Rays’ Coach Ozzie Timmons A Fixture With Tampa Spartans Baseball Family

BusinessSportsMoneyRays’ Coach Ozzie Timmons A Fixture With Tampa Spartans Baseball FamilyByTom Layberger,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about college football and sports in the Tampa Bay region.Follow AuthorJun 07, 2026, 05:30am EDTPORT CHARLOTTE, FLORIDA - Ozzie Timmons of the Tampa Bay Rays is introduced prior to a spring training Spring Breakout game at Charlotte Sports Complex on March 13, 2025 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)Diamond Images/Getty ImagesThirty-five years after he was selected in the fifth round of the MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs, Ozzie Timmons remains very much a part of the University of Tampa baseball family. Someone who knows him very well, Spartans coach Joe Urso, can attest to that.“It’s amazing that at the end of the major league season, which as we know is a nine-month grind with spring training and the regular season, he is here the next day for fall practice,” said Urso. “I am like, ‘Oz, take a break. You just had a long season.’ He loves giving back to the kids and this university.”Timmons would have it no other way. The 55-year-old Tampa native’s playing career at UT overlapped with Urso’s as well as that of associate head coach and pitching guru, Sam Militello. The latter, a sixth-round pick of the Yankees in 1990, has been alongside Urso in guiding the program for the last 26 seasons.“Joe, Sam and I played together, so it is easy to go back,” said Timmons, who throws batting practice and works with the outfielders, among other tasks. “I always volunteer because Joe makes it easy to volunteer. I volunteer in the fall and in the winter until I have to leave for spring training.” Timmons needs no introduction when it comes to baseball in Tampa Bay. He is part of a seemingly never-ending list of players and coaches who have been developed in the region. He has also had the opportunity during his career to return home to play a...