Part one of our two-part season preview will examine Florida State Baseball’s offense. Link Jarret’s squad will face the tough task of replacing key contributors from last year’s historic team. The question heading into 2025 is whether the Seminoles can reload enough to have what it takes offensively to return to Omaha.
However, when was the last time you asked a Florida State fan what sports season they were most looking forward to, and they responded with “baseball season.” Well, for the first time in the last five years, that is the case, and why you might ask? It is because there is a renewed buzz of excitement around a certain stadium in Tallahassee. This time, it is not Doak Campbell and the football program; it’s Dick Howser and the Florida State baseball team after head coach Link Jarrett achieved one of the greatest turnarounds in college baseball history last season.
Coach Jarrett led the Seminoles from last place in the ACC in 2023 with a record of 23-31 during his first year to an impressive 26-game improvement going 49-17 and was one of the final four teams standing in Omaha. After such a stellar year, many would assume that the Florida State baseball team is destined to return to Omaha in 2025.
However, what if I told you that entering the 2025 season, Head Coach Link Jarrett and the Seminoles coaching staff face challenges similar to those of Mike Norvell and the football program in 2024? That’s exactly the case, as Coach Jarrett must navigate the task of replacing several key offensive players who have left the program. In 2024, the Seminoles had one of the most impressive runs in college baseball, and that was primarily driven by an elite offense.
Now, I want everyone to understand this team might struggle out of the gate this season because they will be replacing an astounding 54% to 68% of production from last season even though Coach Jarrett brought in 26 new players from high school, junior college, and the transfer portal.
Despite the infusion of talent, it is no easy task rebuilding an offense that ranked in the top 10 in several key categories last year: 9th in batting average (.315), 6th home runs (131), 7th in slugging percentage (.558), and 4th in runs scored (588). Although just outside of the top 10, it is worth noting they finished 12th in scoring at 8.9 Runs Per Game. It will be difficult to replace that much production, even though this staff brought in good players on paper, you still don’t come close to the numbers put up by the players that left.
Let’s compare apples to apples. If you take the stats from the five main exiting players (Smith, Tibbs, Ferrer, Dinges, and Cantu), and compare their numbers to the five incoming transfers (McCulley, Williams, Harrelson, Cmeyla, and Plain), you will see what I mean and understand the vision of Coach Jarrett. The exiting players mentioned hit a combined .339 batting average and produced 416 hits, 76 doubles, 9 triples, 90 homeruns, 21 stolen bases, and had a combined slugging percentage of .623, leaving the Seminoles with a lot of production to replace.
This off-season, Coach Jarrett brought in five transfer players; Carter McCulley (JUCO: Pensacola State), Chase Williams (JUCO: Northwest Florida), Gage Harrelson (Texas Tech), Blaydon Plain (JUCO: Pensacola State) and Nathan Cmeyla (Dartmouth) that will try and do just that. I am high on these transfers because of what they bring in terms of what Coach Jarrett envisions for this program this season.
This lineup might not match up pound for pound with the exiting players, but they could still have some pop, as transfers Chase Williams, Nathan Cmeyla, Gage Harrelson, and Blaydon Plain all have the potential to send the ball out of Dick Howser stadium. Last season, they combined to hammer 31 home runs, but that still leaves a big gap to fill when compared to the 90 hit by the exiting group. As a group, the incoming transfers combined to hit .329 with 45 doubles and 8 triples. However, the issue that stands out is patience at the plate as they combined for 178 strikeouts and only walked 121 times. This leads me to believe that Link’s vision will be the “small ball” approach in 2025 forcing the other teams to make mistakes.
If the offense is going to perform well this season, it will likely be due to several players stepping up as high-level contributors, particularly those who were in more complimentary roles in the lineup last season. Returning players like infielders Drew Faurot (second baseman) and Alex Lodise (shortstop) have the potential for an All-ACC-caliber season in 2025. In 2024 both Faurot and Lodise were like that Jerry Reed song quote “When you’re hot, you’re hot. And when you’re not, you’re not.”
When Faurot and Lodise were hot, they were scorching hot, evidenced by Faurot’s eight-game hitting streak and All-ACC Tournament Team honors, and Lodise finishing the year collecting hits in every game in Omaha. But when they were not, they were as cold as your ex-girlfriend’s heart, and honestly, a liability at times. They combined to hit .283 in 434 at-bats with 123 hits. They both must step up and find better consistency at the plate as they struck out a combined 117 times (Faurot 53, Lodise 64), and only walked 41 times. Faurot and Lodise will be a vital part of this team’s identity this season.
In 2025, it appears this team’s offensive approach will look different than the power-heavy lineup we witnessed last season. I believe we are likely to see the Seminoles adopt Coach Jarrett’s preferred style of “small ball,” looking to put the ball in play and force opposing defenses to make mistakes. This means they will need both Faurot and Lodise on base as often as possible as they both are dangerous weapons with excellent speed. Combined, the two had a stellar 94% stolen base rate with Lodise stealing six bases on seven attempts, and Faurot going a perfect 10 for 10. However, they won’t have to carry the entire load as FSU will have some help on the basepaths which will put pressure on opposing pitchers. The incoming players McCulley, Williams, Harrelson, Cmeyla, and Plain are all very dangerous with their speed as they combined to swipe 67 bags last season.
There are four players that I am excited about who could help replace some of that lost production. Freshman Miles Bailey, freshman catcher Hunter Carnes, sophomore Cal Fisher, and junior Max Williams could all be in for big seasons in 2025. When Coach Jarrett was asked during his press conference about the incoming freshman class he stated “It’s rare in modern college baseball to see impactful freshmen come in.”
Coach Jarrett is excited about a group that includes Miles Bailey, Jace Estes, Noah Sheffield, and Hunter Carnes, but he was particularly high on two of his incoming freshmen, Miles Bailey and Hunter Carnes, calling them both advanced players.
Bailey and Carns were two of the top players coming out of high school. When asked about Miles 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.” Bailey enters this season with much anticipation
Then you have freshman catcher Hunter Carnes who was drafted in the 20th round of the MLB Draft and is ranked 12th in Perfect Game’s high school rankings. Carnes could be one of the incoming freshmen who forces Coach Jarrett to find a place for them in the lineup and should be in the mix for the designated hitter spot. Carnes has a simple swing and is quick to the ball, generating loud contact.
There’s plenty of power for him to continue to tap into, and he has strength in his swing thanks to powerful hands. He also runs very well, not just for a catcher, making him a rare offensive asset. When asked about Carnes in his recent press conference Coach Jarrett said that Carnes lives in the batting cage and even joked, that he was probably taking swings during the press conference.
However, I am also looking for returning players to step up next season and there are two in particular I am excited about. The first player is sophomore third baseman Cal Fisher, who in my eyes should be poised for a breakout year in 2025. In a very limited sample size last season, appearing in only 32 games, where Fisher saw 65 plate appearances, he had 18 hits and posted a .277 batting average. He also had a slugging percentage of .524 where he hit 5 home runs and drove in 13 RBI. What excites me is Cal’s size. He measures in at 6’0” and 207 pounds giving him the ability to generate significant power from the plate. He will be a key piece in replacing the hole left by Cam Smith’s departure from the lineup.
The second returning player that I see with the potential to have a huge impact is center fielder Max Williams. In 2024 Williams saw limited playing time early in the season, but once he took over as the everyday centerfielder, he was one of the best bats in the lineup. In fact, Williams is the only returning player who hit over .300 and had more than 10 home runs. Williams hit .311 with 46 RBI and 14 home runs last season in the leadoff position.
However, he is expected to bat in the middle of the lineup this year to help drive in runs and fill the void left by James Tibbs III. Williams has stated he hopes to increase his production this season. “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.”
Now, I’m not suggesting that the baseball team suffers the same fate as the football team with a win total that falls off a cliff, however, these coaching staff’s situations do mirror one another. They enter the season as a preseason consensus top 10 team, and both had to replace key starters from the prior season coming off a successful run. While Florida State’s lineup certainly has the potential to produce, a lot of its success will be riding on its pitching staff if it hopes to achieve its goal of hoisting a trophy, as we will detail in the next article.
However, expectations are high for this program this season, and if Florida State is to reach these expectations, they are going to have to find their identity. If they do meet expectations, this team could be as dangerous as any top 10 team but could also fall short of their goals if they fail to find their identity on the offensive side.
That’s the unknown with potential replacing production, but this program has made strides in the right direction under Link Jarret, so there’s reason to be excited. I mean, how many of us had last season’s team making it to the final four, and those players making the impact that they did?
What I can say with full confidence is that Coach Jarrett will not let this program sway away from the standard of Seminoles baseball, but then again, who would have thought Coach Norvell and the football program would have had the season they had in 2024? Stay tuned for part two of our season preview series as we dive into the defensive side of things. Go Noles!
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