Florida State's Wes Mendes wins ACC Pitcher of the Year and helps Micah Posey prove lots of folks wrong

Florida State baseball pitching coach Micah Posey has faced a ton of criticism since joining Link Jarrett in Tallahassee. He has been blamed mostly for bullpen meltdowns in past years, but most of that criticism hasn’t been deserved. Frankly, the critics have been quiet all year, as the FSU pitching staff was among the best and most consistent in the ACC and nationally.

If Florida State had a better offense, it would be a top-eight national seed and one of the odds-on favorites to win its first national title. A big part of that is ace starting pitcher Wes Mendes.

The Mississippi State transfer emerged late last season and morphed into one of the top starting pitchers nationally to become the 2026 ACC Pitcher of the Year:

Florida State's Micah Posey is creating a nice roster of former arms who'll play professionally.

There is an argument that Jamie Arnold should have won the award last year, but he went on to become a first-round draft pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.  He’s already at AA ball and on track to make his MLB debut sooner rather than later.

The improvement we saw in Wes Mendes from last year to this year is reflected not only in the numbers but also in his ability to control his emotions in the heat of battle. The days of folding when things didn’t go his way have dissipated, and he’s been excellent at working through jams all season.

His ERA went from 5.42 to 2.68. He had 109 strikeouts and 29 walks in 84 innings this year, compared to 90 and 39 in 78 innings last year. Opposing batters went from hitting .240 to .201, and he only allowed four home runs compared to 11 last year. He also threw two complete games, and his WHIP went from 1.41 to 1.00.

He can throw multiple pitches for a strike on any count and has truly become a college ace. The improvement we’ve seen from Mendes, John Abraham, Chris Knier, and others is a testament to the work done by the players and Micah Posey.

It’s easy to throw coaches under the bus when guys don’t perform, but most of the issues in past years were from guys failing to execute. If we’re going to be critical of coaches, we must give praise when those players execute and deliver the goods.

Wes Mendes deserves this award because he led the ACC in several categories and was in the top five in most of the others. Mendes will likely be a first or second-round pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Hopefully, the success of Jamie Arnold and Mendes will bode well for attracting more top talent to Florida State baseball.

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