Something positive...

November 14, 2009

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/11/guillens-son-says-hell-play-baseball-at-usf.html

Guillen's son says he'll play baseball at USF

Ozney Guillen, the youngest son of White Sox manager and former major-leaguer Ozzie Guillen, said Friday night that he'll play baseball at USF next season.

"I really like the fit," said Guillen, who visited USF two weeks ago and attended the USF-West Virginia football game. "It seems like a place where I can become a great baseball player. The coaches were a big part of that, but USF is definitely the place for me."

Guillen, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior at Miami Monsignor Pace, said he chose the Bulls over Miami, Florida State, Louisville and Arizona State. He's still not sure what position he'll play in college -- he was an infielder at Pace his freshman year, spent the past two seasons in the outfielder, but could be a corner infielder this season. He said he's stolen at least 30 bases in each of the past three seasons, but said his best asset on the field is his knowledge of the game.

"I'm always one step ahead of people, and I always play hard-nosed," Guillen said.

Guillen is a potential draft pick next summer and said he'll keep his options open after his senior year at Pace, but said "I really like my chances of going to USF." His two older brothers, Ozzie Jr. and Oney, both work for the White Sox -- Ozzie is part of the Sox' Spanish radio broadcast team, and Oney works as a scout.

Guillen is good friends with USF's three freshman football players from Pace -- receivers Sterling Griffin and Derrick Hopkins and cornerback Kavyon Webster -- and talked to them about USF before making his decision.

Guillen got to spend considerable time with two World Series championship teams when his father was an assistant with the Marlins in 2003 and manager with the White Sox in 2005. He said that interaction with big-leaguers has helped immensely with his baseball instincts.

"Everybody thinks my dad taught me everything, but the players have really helped me a lot," he said.

Guillen said he's already loaded up on Bulls merchandise, and said his dad now has a USF visor and golf shirt to support his son's future team.