Entering 2025, the South Florida Bulls have a new head coach at the helm, Mitch Hannahs, as they try to turn things around after a disappointing 2024 season. Of all the players Hannahs has returning, one who will play a big role in the team’s success this upcoming season is right-hander Matt Brown from Ontario, Canada.
After two seasons playing at the JUCO level for Frontier and St. Petersburg Community College, Brown got his shot at division one baseball pitching for the Bulls in 2024. In his 14 appearances, including four starts, he finished the year with a 7.01 ERA. He allowed an opposing batting average of just .247. This included allowing just five extra-base hits all season.
Some of Brown’s most notable games include a February 24th game against Marist. In that matchup, he went 5.0 innings, giving up just three hits and one earned run while striking out four batters. Here, he earned his first win with South Florida. Another big game for him came against Memphis a month later when he went 1.2 innings and struck out two batters to help earn him his second win in Tampa Bay. He also gave up one hit and no earned runs during that matchup.
Brown spent his summer playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the Upper Valley Nighthawks. While there, he was able to increase his strikeout numbers a little more over a 15.0-inning sample size, as he had 13 punchouts during that stretch.
With some starting experience in his name and his senior season coming up in 2025, Hannahs may prepare Brown for a chance to be a leader within this pitching staff and a go-to weekend starter. At six feet, four inches tall, and 240 pounds, he is quite the right-handed prospect and name to watch out for this upcoming season for South Florida.
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WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Photo Credit: Matt Brown celebrates. (USF Athletics)
