Successful Head Coach Leaves Sycamores for South Florida
Success catches people’s attention. Such was the case for now former Indiana State head coach Mitch Hannahs, who resigned that position this weekend to accept the same job at the University of South Florida (USF).
The Bulls went 21-39 in 2024, 7-17 in the AAC, which brought an end to the Billy Mohl tenure. Mohl had guided USF to Super Regionals as recently as 2021, when an up-and-down Bulls club got hot in the postseason. USF won the Gainesville Regional before getting swept in two Super Regional games at Texas.
But USF’s winning percentage of .350 in 2024 was the program’s lowest since joining the Division 1 level in 1974. And in Hannahs, they have another head coach with recent Super Regional experience. Hannahs led Indiana State to Supers in 2023, before the Sycamores fell in 2 games at TCU (a series Indiana State was supposed to host).
Hannahs, 56, spent 11 seasons as Indiana State head coach, taking his teams to 5 NCAA Regionals, including winning the 2023 Terre Haute Regional. Hannahs’ teams never finished under .500 in any season, and he leaves Terre Haute with a total head coaching record of 355-214-1. His tams went 141-83-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play, including 2 Valley regular-season titles that came in the last 2 seasons.
“USF is an amazing institution with a thriving athletic department that is on an incredible trajectory,” Hannahs said in a statement released by USF Athletics. “I am eager to get on campus to meet with our players and begin building a championship program. Go Bulls!”
There had been some thought that USF might be in the market to bring back former head coach Mark Kingston – who was let go by South Carolina after the Gamecocks’ season ended in regionals. It’s not clear if Indiana State would look in his direction. Kingston was a 2-time MVC Coach of the Year while at the helm of Illinois State from 2010-14, where he won the Valley regular-season title twice and made Regionals in 2010.
In its release announcing Hannahs’ departure, Indiana State Athletics stated that a national search will be conducted to find his replacement.
Life in the Valley 
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