On March 30, sophomore pitcher Bryce Archie took the mound as the starter for USF baseball on the road against AAC opponent Charlotte.
But 24 hours earlier, Archie took reps as a USF quarterback during an end of the week scrimmage, catching a plane to help the baseball team the next day.
When asked which he prefers more, Archie just can’t decide.
“That’s always been a question for me but I love them equally,” Archie said. “I love sports, I love ball… I can’t really choose a favorite.”
On Saturday, the Bulls’ football team will play their spring game, with the sophomore likely to get reps at quarterback.
After showing off his progress on the gridiron, he will jump on a plane to New Orleans to play for the baseball team in Sunday’s series finale against Tulane.
He’s been a dual-sport athlete during the spring season, playing pitcher while shouldering quarterback duties on the football team.
A student athletes to-do list is lengthy: workouts, practices, team meetings, games and staying on track in school.
Archie said his family is the driving force behind his ability to juggle so many responsibilities.
“My family really pushes me to keep going every day,” Archie said after Saturday’s baseball game against Wichita State. “My dad sends me a good morning text and tells me to be great, tells me I’m different so I need to act different.”
The sophomore started his career in 2022 at Coastal Carolina, choosing to play quarterback for the Chanticleers over UCF.
Bulls football head coach Alex Golesh was with UCF from 2020-21 where he recruited Archie heavily out of high school.
When Golesh returned to the Sunshine State in 2023 after a stint with Tennessee, Archie hit the portal and joined him in Tampa.
He said his situation at Coastal “wasn’t the best” for him, so he hit the portal to join Golesh in the “best opportunity” for his future.
“And that was USF,” Archie said.
At South Florida, Archie is able to learn from Golesh and head baseball coach Billy Mohl, someone with decades of pitching and teaching experience.
“Football had always been first, but baseball was always in the conversation,” Golesh said. “When it got out Bryce was coming here, Billy was the first person down in the office like ‘Man, don’t be greedy with this guy.’”
Mohl was a pitcher in college for Tulane before making the transition into coaching at Illinois State and eventually USF.
Most recently, he helped develop 2022 MLB all-star and USF alumnus Shane McClanahan.
“It’s been great learning from a guy who has been there before…Hopefully I’ll be better than him one day,” Archie said.
Archie hadn’t pitched in a competitive game in two years when he entered a Feb. 25 game against Marist in the sixth inning as a reliever.
He impressed in his first appearance throwing a scoreless inning and recording his first strikeout in college.
Related: Bulls baseball dominant in all phases during four-game Marist matchup
His season has been up and down since, recording 12 strikeouts and allowing 18 hits and 11 runs in 12.1 innings as a starter and a reliever.
“We really haven’t had a whole lot of time, me and him, to break things down,” Mohl said. “Once he’s done with football (after the spring game) and I get him full-time, I’m excited about what the future holds for him.”
Archie also played backup quarterback for Byrum Brown last fall, checking into a mid-season game against FAU and going four for seven with 44 yards passing.
Golesh said in a March 5 press conference he is thrilled to see what Archie can do in baseball while he gets ready for the upcoming football season.
“There’s a couple of series that we got to just work through his availability for them and being able to practice, but gosh, if he can help them win games, it certainly would be a huge deal,” Golesh said.
Archie was a three-sport star at McEachern High where he played football, baseball and basketball. He won a 7A regional football title and player of the year honors as quarterback in 2021.
Archie also played shortstop and pitcher that year. Perfect Game ranked him the 55th best player in the state.
He was also named an Academic All-American in Georgia, showing a commitment to excellence in all areas that he still displays as a health science major at USF.
“I’ve had amazing support from my professors and from USF,” Archie said. “When I first got here they just welcomed me with open arms, it’s honestly been a great feeling.”
Mohl says he sees the same kind of talent in Archie that former USF pitcher/quarterback Tommy Eveld displayed during his career with the Bulls in the mid-2010’s.
For now, he’s gonna just be himself.
“I would describe myself as a dog,” Archie said. “I try to dominate in everything I do.”
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