went from comfortable, to slim, to nonexistent in the […]
Club teams missing competition, friendship due to COVID-19
Under normal circumstances, Grant Nolder, president of the USF flag football team would be preparing for the club’s biggest competition of the year, the Swamp Bowl. The annual tournament, hosted at UF, typically takes place during the fall semester and features some of the best club flag football teams in the country. Winners of the […]
Bulls battle with ECU in OT win
Coach Brian Gregory said Tuesday the Bulls didn’t play complete, 40-minute games in their two losses last week. It’s debatable if they did Wednesday night against East Carolina (11-18, 5-11) at the Yuengling Center, but it was more than enough to put up a 73-68 overtime win. “It’s funny. There were stretches where we played […]
First SG scholarship rewards student leaders
Student Government (SG) launched the first-of-its-kind, merit-based scholarship to students Nov. 5 on USF’s Tampa campus. As a part of Student Body President Britney Deas and Student Body Vice President Travis McCloskey’s platform, Bull S.H.I.F.T., — Success, Health, Innovation, Finance and Tradition — the SG’s Student Leadership Scholarship consists of two merit-based scholarships which will […]
On-campus Jabil institute sparks anticipation from students
A plan drafted on a bar napkin two years ago has now become the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, a multi-million dollar institute combining the College of Engineering and the Muma College of Business. Senior Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the USF Foundation Joel Momberg and Jabil CEO Mark Mondello jotted the idea down […]