Let's go down to Tallahassee to see what's up with Link Jarrett’s squad in his 2nd year at the top step. Link inherited a pretty bare cupboard that was left behind by Mike Martin Jr and still has a lot of work in front of him to bring happiness back to ‘The Animals of Section B’ at Dick Howser. Florida State was borderline dogshit last year finishing 8 games under .500 and dead last in the ACC while ending the notorious 44 year streak of making the NCAA postseason. Noles, I believed, had the talent to be a good team and compete for a regional hosting spot, but their pitching couldn’t keep them in games thru first 5 innings once they got into ACC play and lineup couldn’t string together any type of consistency. They were ranked below 100th in the country in almost every team statistic.
In early 2023, this team looked legit and ready to compete for an ACC title and a home regional after leaving Fort Worth taking 2 of 3 from TCU in pretty dominating fashion. The wheels fell off rather quickly after losing a home series to Florida Gulf Coast the following weekend, giving up 29 runs on the weekend. FGCU should never come into Dick Howser and almost sweep you on your home turf. Seminoles then went on to lose 21 of 23 shortly after. You could argue this team was overall pretty young, but no Seminoles team should ever finish under .500 on the year especially after making 44 straight regional appearances.
With all the negativity said, let's look at 2024 and what it could bring for Seminole baseball. Link Jarrett went straight to the portal and grabbed 9 solid players with 7 being from other Power 5 programs (UCF included) to add to their 12th ranked recruiting class according to Perfect Game. Noles also return about 45 HRs and 80+ XBHs at the plate and almost 300 innings on the mound. That’s the part that intrigues me about this team and I think there’s a lot of optimism to be had for 2024.
Offensively, James Tibbs and Jaime Ferrer are dogs at the plate and will punish pitching staffs. The 2 of them combined for 60+ XBHs last year slugging near .600. Tibbs went on to win the Cape League HR derby this summer with Brewster. Add to those 2, Cam Smith, a Top 100 prospect in the 2024 draft. The 3 of them will be a staple at the top of the lineup as returners. They have a really intriguing 2-way player Ben Barrett who had a hell of a freshman season at the plate hitting .359 while logging almost 30 innings on the mound. He needs to take a major step to become an X-factor on this team.
Out of the portal, Alex Lodise, a SS from North Florida, will make an immediate impact hitting 16 HRs last season. Along with Daniel Cantu (USF), Drew Faurot (UCF), and Max Williams (Alabama). Cantu and Faurot both have juice and will bolster the lineup. I think Cantu is one of the better low profile portal gets this past summer. Max Williams didn’t do much at Alabama as a freshman, but was a top 100 prospect coming out of high school in 2022. Lots to like offensively for Florida State in 2024. I think they will be just fine navigating the ACC schedule.
On the mound, this is where things get interesting and will be the sole difference maker in whether this team can keep playing into June. They return Andrew Armstrong, Conner Whittaker, Jamie Arnold and Brennen Oxford who are their 4 biggest inning returners. They lose Baumeister who had a rocky 2023 season after some lofty expectations and Wyatt Crowell, of the nastiest LHPs in the country who was an absolute treat to watch spin sliders from the left side. Armstrong was arguably their most reliable innings eater out of the pen. He should win a spot in the weekend rotation this year. Whittaker should take another weekend spot after a solid 2023 season with a 4.33 era and 80 innings. Out of the portal, Jarrett added the protege Cam Leiter from UCF and Yoel Tejada from Florida. Leiter should 100% be a part of that weekend rotation. He will be 94-97 with higher end pitchability, and should play in the ACC, no doubt. Pitching staff, barring major injuries, should keep this team in contention every weekend.
The story will probably end up being similar to last year, but I would not be surprised one bit if this team is competing at the top half of the ACC come April and May. They have too many good offensive pieces to go along with valuable experience on the mound. Link will hit the right buttons and have this team ready to go. As a Miami Hurricane, I always root for the downfall of Florida State athletics (duh), but as a non-biased college baseball advocate, this team needs to get their shit together and start a new 44 consecutive regional streak. It's better for the sport.
Noles open the 2024 season with Butler, Western Carolina and the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville vs what appears to be Big Ten teams before a final tune up series with New Orleans to close out non-conference play. They will kick off ACC play hosting Notre Dame in Tallahassee.
Let's go down to Tallahassee to see what's up with Link Jarrett’s squad in his 2nd year at the top step. Link inherited a pretty bare cupboard that was left behind by Mike Martin Jr and still has a lot of work in front of him to bring happiness back to ‘The Animals of Section B’ at Dick Howser. Florida State was borderline dogshit last year finishing 8 games under .500 and dead last in the ACC while ending the notorious 44 year streak of making the NCAA postseason. Noles, I believed, had the talent to be a good team and compete for a regional hosting spot, but their pitching couldn’t keep them in games thru first 5 innings once they got into ACC play and lineup couldn’t string together any type of consistency. They were ranked below 100th in the country in almost every team statistic.
In early 2023, this team looked legit and ready to compete for an ACC title and a home regional after leaving Fort Worth taking 2 of 3 from TCU in pretty dominating fashion. The wheels fell off rather quickly after losing a home series to Florida Gulf Coast the following weekend, giving up 29 runs on the weekend. FGCU should never come into Dick Howser and almost sweep you on your home turf. Seminoles then went on to lose 21 of 23 shortly after. You could argue this team was overall pretty young, but no Seminoles team should ever finish under .500 on the year especially after making 44 straight regional appearances.
With all the negativity said, let's look at 2024 and what it could bring for Seminole baseball. Link Jarrett went straight to the portal and grabbed 9 solid players with 7 being from other Power 5 programs (UCF included) to add to their 12th ranked recruiting class according to Perfect Game. Noles also return about 45 HRs and 80+ XBHs at the plate and almost 300 innings on the mound. That’s the part that intrigues me about this team and I think there’s a lot of optimism to be had for 2024.
Offensively, James Tibbs and Jaime Ferrer are dogs at the plate and will punish pitching staffs. The 2 of them combined for 60+ XBHs last year slugging near .600. Tibbs went on to win the Cape League HR derby this summer with Brewster. Add to those 2, Cam Smith, a Top 100 prospect in the 2024 draft. The 3 of them will be a staple at the top of the lineup as returners. They have a really intriguing 2-way player Ben Barrett who had a hell of a freshman season at the plate hitting .359 while logging almost 30 innings on the mound. He needs to take a major step to become an X-factor on this team.
Out of the portal, Alex Lodise, a SS from North Florida, will make an immediate impact hitting 16 HRs last season. Along with Daniel Cantu (USF), Drew Faurot (UCF), and Max Williams (Alabama). Cantu and Faurot both have juice and will bolster the lineup. I think Cantu is one of the better low profile portal gets this past summer. Max Williams didn’t do much at Alabama as a freshman, but was a top 100 prospect coming out of high school in 2022. Lots to like offensively for Florida State in 2024. I think they will be just fine navigating the ACC schedule.
On the mound, this is where things get interesting and will be the sole difference maker in whether this team can keep playing into June. They return Andrew Armstrong, Conner Whittaker, Jamie Arnold and Brennen Oxford who are their 4 biggest inning returners. They lose Baumeister who had a rocky 2023 season after some lofty expectations and Wyatt Crowell, of the nastiest LHPs in the country who was an absolute treat to watch spin sliders from the left side. Armstrong was arguably their most reliable innings eater out of the pen. He should win a spot in the weekend rotation this year. Whittaker should take another weekend spot after a solid 2023 season with a 4.33 era and 80 innings. Out of the portal, Jarrett added the protege Cam Leiter from UCF and Yoel Tejada from Florida. Leiter should 100% be a part of that weekend rotation. He will be 94-97 with higher end pitchability, and should play in the ACC, no doubt. Pitching staff, barring major injuries, should keep this team in contention every weekend.
The story will probably end up being similar to last year, but I would not be surprised one bit if this team is competing at the top half of the ACC come April and May. They have too many good offensive pieces to go along with valuable experience on the mound. Link will hit the right buttons and have this team ready to go. As a Miami Hurricane, I always root for the downfall of Florida State athletics (duh), but as a non-biased college baseball advocate, this team needs to get their shit together and start a new 44 consecutive regional streak. It's better for the sport.
Noles open the 2024 season with Butler, Western Carolina and the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville vs what appears to be Big Ten teams before a final tune up series with New Orleans to close out non-conference play. They will kick off ACC play hosting Notre Dame in Tallahassee.
