TAMPA, FLA. Jan. 12, 2021 – Ken Eriksen and the University of South Florida softball team is projected to finish second in the American Athletic Conference in 2021, according to a poll of the league’s coaches released on Tuesday.  
 
USF received one first-place vote and 31 points with its second-place spot. The Bulls return 2019 All-Conference selections AnaMarie Bruni (Schwenksville, Pa.), Brooke Hartman (Port Orange, Fla.), and Meghan Sheehan (Forest Hill, Md.), along with the 2019 American Pitcher of the Year and All-American, Georgina Corrick (Sanford, Fla.). The conference did not give awards in the shortened 2020 season.
 
The Bulls finished last season with a 16-9 record, including a 16-4 record in the last 20 games. Led by interim head coach Jessica Moore, the Bulls faced a tough non-conference slate and tallied wins against No. 12 Tennessee, No. 15 Georgia, No. 17 Texas Tech, and Wisconsin (RV).
 
Bruni was dominant at the plate in 2020, hitting for a conference-best .476 average with 39 hits. Corrick led The American on the mound, tallying league-bests in wins (12) and strikeouts (127).
 
Eriksen resumed his head coaching duties in July after taking a leave of absence to coach the USA Softball Women’s National Team through the Stand Beside Her Tour. Eriksen will coach the Bulls and the national team in 2021, pursuing both a conference championship and an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
 
UCF received the top spot in the preseason poll, earning six first-place votes and 36 points overall. Houston and Tulsa were selected to finish third and fourth with 23 and 20 votes, respectively. Wichita State placed fifth with 18 votes, followed by ECU with 11 and Memphis with eight.