I have been documenting the need for FSU baseball to add more offensive firepower from the transfer portal since the season concluded, and even more after FSU lost a lot of juice in the 2025 MLB Draft.
FSU head coach Link Jarrett grabbed one of the best remaining players in the portal when USC centerfielder Brayden Dowd committed to the Noles on Wednesday evening:
Nice work here from @JoeDoyleMiLB. Dowd is one of the best remaining players in the portal and a strong get for @FSUBaseball. Dowd finished 2025 w/ #USC hitting .324 w/ 10 homers and 26 RBIs.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) July 23, 2025
UPDATED PROFILE: https://t.co/Bn2oVzZgMm
UPDATED TRACKER: https://t.co/ptcTrU3XL6 https://t.co/0b1dTQtXqA
TRANSFER: USC CF Brayden Dowd has entered the portal. Coming off a .324/.446/.524 where he hit 10 HR. Better than 1:1 BB/K ratio. Polished approach w/plus bat-to-ball skills.
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) June 24, 2025
Will flash plus run times in CF. Takes aggressive routes. Rangy and athletic.pic.twitter.com/WmDFjXitKU
Dowd will transfer after two years at USC, where he started 96 of 100 games he played in. He batted .324 in both seasons, but saw a tremendous increase in power, going from one home run as a freshman to 10 as a sophomore.
A lefty. That power could be advantageous in the short right field porch at Dick Howser Stadium. He had a .446 on-base percentage last season and drew 46 walks to only 43 strikeouts in over 200 at-bats.
Defensively, he's elite, with only two errors in 200 chances (.990 fielding percentage). Dowd played centerfield for the Trojans, but it's not clear if that'll be his role in the outfield at FSU with Chase Williams returning.
Dowd isn't a speedster on the bases like Williams, so we could see him slide into either left or right field if Williams makes the move to centerfield to replace Max Williams.
His swing and approach vaguely remind me of Gage Harrelson, but with more pop from the left side. However, Harrelson has a bit more swing and miss at the plate, so that's a good thing for Dowdy.
Link Jarrett hasn't gone full bore in the transfer portal on offense, but has quietly assembled a nice haul overall, including several players from the JUCO ranks. This is the second quality addition from USC in the last week.