The 2025 FSU baseball team (21-3, 5-1 ACC) through 24 games this year. The narrative was they had played a mostly weak schedule until that point, including two ACC teams that finished below .500 in ACC play.
I wanted to compare their stats (up until that point) to see if they were trending better or worse than the 2024 team. It wasn't an apples-to-apples comparison but a snapshot in time, also so we could compare the numbers to see if they remained at that level or fell off as they entered into the more difficult part of the schedule.
The numbers below show how they stack up against the 2024 team and how they fared after finishing the regular season.
2024 (66 games) | 2025 (24 games) | 2025 (50 games) |
|---|---|---|
Batting Average- .315 | Batting Average- .333 | Batting Average- .314 |
OPS- .970 | OPS- .976 | OPS- .933 |
HR- 5.6 percent of at-bats | HR-5.0 percent of at-bats | HR-5.17 percent of at-bats |
SLG %- .558 | SLG %- .550 | SLG %- .528 |
K %- 20.2 percent | K %-24.9 percent | K %- 25.0 percent |
OPB %- .412 | OPB %-.426 | OPB %- .405 |
Runs Per Game- 8.9 | Runs Per Game-8.79 | Runs Per Game-7.86 |
ERA-4.93 | ERA-2.99 | ERA-4.69 |
WHIP-1.48 | WHIP-1.13 | WHIP-1.39 |
K Per 9 Innings-10.6 | K Per 9 Innings-11.9 | K Per 9 Innings-10.8 |
BB Per 9 Innings-4.68 | BB Per 9 Innings-3.85 | BB per 9 Innings-4.84 |
Batting Avg Against-.251 | Batting Avg Against-.197 | Batting Avg Against- .232 |
Fielding Percentage-.978 | Fielding Percentage-.978 | Fielding Percentage-978 |
As expected, the numbers decreased in nearly every category once the competition got stiffer. However, I was surprised to see the home run numbers for 2025 improve slightly over the final 26 games.
Most folk worried about where the offensive production would come from with this 2025 team after losing so much firepower. I'll admit they probably exceeded my expectations going into the season. Gage Harrelson was a huge addition, Myles Bailey played better than most freshmen, and Alex Lodise might be the best player in college baseball.
Max Williams, Cal Fisher, and Drew Faurot were major contributors, and Chase Williams' gave the offense a boost for a couple of weeks.
I don't think the pitching lived up to the hype. The starting pitching was fine for the most part, aside from a few bad outings. It was the bullpen that lacked consistency all season. The walks have been the biggest culprit.
Defensively, FSU has been as solid as they come for the most part. If they put it together, they can play with any team in the country. They must get more efficiency from their starters, and the bullpen has to find some consistency. It's not a talent issue.
Offensively, they must have better-quality at-bats and stop chasing so many pitches outside the strike zone. The offense worries me more than the pitching as FSU will face better arms in the postseason. Hopefully, they can get it together and make a strong run into Omaha, but first, they will play in the ACC Tournament this week.