USF basketball player Kentrell Gransberry has been suspended from the Bulls’ season opener against Cleveland State for participating in an unsanctioned basketball tournament in Auburndale last month.

Despite the fact that Gransberry received no monetary compensation for playing in the tournament, USF associate athletic director Steve Horton said Wednesday that the senior committed an NCAA violation by taking part in an “outside competition.” The NCAA precedent is a one-game suspension for each non-sanctioned game. Gransberry played in only one game in the tournament, so his suspension should be limited to the Bulls’ season-opener.

Incoming freshman Dominique Jones also played in the tournament, but because he has not yet started classes at USF, no violation was committed.

Baseball adds two batsThe USF baseball team has secured two highly touted transfer players from Chipola College, last year’s national junior college championship team.

Catcher Trey Manz, a left-hander from Columbus, Ga., batted .315 for the Indians last season and ranked second on the team with nine home runs and 50 RBI as a sophomore. Outfielder Brian Hobbs, a rising sophomore from Preston, Md., hit .320 last season with four home runs and 21 RBI.

After watching his team score only four runs in four games during the Big East Tournament last season, USF coach Lelo Prado is excited about adding a couple bats to his lineup and believes Manz and Hobbs can contribute immediately.

“Those are two guys that we think have the chance to jump in and help us right off the bat,” Prado said. “I’m really excited about the group of guys coming in here (and) with the guys returning, and I think it’s starting to come around the way I want it to. I’m really excited about the first day of practice.”

Men’s Soccer gets UCF transferWhen the USF soccer team takes the field in its season kick-off exhibition against the University of Tampa on Aug. 18, another new face will join coach George Kiefer’s off-season additions.

Zak Boggs is a transfer student from the University of Central Florida, where he led the Knights with five goals during last season. He is known for his speed and has proven to be dependable, playing 36 out of 40 matches in his collegiate career.

Boggs could get the opportunity to play against his old squad on Aug. 31, when the Knights come to Tampa. Boggs began his college soccer career at West Virginia after first coming to Florida to play at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.

Boggs then transferred to UCF for his sophomore year. His departure from the Knights after only one season came on the heels of a coaching change. Now Boggs will join an already impressive class of new recruits under Kiefer.

Since Boggs has transferred for a second time to play for USF, the school must file a waiver with the NCAA for Boggs to be eligible this season. Coach Kiefer and the University are trying to get Boggs’ paperwork situation cleared up. If they do, Boggs will have two years of eligibility left to play for the Bulls.By: David Rice and Eric Moeller