Florida State has received a commitment from UConn left-handed pitcher Cayden Suchy, and this one belongs in the “major splash” category of portal acquisitions.
Suchy (6-0, 192 lbs) is a rising sophomore from Sterling, Virginia, who just completed one of the best pitching seasons in the Big East. In 2026, he went 5-3 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across 15 starts and 89.1 innings, striking out 105 batters while walking just 23. He had one complete game, earned ABCA First Team All-Region honors, was named First Team All-Big East, and walked away with Big East Pitcher of the Year. He was only the third pitcher in UConn history to win that award, joining Ian Cooke (2024) and the legendary Matt Barnes (2011).
That 29% strikeout rate isn’t a fluke. His conference-only numbers were even nastier: a 5-0 record with a 1.81 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in Big East play alone. This guy was locked in all season and saved his sharpest stuff for the games that mattered most.
What makes him such a perfect fit right now? The timing is almost too convenient. FSU is expected to lose its entire weekend rotation to the draft, with Mendes, Trey Beard, and Bryson Moore all draft-eligible and primed to hear their names called early in July. That potentially means a reset for the entire rotation. Link Jarrett and pitching coach Micah Posey have gone into this situation with eyes wide open, and landing Suchy is about as good a first move as you can make.
He’s also a lefty, which matters. One of the concerns coming out of the 2026 season was that FSU was too right-hand reliant in both the bullpen and batting order. Suchy doesn’t solve that entirely, but he’s the kind of impact arm you build a new rotation around.
Coming out of his freshman season in 2025, Suchy’s ceiling was already clear. He’d been hit with an injury that limited him to four starts and some bullpen work, but even then, flashes were there: 7.0 innings with nine strikeouts at UNC Greensboro, a win at Xavier with 5.1 innings of work. The 2026 season was what happens when that kind of talent gets healthy and stays healthy for a full year.
There will be people who point out that he did this in the Big East, not the ACC. Fair enough. But a 2.72 ERA against anyone in college baseball, with a 4.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 89-plus innings, is a profile that translates. Jarrett has made a habit of finding portal arms who do exactly that. Trey Beard came from FAU, and Cooper Whited came from JUCO. The program knows how to evaluate, and Posey had done well in developing the top-end arms.
He did face two Power 4 opponents last season (Kansas State and Arizona), where he allowed 6 hits with 4 earned runs while striking out 14 and walking 4 in 12.2 innings, and those were his first two appearances of the season.
Jarrett has proven throughout his time in Tallahassee that he is ready, willing, and able to build his roster through the portal, and this is that philosophy paying dividends at exactly the right moment. The Noles need rotation pieces, and they just landed one of the best available arms in the country.
The portal window is still very much open, and there’s more work to do. But make no mistake: Cayden Suchy is the kind of get that signals FSU isn’t just replacing what it lost. It’s upgrading. Stay tuned to your source for fan-focused FSU coverage here at Plant The Spear. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!