Before the University of Tampa baseball team won back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007 the Spartans were still considered one of the best Division II programs in the country. But with their recent success, UT has not only built back a winning tradition, they have also drawn many talented recruits away from Division I teams.
One of those new recruits is junior college transfer Stephen Merino. A second baseman from Miami, Merino has the challenge of replacing Ryan Kennedy, one of the best middle infielders in Tampa history and a 2007 MLB draft pick. Prior to being picked up by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kennedy batted .360 in two seasons with UT, slugging 16 home runs and driving in 103 runs.
But Merino has responded to the challenge thus far, hitting .261 in his first seven games with the Spartans while knocking in five runs. One of the questions coming into the season was his defensive ability, but he has committed only two errors in the field.
Merino chose UT over Division I Florida Atlantic because he would have the chance to play for coach Joe Urso and compete for a National Championship.
“My old coach at Broward [Community College] was coached by Urso in the minor leagues and told me Urso was a great coach and could greatly help me out with my play at second base,” Merino said. “I wanted to play here because I heard it was a great environment and I had old friends here that I have played with for many years. Also, I want to win a championship.”
At Broward Community College Merino was voted the 2006 Southern Conference Player of the Year after hitting .400 with four home runs and 38 RBI. Making the transition from a junior college to one of the top baseball conferences in the country is a difficult leap, but Merino believes his experience at Broward prepared him well.
“The ball seems to move a lot faster through the infield than it did at my old home field, but if anything junior college prepared me very well to be ready for the speed of Division II baseball,” he said.
Baseball was an early passion for Merino, who took up the game when he was five years old. It wasn’t until his freshman year of high school that he realized baseball could be in his future.
“I made my varsity baseball team and was the starting shortstop as a freshmen and then I had an even more realization when I was named player of the year for the Southern Conference at Broward,” he said.
Although it is still very early in the season it appears that Merino has many of the characteristics that Kennedy brought to UT. Both are undersized. Although Merino is 6’1″, he only weighs 165 pounds. Despite the lack of size, both players are capable of hitting for power from the second base position.
In his first season with the Spartans, Kennedy hit only three home runs and it seems like Merino is searching for his power stroke as well.
“I actually believe I can hit for more power and average here at Tampa than at Broward,” Merino said. “The baseball field there was literally a graveyard. The ball went nowhere when it was hit in the air and there was so much room the outfielders reached a lot of balls that normally won’t be caught.”
Besides making the transition to a new team and playing for a new coach, the middle-infielder has had to get accustomed to gelling with new shortstop Jesus Barroso. Although Merino has had to adapt, he said he was excited about playing with Barroso, whom he called one of the best shortstops he has seen.
If the Spartans win a third consecutive National Championship look for Merino to play an important role in the championship run.