Prado Emerges As Top Candidate For USF Baseball Job Skip directly to the full story. By ADAM ADKINS and BRETT McMURPHY The Tampa Tribune Published: Jun 15, 2006 ADVERTISEMENT More from this channel: Search for more information: Site Search Archives Keyword TBO.com Site Search | Tribune archive from 1990 TAMPA - Louisville coach Lelo Prado has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Eddie Cardieri as the baseball coach at the University of South Florida. Prado met Wednesday in Atlanta with USF athletic director Doug Woolard and senior associate athletic director Barbara Sparks-McGlinchy about becoming the Bulls' next coach, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said. "Lelo did a fabulous job at Louisville, and I'll always be indebted to what he did for this program," Jurich said. "I love his family. I certainly understand USF's interest in him. If going to USF is the right decision, I support him 100 percent." Prado is Louisville's all-time winningest coach, going 320-302-1 in the past 11 years, and guided the program to its only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002. Prior to taking over the Cardinals' program, Prado spent seven seasons at the University of Tampa, guiding the Spartans to a 278-124-1 record and back-to-back Division II national championships in 1992-93. Prado, a 1981 Tampa Catholic graduate, also coached the USA National Team in 2002. "I had a great conversation with Doug and Barbara, and we'll see what happens," Prado said. Woolard was unavailable for comment. Prado has one year remaining on his contract that pays him $92,500 annually. Cardieri made $64,000 last season. During Prado's tenure at Louisville, the Cardinals' baseball program raised $15 million, which helped fund a new $8 million stadium that opened in 2005.