No. 1-seeded Florida State baseball saw its season come to an end on Monday, losing to No. 4 seed St. John’s for the second time in regional play.
The Noles finished the season strong to secure a double-bye in the ACC Tournament. However, they never played well from that point on, losing three of their last five games.
Link Jarrett took to the podium in the post-game presser, and after thanking the fans and the Florida State administration for their support, the first thing he mentioned was injuries around the 1:58 mark:
“I don’t know that we ever saw our personnel intact to provide the opportunity to see everybody full speed ahead, health-wise. That was a part of our story this year, we all understand that…it is tricky to overcome that, and I think we did it. I think we did it.”
Is just fighting and not quitting the new standard at FSU? When is someone going to take accounabilty and admit what they put together this year wasn't good enough to compete with elite teams?
Jarrett went on about the fight of the team, and yes, the team never quit, and that’s a great quality to have. However, at some point, he’s got to start addressing the real issues with this program. Teams endure injuries every year; it’s a part of the game. Was losing Myles Bailey a big loss? For sure, but the Florida State offense wasn’t GREAT when he was in the lineup. He accounted for nearly 40 percent of their home runs at the time of his injury. The team was striking out in over 27 percent of their at-bats. The Florida Gators made FSU look silly at the plate, losing all three games, striking out in nearly 50 percent of their at-bats.
Were there other injuries? Yes, Jace Estes missed most of the year after getting hurt early, but nobody was counting on him to be a force at the plate after hitting .222 in 2025. Brody Dellamielleure was hurt early, but was available down the stretch and contributing. FSU had to turn to a guy who hadn’t hit since 2023 to try to make an impact on offense because one of the guys they got from the transfer portal flopped overall.
Players like Noah Sheffield and Kelvyn Paulino were not ready to contribute after redshirting as freshmen. It was a poor job of roster construction by Link Jarrett, with guys in the starting lineup who had no business playing.
The starting pitching was great all season. They were finally able to get through a season without losing one weekend starter for a prolonged period of time. The relief pitching was fine, but it didn’t have enough reliable depth overall.
The boneheaded baserunning we’ve seen the past couple of years. The inability to make adjustments at the plate. The overall IQ of the team was a question mark. The catcher position was a liability all year defensively. At no point did Link Jarrett take any blame; he just pointed to injuries(when they were not really that many overall).
It’s time for the excuses to stop. The standard is competing for a national title. They were in that position for the last two years, but took a step back this year, mostly due to an inept offense. He has to address those issues and potentially replace some key pitchers to have a shot next year.
Nobody wants Link Jarrett fired, but if you're not alarmed by some of the things we saw this year, don't be surprised if things get worse if they are not addressed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google