Ah, the popping of leather, the pinging of aluminum.
Can spring be far behind?
If it’s the second week of January, it must mean another collegiate baseball season is officially afoot. And at the University of Tampa, this is a big deal.
And not just because of that nifty, aesthetically landscaped, 2-year-old venue at Cass and Boulevard – the one with the protean downtown skyline as outfield backdrop.
“It’s always exciting,” says affable head coach Joe Urso, 37, the National Coach of the Year for 2006-07. “Come late December, you enjoy the break, and then you can’t wait for Jan. 10. But even more so this year. No (Division-II) team has ever won three straight. So this is the biggest challenge.”
When Urso addressed his team, which is ranked number one in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper pre-season poll, he underscored the unique challenge that faces the Spartans as two-time defending NCAA D-II national champions.
“The history of this program is special, and the last two years have been special,” he told them. “But this team hasn’t won a game yet. There’s a long process involved to stay on top. There’s work to be done.”
And, arguably, enough talent to do it.
“We have stronger starting pitching, and we’re a stronger defensive team,” assessed Urso. “Team speed is good; the bullpen a question mark. We have more doubles power than home run power.”
UT actually returns four starters, including slugging first baseman Jose Jimenez. The pitching is led by lefthander Kevin Ferguson, last season’s Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Urso, now in his eighth year, is the architect of a national powerhouse that has sent an unheard of 13 players to the pros the last two years. During his tenure, eight of his players have been first team All-Americans. His recipe for success is more simply put than implemented: just recruit good players who are good kids who can handle high standards. Really high standards. He’s notably proud that the team earned a 2.99 GPA last semester.
A cursory look at an intra-squad game was illustrative.
If Up With People were sinewy athletes, they would look like this. An Anglo-Latino-African-American mix that was well groomed and deferential to their coaches. No mullets, no dreds, no earrings, one well-trimmed beard, no unnecessary one-handed catches, no hot-dogging. Utterances of encouragement in English and Spanish. Fundamentals were the clear order of the day.
Urso elaborated.
“What’s really important is playing the game the right way,” he explained. “Like executing bunt plays. We demand perfection on the basics.”
Urso is old school off the field as well.
Players must sign an agreement that they will go to every class every day or personally answer to Urso. And how they represent the university out in the community matters.
“We don’t just look at the athletic side when we recruit,” said Urso. “I know I’m a stickler about certain things, but ultimately we put faith in our young men and give them enough control. There’s mutual respect.”
And outsiders notice.
“The coach is wonderful, and the team is absolutely great,” gushes Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. “They have been in my office to receive special proclamations for their wins. These young people are outstanding athletes and students and deserve a lot of praise for a job well done.”
More than a third of this year’s players are from the Tampa Bay Area, with a sizable contingent from South Florida, including Jimenez out of Miami Pace HS. The sprinkling of out-of-staters, including New Jersey starting outfielder Junior Mejia, come from as far north as Wisconsin and Massachusetts and as far south as Panama, the home of shortstop Jesus Barroso.
Ferguson, the All Star pitcher, hails from Port St. Lucie (via Brevard Community College. Returning starters Paul Cruz (outfield) is from Brandon (Hillsborough CC) and (catcher) Nolan Brannon from St. Petersburg (Hillsborough CC).
“We go after the top guys in our area – high school and junior college,” explained Urso. “We generally stay away from the first-or-second-round-draft-pick types. But we don’t back off just because they’re ‘D-I’ guys. We also recruit the state, to be sure. In fact, this season we potentially have a majority of our starters from South Florida. And we recruit (less than blue chip) ‘grinders’ too, because experience tells us that good kids will overachieve.”
That experience includes Urso’s own as a player, one not gifted with a prototypical major league skill set.
At 5’7″ and 160 lbs., the Tampa native learned early that shear talent would never be enough to get him to the Big Show. He did all the little things right. After helping lead Plant High School to a state championship in 1988, the scrappy second baseman became a four-year starter for UT and was twice named first team All-Sunshine State Conference and All-South and second team All-American.
He was a career .332 hitter who held the NCAA record for runs (258). He still holds the UT record for walks and ranks second in doubles and sixth in stolen bases. He was MVP of UT’s national championship in 1992.
He was signed by the Los Angeles Angels and played, coached and managed in their system for seven years. In 1997 he confronted his career crucible. He could take a promotion as a utility player to AA or stay on at single-A Lake Elsinore (Calif.), where he was successful on the field and popular in the community. Angels’ management proudly referred to him as the “Mayor” of Lake Elsinore.
He chose to stay with Lake Elsinore as coach, mentor and manager. “It was time” he recalled, “to change to a new dream.”
Now Urso, married and the father of two young sons, says he has a “great situation” at his alma mater.
The professional dream, he stressed, is “done.” That still leaves the possibility of bigger, better-paying D-I positions, but Urso’s not exactly looking. UT is unique. The Spartans are big time with a D-II mislabel.
“I’ve been contacted, and I’ve looked into some things,” he acknowledged. “As with any profession, you never want to settle, but, honestly, it would have to be a perfect fit. This is one of the best baseball jobs in the country.”
In any language.