UTampa Baseball Champs Try Out for Savannah Bananas

Two University of Tampa title winners started their six-week stint with the Savannah Bananas minor league squad. Fresh off their Division II championship win, JD Urso and CJ Williams joined the Savannah Visitors in July 2025.

"Growing up, the dream was to always play in the MLB," said Urso per ABC Action News. "But as this game has shifted, the draft has gone from 60 rounds to 40, and now down to 20. That reality of getting drafted is so difficult."

The Visitors act as a testing ground for those who want to make it to the main Bananas team. They packed Raymond James Stadium last March. Now they play at big sports venues nationwide.

Both players must master a new style that mixes sports with entertainment. They perform dances, try wild plays, and mix with the crowd during games.

"Do the jumps, do the strikeout celebrations, do everything," said Williams, according to FOX 13 News. "Do the bat flips. Everything you're almost taught not to do, it's like do that, please. Like bat flips, do the strikeout celebration, stare the guy down, things like that."

Their shot came when Urso got a text from his friend at Rollins College asking if any players wanted to try out. After finishing college ball, they both decided to take the chance.

Urso showed his new flair in a recent game. At third base, he caught a grounder, bounced it through his legs, then threw to first: a move that would've put him on the bench in college.

Come October, the Bananas will hold their draft. That's when the two players will find out if they'll join the main team or end up with one of five other teams in the group.

"You can go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts," Urso said. "But if we have 30 fans leave the game with a smile on their face, and you know, directly because of the interaction they had with myself, that's a huge victory for us."