FSU baseball slugger James Tibbs III named 3rd Team Preseason All-American

FSU baseball (23-31, 9-21 ACC) had a tough first season in the Link Jarrett era after a promising start. However, injuries to key players, a tough schedule, and a lot of youth on the roster were a lot to overcome. However, the team finished the season winners in four of their final five games, including a win over No. 1 Wake Forest. The finish and new additions from the 2024 recruiting class and transfer portal have fans looking forward to the season that begins in a few weeks. One reason for optimism is the youth mentioned earlier will be sophomores and juniors this year. One of the most important players is slugger James Tibbs III. He led FSU in virtually every offensive category in 2023, which is a major reason he is a Third Team Preseason All-American, according to Perfect Game.

Tibbs started all 54 games and batted .338, with a .471 on-base percentage. He had 17 home runs, 43 RBI, and walked 48 times. He also scored 61 runs, which is 22 more than the next person. Tibbs III was a Second Team Freshman All-American, batting .300 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI. His freshman campaign was outstanding, but the improvement between his freshman and sophomore years was staggering. He struck out 15 fewer times, walked 23 more times, hit for more power, got on base more often, and scored 24 more runs. Junior Jaime Ferrer will join Tibbs, with sophomores Cam Smith, D'Amez Ross, and Titan Kamaka. Those young players will join the firepower from the transfer portal in Drew Faurot (UCF) and Alex Lodise (North Florida). The FSU offense improved in many areas last season, although they were young, and I expect more improvements in 2024. If they can get consistent pitching, they could surprise some folks this year. I'll have some FSU baseball preview content up in the next week or so. Stay tuned!