ORLANDO Fla. — Boone High School’s Luke Mottola said he hopes he can follow in the footsteps of several homegrown Major League Baseball players from Central Florida, and it doesn’t hurt that he grew up with baseball in his blood.

Mottola, who in April committed to play at UCF, said he hopes to create his own legacy in the game.

"I obviously want to have a good college career and potentially get drafted and see what goes from there," Mottola said.

UCF was the only school he wanted to play for.

"I have always had my heart set on UCF. Both my parents went there," he said. "My mom played volleyball, and my dad played baseball. So, I really grew up a UCF Knight, so it’s really cool an opportunity to play there."

He has the talent to play at the next level and is optimistic about his future in the game.

Mottola has been putting on the batting gloves since he was old enough to play tee ball. Lots of great coaching and many rounds in the batting cage have perfected Mottola's left-handed swing.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise, considering what his father does for a living.

"My dad is Chad Mottola. He is the hitting coach for the Rays," Mottola said. "I can go any time I need to and watch the professionals work. It’s like a really cool experience to see how they do things, and I try to mirror that in my game."

While he has a passion for hitting, he also enjoys being the man in middle, playing center field.

"I got to say it’s the most fun position," he said. "You get to call everyone off and do whatever you want to do. You are the big dog on the field. I think this is the most fun I have really — just being out here with my friends."

As Mottola looks toward his future, this year’s Boone High team is made up of many athletes with whom he has been playing baseball since those tee ball days.

"We, like, have 12 seniors, so our entire starting lineup — eight out of the nine guys — are seniors," Mottola said. "It’s really big. We all have been together, so we have a good relationship. It's nice."