FSU baseball: What a difference one year makes for Link Jarrett

A year ago, FSU baseball had already been eliminated from postseason play for nearly a month, and FSU head coach Link Jarrett was busy looking for players in the transfer portal to help field a competitive team after finishing 23-31 and missing the postseason for the first time in over 40 years. Fast forward a year later, and FSU was one of the final four teams remaining in the Men's College World Series, going toe-to-toe with the No. 1 overall seed in two games, with one game arguably stolen. The turnaround was phenomenal, and the expectations have changed drastically in short order. If you want to know how far the program has come in one year, read what I wrote a year ago and then listen to what Link Jarrett said in a post-game press conference after Wednesday's season-ending loss against Tennessee.

He spoke about how difficult it is to win and make the Men's College World Series, but also how it's even different once you make it there to win it all. One major difference is the program is in a spot where they can and have started attracting players that can get them back to Omaha instead of trying to field a competitive team. The amount of talent returning on the pitching mound, coupled with some of the transfer portal arms committed, has the potential to be special next year. FSU will lose a lot of firepower from one of the top offenses, but I wouldn't be shocked to see them attract some firepower from the portal. They were able to do it last year, coming off the worst season in our lifetimes. There have to be quality players knocking the door down to play at FSU after this season. The way they lost both games against Tennessee sucked, but it simply came down to not having enough firepower on the mound. It was the knock on the team all year, but the issue is getting addressed. I know some folks want to criticize Link for some coaching decisions, but he maximized the roster and overcame major pitching injuries to get as far as they did. It was an outstanding effort all the way around, and the expectations have been restored for the program. Now, it is all about acquiring the necessary talent and depth to be in the hunt year in and year out consistently. If they do that, they'll eventually win that elusive National Title in the next 5-10 years. I firmly believe that. I will have more takeaways from the season in the coming days. In the meantime, appreciate what this team accomplished, and know there are good days ahead.