Tampa Bay natives look to help boost Rowdies in 2024

The Tampa Bay Rowdies open the regular season this weekend, and they'll do so with a few new faces on the roster. First-year head coach Robbie Neilson has a couple of Tampa Bay-area teenagers on the bench who could end up playing for the team they grew up watching. Cristian Ortiz was born in New York, but he grew up in Port Richey. "I came to a Rowdies game when I was eight or nine, and I never thought I would ever see that pitch."