A year removed from a trip to the College Baseball World Series, Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett is cautiously optimistic about the 2025 season.
The Seminoles went 49-17 last season and finished as a national semifinalist, completing a remarkable turnaround in Jarrett’s second season. James Tibbs III, Cam Smith, Jamie Ferrer and Marco Dinges were crucial players in getting FSU back to Omaha, Nebraska.
However, they are gone, and the Seminoles roster is reshaped.
Entering 2025, the Seminoles are a consensus top-10 team, according to rankings from D1 Baseball (9), Baseball America (6) and Perfect Game (6). Bringing in 26 new players, FSU’s batting order and pitching staff will be restructured around key returners Max Williams in the outfield, Alex Lodise at shortstop and ace Jamie Arnold, on the mound, among others.
FSU opens its season with a three-game home series against James Madison starting Friday, Feb. 14.
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“You do have some returning, stabilizing factors in there,” Jarrett said. “I do like the athleticism of the team. Every team is different, you are not going to have two identical teams. The expectation of the result of the season doesn’t change, but how you get there will change.”
Jarrett said his biggest concern with the lineup is getting consistent power and quality at-bats from his left-handed hitters. He mentioned Williams, Myles Bailey and Blaydon Plain as players he wants to get extra bases and help the Seminoles score in bunches. He feels progress is being made from that group.
The Seminoles have to replace the heart of the order, with Tibbs, Smith, Ferrier, Dinges and Daniel Cantu all gone. That group accounted for 331 runs batted in and 90 home runs last season, giving FSU one of college’s most high-powered offenses.
Williams, who hit lead-off, said he’s likely to drop further in the batting order to help drive in runs after he hit .311 with 46 RBI and 14 home runs last season. He hopes to increase his production.
“I loved hitting leadoff last year, but I’m not really the stereotypical leadoff hitter,” Williams said. “This year I’m definitely going to move down the lineup, drive in some runs and give our team a chance to win.”
Williams wants to be a leader of the group and he wants to be a player that newcomers can look to for guidance. He said the transfers and freshmen have the talent to compete, and he’s excited to see how the lineup comes together.
“They stand out from a pure talent perspective more than other players I’ve seen,” Williams said.
“It’s like having Jared Verse out there” Jarrett excited about Bailey, freshman class
Jarrett said it’s rare in modern college baseball to see impactful freshmen come in. But with the Seminoles class that includes Bailey, Jace Estes, Noah Sheffield and Hunter Carnes, Jarrett is excited about the group.
He said each player has grown since fall ball, and he’s impressed with how the group is coming up to speed. He wants to see them get up to game speed more, but Jarrett said the four freshmen are showing flashes and making an impact.
“Those are the freshmen that have stood out throughout the long haul,” Jarrett said. “When you have the capability to add the transfers, and you are building this roster and you have the capability to grab age. Sometimes the freshman group isn’t as big as it was 10 years ago, so it’s a little harder to jump in there and grab innings as a young player.”
“The ones we have, they have impacted what we are doing.”
Jarret was particularly complimentary of Bailey and Carnes, calling them both advanced players. He said Carnes lives in the batting cage and even joked he was probably taking swings during the press conference.
The 6-foot freshman catcher has impressed Jarrett behind the plate and during at-bats, and he’s been working hard since he arrived on campus.
For Bailey, Jarrett said he’s physically one of the best players he’s seen. The Lincoln product stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 257 pounds, drawing Jarrett to compare him to an all-time Seminole football great.
“The physicality, I’ve never seen,” Jarrett said. “I’ve had some really dynamic offense players but I just haven’t had someone the size of Jared Verse running around at practice.”
“I just don’t want to get in the way of that.”
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
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