After winning the 2024 NCAA Division II national championship, University of Tampa head coach Joe Urso was presented as the ABCA/Rawlings National Coach of the Year.
Urso, in his 24th season at the helm of the Spartans, also received National Coach of the Year honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) and D2Baseball.
Winning his sixth national championship as the head coach of his alma mater, Urso led UT to a 52-8 record while also winning the Sunshine State Conference. In 2024, Tampa outscored its opponents 612-273, as the +339 run differential was the biggest in the 2000s.
Urso capped another historic season, which included win number 1,000, which came in the NCAA South Regional against Lee. Now standing at 1,007-287-1, Urso has now won 40-plus games on 18 occasions while winning 50-plus games a total of four seasons. Under his direction, his teams have also advanced to the NCAA tournament every season.
The American Baseball Coaches Association and ATEC announced the 2024 National Coaches of the Year in all collegiate and high school divisions. The 2024 ABCA/ATEC National Coaches of the Year will be honored on Friday, January 3, 2025, at the ABCA Convention in Washington, D.C., on the main clinic stage prior to the start of clinics.
