FSU baseball: Thoughts on 2022 schedule and new teams

It seems like it has been forever since the 2021 FSU baseball wrapped up, with the Noles losing in the regionals against Ole Miss and Southern Mississippi.

However, the 2022 season is right around the corner, with the program announcing its schedule Thursday morning.

The Noles will return to their traditional 56-game schedule with some programs they have never played before, which should be interesting. FSU baseball fans will be in for a treat as 36 of the 56 games will be at Dick Howser Stadium.

The ACC will once again be in the conversation for the best conference in the nation, and the FSU non-conference games will feature some dangerous teams.

They will play 30 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season. The early part of the schedule shapes up nicely with a good mixture of home and away games.

The opener against James Madison will be the first time the two teams have played one another. Mercer is a team that made the NCAA Tournament last year, so that will be a solid test before opening up ACC play on the road against Wake Forest.

Games against TCU and California will be the first time the Noles have faced either team in the regular season.

FSU baseball will return some dominant arms to its pitching staff and added more pitching and position players from the transfer portal. The issues for the last couple of years revolve around offense and defense for the Noles.

If they can add some consistency in those two departments, there is no reason they won’t have a shot to make the College World Series. Their pitching was outstanding last year, and they have a lot of young talent with more experience in 2022. Could this be the year Mike Martin Jr. gets the program back among the best in the ACC?