Chris Mack and Kristy Curry were hired by South Florida on consecutive days in March to coach the Bulls' men's and women's basketball teams. And while they shouldn't be considered a box set, both bring the credentials needed to sustain the success of their respective programs.
USF SEASON OPENERS
Monday
At Yuengling Center, Tampa
- Women’s basketball: vs. Furman, 5 p.m.
- Men’s basketball: vs. Charleston Southern, 7 p.m.
Mack had to rebuild the men’s roster from last season’s American Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant after the departure of Bryan Hodgson to Providence.
Curry left Alabama after 13 years to take over a perennial winner built over 25 seasons by Jose Fernandez, who moved on to the WNBA in 2025.
“Kristy’s about as easygoing as any coach I've worked side by side with, and I'd like to think we're the same,” Mack said last week during a press conference. “We're all in this together to raise South Florida's basketball programs, both men's and women's.
“She's a coup for USF women's basketball and what she's going to do there, especially taking over a program with such great history.”
Curry agrees there’s a synergy.
"We're in the same building, and I know we're after the same goals. As they say, this is ‘Tampa Bay's home for hoops,’ and we want to make that more than a slogan. We want to give the people winning, entertaining basketball. I think we're going to do that and have lots of fun along the way."
Both teams open the season on Monday at the Yuengling Center on USF’s Tampa campus. The women’s meet Furman at 5 p.m., with the men playing Charleston Southern at 7.
Here’s a glance at what fans can look for.
Mack puts mark on roster
Mack immediately went in search of “everyday guys,” and came back with 12 transfers, three high school recruits.
The team’s success will likely revolve around senior point guard Sonny Wilson, a 6-foot-1 transfer from Toledo who started 98 games over three seasons, logging more than1,300 points and 330 assists.
Mack calls Wilson one of the best — and fastest — point guards in the country.
“He creates a lot of opportunities for his teammates, and I think we have some shooting around him. I'd like us to be a team that plays fast,” Mack said. “We've got to do our job on the defensive end to give Sonny the opportunity to get out in the open court and make things happen for his teammates."
ALSO READ: Mack wastes little time setting expectations as USF's men's basketball coach
For support, the Bulls will count on guards Mike James and Chris Davis Jr., and forwards Garrett Johnson and Zayden High. Guard Josh Omojafo, who played in 32 games last season, is the lone returnee.
James, who played for Mack at Louisville, said fans can expect the Bulls to play fast and connected.
"We’ve got a lot of different guys that can do different things,” said James, a graduate student from Orlando. “Sonny pushes the pace, dishes out assists to his shooters. Garrett and Chris are knocking down shots from outside.
“Me, I feel like I can be like a Swiss Army knife and just kind of do everything, for real, and probably be a very good defender on the defensive end.”
High, known as an excellent big-man passer, transferred from North Carolina after the firing of Coach Hubert Davis. The 6-foot-10 junior said Mack told him, “I was going to be touching the ball a lot,” during recruitment.
Davis, a sophomore, turned heads after hitting eight 3-pointers in last week’s exhibition against Saint Leo.
“Chris is just a special type of shooter, special type of player,” James said. “Like, he can catch fire just like that.”
Curry seeks ‘a lot of grit’
Curry said she wants to play an up-tempo, relatively position-less style, with players making quick decisions and sharing the ball. She also wants a team that can shoot from the perimeter and defend.
“I want to be the hardest-working head coach I can possibly be,” Curry said at last month’s American Conference Tipoff in Tampa. “A lot of grit, right? And then, you know, doing everything that we possibly can to help them be the best version of themselves every day.”
ALSO READ: USF names Alabama's Kristy Curry as women's head basketball coach
The team's most experienced returning player is senior point guard Stefanie Ingram, who averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 assists last season. The Orlando native led the American in assists and scored 27 points in the Bulls' upset of Duke.
She’s one of four holdovers from the 20-win squad led by interim coach Michelle Woods-Baxter after Fernandez moved on days before last season.
Curry brought in nine newcomers, including several proven scorers, including senior guard Amourie Porter, who averaged 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds at Winthrop last season. Senior guard Kate Novik is a versatile transfer from DePaul (12.2 ppg).
Senior guard Hannah Kohn made 79 3-pointers in a season at Clemson.
Up front, Curry has a pair of 6-foot-3 forwards in senior Mallory Collier, who transferred from North Carolina State, and junior Kendall Puryear, who made 14 starts at Purdue.
Before jumping to the Dallas Wings, Fernandez directed the Bulls to four conference titles, 10 NCAA tournament appearances, 12 20-win seasons and 485 victories.
Curry's Alabama teams posted 20-win seasons the past five years. Over a 28-year career, she also coached Texas Tech and Purdue, which she led to the 2001 national championship game. Her teams have reached the NCAAs 14 times, with five conference titles.
“I have a lot of trust in what Coach Kristy has done and who she brings in,” Kohn said at the conference tipoff. “Obviously, she's been a winner in, like, one of the highest leagues.”
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