MEET THE HERD

cyberherd team

USF CyberHerd was formed in Fall 2023 by the College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science & Engineering, with funding from Cyber Florida (the Florida Center for Cybersecurity), to train students to compete in national-level cybersecurity competitions -- and win!

The team has continued to dominate the cyber competition circuit, capturing first-place wins at the DEF CON 33 Adversarial Village CTF, 2024 Raymond James CTF and VIVID Finals. They also secured podium finishes at SECCDC Regionals, A-ISAC, and the Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge, consistently outmaneuvering red and blue teams from top-tier universities across the country.

CyberHerd's purpose is to improve USF's competitiveness in the broad field of cybersecurity, to improve visibility of the university and Computer Science and Engineering programs, and to highlight USF's ongoing investments in cybersecurity education.

LEADERSHIP

Marbin Pazos-Revilla

Coach

Professor Marbin Pazos-Revilla

Click here for bio and contact information

Photo of Sriram Chellappan

Faculty Advisor

Professor Sriram Chellappan

Click here for bio and contact information

Captain

Team Captain & Red Team Leader

Jackson Liveringhouse

Sanaan Wani

Blue Team Leader

Sanaan Wani

Michelle McAveety

Business and Communications Leader

Michelle McAveety

Team roster:

cyberherd team member

Andres Samper

cyberherd team member

Fagan Afandiyev

cyberherd team member

Grant Stevens

cyberherd team member

Hoang Minh Tam Dang 

cyberherd team member

John Russo

cyberherd team member

Jun Lu

cyberherd team member

Michael Maldonado Cruz

cyberherd team member

Mohamed Eltonamly

cyberherd team member

Nathan Leung

cyberherd team member

Nicholas Kleespies

cyberherd team member

Samir Jihadi

cyberherd team member

Sanae Elmachhour

cyberherd team member

Sujith Palanivasagam

cyberherd team member

Yeran Gamage

t

Taylor Alvarez

Team Member

Sneha Siri Nagabathula

Team Member

Nathan Yam

Team Member

Tyler Krapfl

Team Member

Jad Mayouf

NEWS

USF CyberHerd captures first place at world’s largest hacker conference

August 11, 2025 The èAV’s CyberHerd team claimed first place at DEF CON 33’s “Adversary Wars” Capture the Flag, capping the competitive team’s debut at what is widely regarded as the largest hacking and security conference in the world.

defcon

USF CyberHerd Team Dominates National Cybersecurity Competitions in 2024

Throughout 2024, USF’s CyberHerd Team traveled to and competed in multiple competitions and left with multiple wins. Just in the Fall of 2024 alone, amidst two hurricanes and midterms, the USF CyberHerd Team entered and won first or placed within the top three in eight prestigious national competitions.

USF CyberHerd Team Dominates National Cybersecurity Competitions in 2024

CyberHerd Victories

medals

CONTACT US

CyberHerd Captains – cyberherd-cptns@usf.edu 
CyberHerd Coaches – cyberherd-coaches@usf.edu