Last week during my work trip to Tampa, Florida for ABF Freight, I had some personal time at night to baseball-explore. About 3 miles from my hotel, sat the University of South Florida and so I decided to take an evening ride over to the campus. In sunny Florida last week, the sun was setting around 6 to 6:30, so I gave it the old college try to get to the baseball field before dark. I was doing well traffic wise until I got to the main street entrance to the campus, when traffic stopped.

The USF Men’s Basketball team were hosting UAB on Wednesday night and I arrived to a log jam of USF fans going to the game. A quick pivot on my GPS took me up the road and through a 2nd route, where I landed right where I needed to – in front of a security guard. I asked the guard if I could do a U-turn and possibly park near the baseball field. He showed me a side road that led to the back entrance to the field, and I was off and running again. And added bonus, the stadium lights were on at my destination, Red McEwen Field.

In the batting cage area behind the field, there was a baseball practice or clinic going on. An outfield door was open, so I walked through and went exploring. I was mindful of any coaches and players, and awaited at least someone asking me what I was doing there. I was so excited to see the field lit up and photograph-ready for me.

The University of South Florida Bulls Baseball team play in the NCAA’s Division I American Athletic Conference. In 2024, the Bulls were 26-29, 18-15 at home, and 11-16 in the AAC. The Bulls welcome new Head Coach Mitch Hannahs to USF in 2025, who most recently coached at Indiana State University. Their first game of the 2025 season is less than 25 days away – a Friday night home game vs. Iowa on February 14th. Now, let’s have a look at the stadium…

Wow, what an incredible baseball park to walk around. The stadium lights provided the perfect amount of illumination for my baseball exploration around Red McEwen Field. The seating reminded me of my childhood days at McCoy Stadium, where the seating focus was dugout to dugout. Great views of the field from every seat. Immaculate too. I was very impressed with the layout, the cleanliness, and with the stadium lights on – Red McEwen Field just looked awesome.

I spotted an opening to the outside of the stadium and walked up to see a row of USF Bulls Alumni photos. Former players who had played or are currently playing professional baseball, such as Tampa Bay Rays Shane McClanahan who was a 1st Round Draft pick in 2018. Other notable USF alumni include David Villar, Tony Fossas, and Manager/Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa.

As I was walking towards the opening in the outfield for my exit, I spotted a bulls sign in the “batter’s eye” section of centerfield. And took note of the 4 retired numbers in the outfield section of the gate – 23, 7, 36, 11. Chris Heintz wore #23. Ross Gload wore #7. Robin Roberts wore #36. And Scott Hemond wore #11. Heintz, Gload, and Hemond all played multiple seasons in Major League Baseball. None had quite the career as their former Head Coach, Robin Roberts who was elected in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, after nearly 2 decades of dominance on the mound for several teams. Most notably, the Philadelphia Phillies. Overall, a very impressive roster of baseball alumni there at the University of South Florida!

I took a chance at sunset visiting the University of South Florida’s Red McEwen Field and it paid off tremendously. Thanks to a security guard, I gained access to the back lot, then the stadium itself, which lucky for me was all lit up. I walked around the park and was so impressed by the layout and cleanliness – it was in baseball ready condition. It was great to learn more about the USF baseball program’s past and present. Their first home game of 2025 is coming up soon and I am sure Red McEwen Field will be rocking with Bulls fans in every seat. Overall, it was an incredible Tampa baseball experience there at Red McEwen Field, home of the University of South Florida Bulls.