SAN DIEGO –San Diego baseball coach Rich Hill doesn't hide the fact that the beginning of the major league season is one of his favorite times of the year. Not because he can turn on the TV and watch games late into the night or scour the Internet for box scores.
 
The Toreros' head coach, now in his 21st season at the helm, savors the beginning of the professional season because it gives him the chance to look at former USD players who have landed on MLB rosters.
 
Right now, three former Toreros are playing in the majors: Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant; San Francisco Giants outfielder-infielder Connor Joe; and Chicago White Sox pitcher Dylan Covey.
 
In all, eight USD players made it to major league spring training camps this year. Eight more competed in minor league camps. Regarding the feeling he gets seeing three of his players in major league uniforms, Hill said, "I get chills. For me, that's what it's all about."
 
Added Hill, who grew up in the Bay Area, "I remember what it was like going to Candlestick Park as a kid, seeing the beautiful grass, hearing the organist, the hot dog and popcorn smell. There's something intangible about it. These guys are all playing in these major league parks and it's kind of surreal.
 
"It's the same thing going to their weddings and holding their little babies. That's what this is all about. When you're in college education it's about one thing. It's taking these kids into manhood and helping them achieve what they want. That's what coaching's about. Helping others achieve their dreams."
 
Bryant is USD's most successful baseball alum. He crushed 31 home runs as a junior in 2013 to lead the nation, more than 223 of 296 Division I teams. He won the Golden Spikes Award, college baseball's version of the Heisman Trophy.
 
Selected by the Cubs, Bryant was the second overall pick of the 2013 MLB draft. He went on to earn National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2015, then in 2016 was selected the National League Most Valuable Player when he hit 39 home runs and knocked in 102 runs.
 
The 2016 MLB season was capped by Bryant fielding the ground ball for the final out of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, ending a 108-year World Series drought for the Cubs.
 
Bryant is the only player to win the Golden Spikes Award, Rookie of the Year, a league MVP and then play on a World Series championship team.
 
This past offseason, Hill shared time with Bryant when the pair attended Connor Joe's wedding.
 
"He was talking about how his days at USD were the best times of his life," said Hill. "It's a testament to why high school kids should go to college 99 percent of the time. Unless you're a Bryce Harper or Alex Rodriguez, you probably should go to college."
 
Joe was undrafted out of Poway High School, went to USD and after three years was selected in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Pirates. Now a member of the San Francisco Giants, Joe made his major league debut last week against the Padres at Petco Park.
 
Hill couldn't attend any of Joe's games because the Toreros were on the road at Gonzaga. But friends texted Hill pictures of Joe appearing on the Petco Park scoreboard. Hill later talked to Joe and members of his family.
 
A pitcher, Covey was a first round pick out of high school by the Milwaukee Brewers. Days after the selection, Covey was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He ended up attending USD and three years later was selected in the fourth round by the Oakland A's.
 
"I'm super proud of Dylan," said Hill. "He decided that college was the best way to go to get his health under control."
 
The Toreros have had six straight seasons of at least four players being selected in the draft.
 
Winning and seeing his athletes advance through baseball's professional pipeline invigorates Hill.
 
"I feel like this is my first year," he said. "I just feel energized."