This story was originally published in the Tampa Bay Times on Feb. 20
TAMPA — Joe Urso has built the University of Tampa baseball team into one of the best Division II programs in the nation. The Spartans have the winning pedigree as the reigning national champions and cycle through high-level talent almost yearly.
2025 is no different, as a new class of transfers and recruits is highlighted by a familiar face. Urso’s son, J.D., returns from a season in the ACC with the University of Miami for his fifth campaign back home with the Spartans.
“More than likely, this is my last year ever playing baseball,” said J.D. “I knew there was only one way to do it right, and that was to come back with my dad, to be able to take the field with him every night and to wear the Spartans red again.”
J.D. grew up around the UT program, and entering his senior year at Plant High School knew he wanted to play baseball at his dream school.
The only thing standing in his way? A reality check from dad.
“He was weighing probably 155 pounds out of high school and not physical enough, not strong enough for this level,” said Joe. “And it’s a reality that we get a lot of junior college guys, a lot of Division I transfers, and I knew he was going to be around men and probably not be ready.”
J.D. intended to go the juco route and initially was committed to St. Petersburg College.
“He has basically been on this field since he was 1 month old and born and raised as a Spartan, and he would say, ‘How am I going to be at St. Pete when I’m going to be more worried about did the Spartans win?‘ ” said Joe. “And we started realizing the importance for him to be in a Spartan uniform, that he would make other guys better around him, until he got his shot.”
J.D. joined the UT baseball program for the 2020 season, appearing in 13 of the team’s 22 games in a season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also logged a lot of innings on the JV team to record more at-bats, which helped him tally a .273 batting average and six runs driven in.
Flipping his commitment from the Titans to the Spartans wasn’t the first gamble Urso took in his quest to elevate his game. Just across West Cass Street from the UT baseball field, J.D. was the starting shortstop at Tampa Prep in his freshman and sophomore years of high school but decided the reputation of Plant would better prepare him to play in college.
The attention the baseball program at Plant received was a culture shock; scouts watched daily with the spotlight on Connor Scott, the Miami Marlins’ future first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. J.D. used the experience as a guide on how to deal with pressure on the diamond and entered the starting lineup almost immediately as a junior, then earned the team MVP award his senior year.
Following a stellar summer with the Seminole County Snappers of the Florida Collegiate Summer League, J.D. took a similar second-year jump in college and batted .325 in 26 of UT’s 29 games that season. He was named the Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year (extra eligibility in COVID years) and first-team all-conference.
Over his next two seasons at Tampa, J.D. took home another SSC Freshman of the Year honor and piled up accolades while continually improving his slash line. J.D. was even able to play in the revered Cape Cod Baseball League, where he logged 16 games total between 2022 and 2023 for the Orleans Firebirds.
“The Cape was where the big light bulbs happened for me,” he said. “When you’re facing the best competition in the country, it makes you better.”
Although he only played in one game in the summer of 2023 due to injury, J.D. was looking to take the next step in his career. He had earned his bachelor’s degree at UT and entered the transfer portal, eventually settling in at Miami after originally committing to Ole Miss.
J.D. played in 39 games for the Hurricanes, posting a .374 on-base percentage but batting just .218 in more of a utility role than he had previously held with Tampa.
“Last year at the University of Miami, I failed more than I ever have in my college baseball career, which obviously was expected,” he said.
What may not have been expected was Tampa claiming its ninth national championship as J.D. watched from the stands.
J.D.’s dad again has put together a team capable of repeating as national champs, like he did in 2006 and 2007. The Spartans (5-1) have combatted losing the first four batters in the lineup, the No. 1 starter and all of the bullpen with a dozen transfers from Division I schools. The plan for J.D. is to stay up the middle as much as possible, but most importantly put him at whatever defensive position allows him to stay in the lineup.
Injuries have started to take a toll, and with his playing days likely coming to an end — he’s set to return to the Cape in June, but as an assistant with the Wareham Gatemen — only one objective remains for J.D. as he looks to cement his legacy at UT:
“To go out and dogpile that last game of the season in Cary (North Carolina), to win that 10th national title that would allow us to stand alone as the most national championships in Division II baseball.”
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Thumbnail Image Caption: University of Tampa designated hitter J.D. Urso runs toward first base during a game against Quincy Sunday in Tampa. He hopes to help UT win a 10th national championship, which would stand alone as the most in Division II history. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]