TAKE 5: With pitcher Yuri Higgins
Oracle: How did you get your name?
Yuri Higgins: My godmother who passed away before I was old enough to remember her named me after the Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin.
O: Do you ever listen to music that you wouldn’t normally admit listening to?
Y.H.: I listen to country music sometimes. I would not (normally) tell people that.
O: Do you have any unusual rituals you do before games?
Y.H.: On weekend games I wear the same outfit (every day) if we win with it – not the same drawers now; the same shorts and T-shirt.
O: If you could play for any major league team, what team would it be?
Y.H.: The Yankees, that’s my favorite team in the world. They have the best payroll and they have the most championship rings.
O: Have you ever met anyone famous?
Y.H.: I met Derek Jeter. It was my prom night, and I took the girl I went out with – she was the prom queen – to eat to J. Alexander’s, and Derek Jeter was in there at that time. I told him I was his favorite fan.
O: Do you still talk to your prom date?
Y.H.: She runs track for UCF, but I don’t talk to her anymore.
O: What music do you listen to before a game to get pumped up?
Y.H.: I listen to my favorite singer, Anthony Hamilton. (It’s) not really pump-you-up music, but it keeps me calm. He’s a neo-soul artist.
– Kevin Smetana
More Stories
Meet the Team
Oracle EditorProfile
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 […]