Hall of Fame
Paul Russo • University of Tampa (Baseball)
The University of Tampa has built a reputation as one of the most well-respected baseball programs not just in the Sunshine State Conference, but in the nation. Paul Russo has played a large role in shaping that reputation. The 1989-90 SSC Male Athlete of the Year, Russo was the first Tampa athlete and the first baseball player to ever garner that award. A two-time South Region Player of the Year, Russo also claimed first team All-SSC and first team All-South Region during his collegiate career. His name can be found all over the Tampa and SSC record books. Russo ranks second among SSC sluggers with 50 home runs, trailing only teammate and fellow SSC Hall of Famer Tino Martinez by just four. The only Tampa player to ever tally 100 hits in a season, Russo is just one of five SSC baseball players ever to reach the century mark for hits in one year. In addition, Russo ranks fourth at UT and fifth in the SSC with 200 career RBI, second at Tampa and sixth in the SSC with a .450 career batting average, and remains the only SSC player to ever post multiple 20-home run seasons. A member of Tampa’s 1989 SSC co-championship team who earned national championship series all-tournament honors the following year, Russo played professionally in the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros organizations. A successful businessman and father of three, Russo is very active in youth baseball and helping coach underprivileged children. He becomes the ninth baseball player to be inducted into the SSC Hall of Fame, and third from Tampa, most of any SSC school.