"Establish a legacy. Be the first at something. That’s such a special opportunity."
That's the approach of USF women's lacrosse head coach Mindy McCord. This spring, McCord was named as the inaugural head coach to launch the Bulls program. McCord is no stranger to starting from scratch. She started the program at Jacksonville University in 2010 and took the mid-major to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances. Upstart programs are expected to have their share of growing pains, but McCord hopes her aggressive recruiting strategy will produce winning results.
"When you have a great culture, and then you’re able to develop your athletes, and then you’re able to sprinkle in your talent… that’s why a mid-major like Jacksonville was able to contend at two Sweet Sixteens," McCord said. "We didn’t have five-star athletes, but we built them to that. Here, we’re going to be able to get those athletes. So, I hope that you’ll see it sooner than later."
McCord re-recruited associate head coach Brittney Orashen to be a part of the Bulls staff. Orashen played and coached for McCord at Jacksonville. She spent last season as an assistant at Stanford before rejoining McCord in Tampa.
"We get to create our own story and our own narrative," Orashen said. "So that makes it exciting in itself. We get to pick the first class, the second class. Really define what we want the culture of the program to be."
Brittney said USF wants players to "fail forward," meaning they shouldn't be afraid of taking risks.
"I think that’s the biggest thing this generation is worried about, is 'What if I mess up?' You’ve gotta have this perfect image," Orashen continued. "But in reality, it’s like, listen, if you shoot higher, great. At least you took the shot. That’s the way I want to coach them. They’ve gotta have that forward-thinking mentality of 'Okay, well, what’s next?!'"
Orashen earned first-team all-American honors during her senior season in 2015, and she's joked that she's ready to show the first crop of USF players that their coach still has a little something left in the tank.
"Okay, I’ll hop on the field and kick their butt a little bit, to teach them the ropes as well, haha!"
When the Bulls hit the field, they'll be doing so with their collective foot on the gas, and they don't plan on slowing down.
"If you like basketball, this is like basketball on a 100-plus yard field," McCord added. "We want to create fast breaks up and down the field. It’s like a full-court press when you watch us play. It requires a lot of athleticism."
USF has 20 players signed for the inaugural class of 2023. It's a group that includes players from 12 different states and three five-star recruits. They'll play a slate of exhibition games and scrimmages during the first season. The Bulls begin official varsity play in 2024 as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
