Tampa Bay Little Leaguers cheer on Gators players with Tampa Bay roots

TAMPA, Fla. - They are The University of Tampa's "Boys of Summer." A baseball camp for kids to have fun, learn fundamentals and flourish in a game they love. 

It's also at a time when these kids begin to have Big League dreams.

"It starts here," said UT Assistant head baseball coach Sam Militello. "Starts here at this age for most of these kids. The thing we preach to them is to have fun. It's a game still, and we want to have fun doing it, so we're not burned out when we get older."

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The Tampa Bay area has a long history of producing Major League talent. Nearly 50 players have made it to the Major Leagues that were born in Tampa alone. 

Militello is one of them; drafted by the New York Yankees in the sixth round in 1990. He gives campers first-hand advice about pursuing a baseball dream.

"It starts with the love of the game," Militello said. "If you love the game and are having fun those things are going to come easy. You're going to want to go out to the field every day and hit off the tee, or you're going to want to come play catch or do bullpens. Those are the things that you have to do to be successful."

With just two college teams remaining in contention for the College World Series Championship, UT's campers are tossing aside their natural allegiance and are cheering for the University of Florida's Gators. Especially given that the Gators have eight players with Tampa Bay area roots.

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"It's really inspiring, because they are in college now, [Jac] Caglianone is going to be getting drafted [2024],"  said 10-year-old camper Jameson Brown. "It's just super inspirational."

"It shows that there's actually a chance that you'll be able to do that, and it's not impossible," said 12-year-old camper Mason Frey.

So who do the kids think will win the College World Series?

"Florida," said 5-year-old camper Cooper Jimenez. "Because my favorite player plays on that team, Jac [Caglianone]."

"We all look for heroes or something to keep us excited," said UT assistant coach Jose Jiminez. "For them seeing a local kid go to a big time school and get on a big stage, it's something they can look forward to."

They're cheering on the Tampa Bay area's best now, hoping one day the next generation will be cheering for them.