![Florida St. infielder Alex Lodise (1) reacts to his double at second base during the first inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_1844,y_69,w_4156,h_2337/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/270/01kt7e05evd0znt8j5j6.jpg "Florida St. infielder Alex Lodise (1) reacts to his double at second base during the first inning of an NCAA college baseball matchup Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU rallied to defeat UF 8-4 off a walk-off grand slam from Alex Lodise in the ninth inning. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
Florida State baseball didn't have the season that it wanted to have after the heightened expectations of making it to the College World Series against Oregon State. The thought was that the Seminoles would repeat their amazing campaign and get revenge.
However, Link Jarrett and his squad realized that it could be an uphill battle after superstar Myles Bailey suffered a season-ending injury when sliding into second base. When that happened, the Seminoles knew that the power bats could diminish a bit.
It seemed like Florida State was feeding off the energy of winning in honor of their teammate. With that said, the Seminoles started to come back down to their caliber, where a converted pitcher, Ben Barrett, was their best hitter at the end of the year.
Cousin of former Florida State standout Alex Lodise could be exactly what the team needs
The Seminoles need to gain more power at the plate for 2026. Link Jarrett knows that the offense didn't create a threat to do so. There has already been activity with departures from Florida State baseball via the transfer portal.
The 2025 squad had so much talent on offense with the likes of Myles Bailey, Drew Faurot, and Alex Lodise before they were stopped in Corvallis last year in the Super Regionals by Oregon State.
Alex Lodise was the former ACC Player of the Year and the heartbeat of the squad, with a .394 batting average, 17 home runs, and 68 runs batted in (according to baseball-reference.com). The Atlanta Braves drafted the former Seminole in the second round of last year's draft.
However, his legacy might live on in Tallahassee next season with his cousin being in the portal. UCF shortstop Jordan Lodise announced his intentions to do so on Wednesday afternoon.
UCF SS Jordan Lodise has entered the portal I’ve been told. pic.twitter.com/f0Zh46SfXF
— Andrew Riedell (@RiedellAndrew) June 3, 2026
Jordan Lodise doesn't have the same statistics as his cousin did, but you can tell that the 19-year-old has an impressive skill set with a .243 batting average, five home runs, and 29 runs batted in. He had 14 doubles on the year for the Knights (according to baseball-reference.com).
This transfer portal pickup makes too much sense for Florida State, and it could elevate the offensive firepower for 2026.
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