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As he heads into his 25th season as the University of Tampa baseball coach this spring, Joe Urso ’92 is fueled by something deeper than winning national championships.

“Each year is different and special in its own way,” said Urso, who won his sixth national title as the Spartans’ coach in June. “But the common thread is I’m trying to build a family each year. That’s what keeps me going.

“I’m trying to build a family that then becomes a part of a much larger family.”

That larger family is the storied UTampa baseball program — past, present and future. Urso, who has 1,007 career wins at UTampa, is the patriarch of a proud program that has won nine Division II national titles. He’s been directly involved in seven of them — six as the coach and the 1992 title (the program’s first) as a scrappy 5-foot-5 All-American second baseman.

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“I think back to the 30-year reunion we had for the ’92 team,” Urso said. “Every single player from that team came back. We had all gone in different directions. But when we got together, it was like we hadn’t been apart for a day. Winning championships creates a lifetime brotherhood, and I know it’s going to be the exact same way for the 2024 team when they have their 30th reunion.”

More than anything, it’s that sense of family that has kept Urso at UTampa. Among the most successful coaches in all of college baseball, his name inevitably comes up whenever a Division I job is open. As the Spartans were in the midst of chasing their most recent national title, the University of South Florida came calling.

After a flurry of talks that Urso described as serious, he pulled his name from consideration.

“I know I can go to Division I and have success,’’ Urso said. “But I love being a baseball coach, and I have one of the best baseball coaching jobs in the country. You have to appreciate where you’re at. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s hard for me to imagine a job better than this one.”

Urso’s next challenge is to build another family — and perhaps win another national championship — with a strong mix of returning players, some transfers and new recruits.

Plus, there’s one other special component. His son, JD Urso ’23, will be playing for him — again. The younger Urso spent four years with the Spartans before playing for the University of Miami last year. Thanks to NCAA rules implemented due to COVID and the transfer portal, JD has a sixth year of eligibility as a graduate student.

Coaching his son again might be another reason why the elder Urso didn’t chase new challenges elsewhere. He can stay at UTampa and find all the challenges he needs within the family he continues to build.

“We’ve done a lot together in baseball,” Urso said. “But the one thing we haven’t done together is win a national championship. That would be really special.”