COLUMN: Has USF’s Mitch Hannahs done enough for Bulls baseball so far?

Bulls coach Mitch Hannahs has led the team to a 7-7 start in his first season with USF. ORACLE PHOTO / CAMILLE GRALL

The Bulls have gotten off to a rocky 7-7 start in their first season under head coach Mitch Hannahs.

Hannahs, the former Indiana State head coach, was hired in June 2024 as the successor to former Bulls coach Billy Mohl.

Hannahs’ tenure in Indiana was nothing short of successful, leading the Sycamores to five NCAA appearances and a 355-214-1 record through 11 seasons.

As the Bulls season progresses, has Hannahs done enough to put the Bulls on the right track?

Point: Don’t freak out on USF Baseball just yet

If a coach’s entire tenure was decided by their first few games, New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick would have been done in his first season after the Patriots started 0-4, finishing their 2000-01 season at a whopping 5-11.

In their very next season, the Patriots won the superbowl – Belichick won 5 more throughout his 23-year Patriots career.

Hannahs is not Belichick, yet he has proven successful in his past tenures.

In the last two years at Indiana State, Hannahs produced two conference coach of the year seasons, as well as a trip to the NCAA Super Regional in 2023.

The Sycamores won their conference championship four times in Hannahs 10-year tenure.

Simply put, Hannahs is really good at his job.

Yet, the Bulls are in a rut.

USF has been given the necessary tools to succeed though. Five Bulls are hitting above .300, as the team averages .265.

The issue? The Bulls’ opponents are hitting .277 and outscoring them when it matters most.

On defense, Bulls pitching has been subpar – but it’s early.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was Red McEwen field.

But a strong resume like Hannahs’ provides lots of hope once the Bulls work out the kinks.

-Tobey Blair

Counterpoint: The Bulls should be improving

Maybe Rome wasn’t built in a day, but Hannahs has been here since June and USF is 14 games into its season.

When Hannahs is still saying fielding, hitting and pitching need improvement, what is his team good at?

Sure, Hannahs has a good reputation at Indiana State, but this is USF – he’s working with a whole different group of athletes and a whole different program.

USF needs a coach who can be successful in Tampa, not Terre Haute, Indiana.

Hannahs doesn’t need to be fired of course, but he still has a lot to prove. A good record at a different school isn’t enough to build faith in a sputtering baseball program.

The team was struggling under Mohl.

But, when a new coach comes in, fans expect to see improvement – at least a little.

At this point in the season last year, Mohl was 9-5. This season under Hannahs, the Bulls are 7-7, facing a similar schedule to the early part of the 2024 season.

And, Hannahs is being paid double Mohl’s first season salary. But in Mohl’s first 14 games back in 2017, South Florida was 13-1.

Sure, Mohl might have inherited a better team, with former coach Mark Kingston’s team claiming a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and raising four 2017 MLB draft picks. But a good coach should know how to whip a subpar group into shape.

USF fans should have seen some improvements so far. Hannahs doesn’t need to be perfect yet, but the Bulls need to be getting better.

-Lily Belcher