South Florida tabs Manhattan’s Steve Masiello as next head coach

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

According to ESPN basketball insider Jeff Goodman, Manhattan Jaspers head coach Steve Masiello has agreed to be the next head coach for the South Florida Bulls on Tuesday following Monday’s interview with USF athletic director Mark Harlan.

The former assistant to Rick Pitino amassed a 60-39 record in his three seasons in Riverdale, including a 36-20 mark in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. One of the hottest young coaches in college basketball is cashing in on his success and a trip to this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Jaspers earned their first trip to the Big Dance since 2004,when Masiello was an assistant at Manhattan, by winning the MAAC Tournament title after finishing second to the Iona Gaels in the regular season. They eventually fell to Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals, 71-64, after giving the defending champs all they could handle in the second round.

It was widely documented how furious each was with the NCAA for pitting them against one another in the tournament, but they don’t have anything to worry about moving forward as Louisville will head to the ACC next season.

He’ll take over for Stan Heath, who was fired 11 days ago. The Bulls, just two years removed from a trip to the NCAA Tournament, went just 12-19 this season, including a 3-15 mark in the American Athletic Conference. Heath was 97-128 in his six seasons in Tampa.

The deal is believed to be for five years for more than $1 million per year.