Undefeated Florida State Bounces Back From Subpar Season

Image credit: Cameron Smith (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Florida State improved to 15-0 on Tuesday night, beating Florida, 12-8, in Gainesville. It was a big night for the Seminoles, as they snapped a four-game losing streak to their rivals and scored their most runs in the series since 2008.

The win also meant Florida State remained one of only two undefeated teams in the nation, along with Texas A&M (17-0), and would take a perfect record into its ACC opener this weekend against Notre Dame (11-5, 0-3). It is one win shy of tying the 2013 team for the second-best start in program history, though 2007’s 23-0 start remains a long way off.

The Seminoles were happy to celebrate all of that and did, coach Link Jarrett said. But their focus is not on the zero in the loss column or their 17-game winning streak (dating back to last season), which is tied with A&M for the longest in the nation. Instead, they’re focused on the pitch-by-pitch results, a process Jarrett has instilled in them.

“They’re excited about how they’re playing more than the record,” Jarrett said. “They’re approaching each game as a single game and either you’re going to be undefeated or you’re going to lose that game.

“I don’t think they’re going out there with that overriding intent (to stay undefeated). I don’t think the theme is, ‘Can we be undefeated?’ It’s, ‘Can you figure out how to win a game?’”

Florida State this season has done an excellent job figuring out how to win games. It comes into ACC play firing on all cylinders. The Seminoles are averaging 12.0 runs per game, fourth best nationally. Their team ERA is 2.93, seventh best nationally. They’re fielding .981, 22nd nationally. They have stars at the plate, like sophomore third baseman Cam Smith (.485/.545/.721, 4 HR) and junior outfielder James Tibbs III (.387/.480/.903, 8 HR), and on the mound in sophomore righthander Cam Leiter (3-0, 2.70) and sophomore lefthander Jamie Arnold (4-0, 0.00).

You can scoff at the schedule if you want. Just two of Florida State’s opponents enter the weekend with winning records (Florida and South Florida) and it’s played just one game against a likely NCAA Tournament team. Ten of Florida State’s first 15 games have come at home and its one trip outside the state was to Greenville, S.C., for the First Pitch Invitational, where it played Illinois (5-10), Michigan State (5-9) and Western Michigan (7-8). It’s not a non-conference schedule that is going to rate in upper echelon at the end of the year, even with two more games against Florida to come.

But getting caught up in Florida State’s schedule strength is missing the forest for the trees. The Seminoles were 22-31 last season. They missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977 and finished last in the ACC at 9-21. And, yes, they did start last season 7-1 with a series win at TCU, but by this time a year ago they had already fallen to 11-5 with a home series loss to Florida Gulf Coast.

The progress from where Florida State was at the end of last season to where it is today, nine months later is remarkable. It came through a lot of hard work from Jarrett, his largely new coaching staff and the Seminoles.

Last season was Jarrett’s first as head coach of his alma mater. He arrived in late June 2022, following Notre Dame’s College World Series run and inherited a young roster. When some key injuries hit, the Seminoles were unable to recover and suffered through the first losing season in program history.

Following the season, assistant coaches Rich Wallace (UCF) and Chuck Ristano (Navy) were hired away to be head coaches. Jarrett brought in Ty Megahee from Pittsburgh to replace Wallace as recruiting coordinator and Micah Posey from Dallas Baptist to take over from Ristano as pitching coach. Brad Vanderglas, who joined the program with Jarrett from Notre Dame, remained on staff as the team’s third assistant coach.

That group went to work trying to bolster the roster. Florida State had a solid traditional recruiting class committed already and it mostly stuck together through the draft. It arrived on campus ranked No. 6 nationally. The Seminoles also hit the transfer portal hard, adding several impactful players like Leiter (UCF) and infielders Daniel Cantu (South Florida), Drew Farout (UCF) and Alex Lodise (North Florida).

The injection of talent was needed. But Florida State was also able to add quality players at its positions of greatest need.

“Adding transfers is one thing,” Jarrett said. “Filling your needs and being able to land what you need is another. We did a nice job of settling the landscape of what the roster looks like and add some talented kids.”

Leiter has proven to be the gem of the bunch. He comes from the famous baseball family and his father Kurt pitched in Double-A. But he didn’t have nearly the buzz as a New Jersey prep pitcher as his cousin Jack, who could have been a first rounder in 2019 but instead went on to become the second overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Vanderbilt. Cam went to UCF out of high school and pitched well in the Knights’ rotation as a freshman, going 3-2, 4.92 with 80 strikeouts and 41 walks in 56.2 innings.

Leiter entered the transfer portal following a coaching change at UCF and he quickly settled on FSU, committing in early June. After an impressive fall, he earned the Opening Day start and has emerged as a projected first rounder in 2025.

Jarrett said when he first watched video of Leiter when he entered the transfer portal, he saw flashes of what he could become. When he got on campus and started throwing bullpens, Jarrett realized he was truly a premium talent. Leiter runs his fastball up to 98 mph, throws two distinct breaking balls and mixes in a good changeup. He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 218 pounds and while his command could still improve, it’s an exciting overall package.

Leiter’s physical traits make him stand out. But Jarrett has also been impressed by his mentality and makeup.

“He knows the game, he knows what he’s doing, he’s studied the game, he has been around the game and was brought up in the game,” Jarrett said. “His love for the game in the dugout, his love for what’s going on is infectious.”

Arnold has excelled in his No. 2 role, holding opponents to one run (unearned) in 22 innings, striking out 32 batters and walking five. He’s made a significant jump in his second year of college baseball after going 2-5, 6.34 as a freshman. His velocity has ticked up this season, reaching the mid 90s after typically sitting around 90 mph last year.

With Leiter and Arnold at the front of the rotation, Florida State has one of the best one-two punches in the ACC. And Jarrett is excited to this weekend see his originally scheduled rotation lined up together for the first time, as Connor Whittaker (2-0, 3.63) is slated to start Sunday’s series finale. An Opening Weekend rainout messed with Florida State’s pitching plans and Whittaker made his first three starts in midweek action.

If Whittaker settles into the No. 3 role and Florida State’s bullpen continues to get quality work from the likes of Ben Barrett (1-0, 1.86), Joe Charles (0-0, 0.00), Carson Dorsey (2-0, 3.75) and Brennan Oxford (0-0, 2.89, 2 SV), this pitching staff starts to look pretty deep. For a team that last year ranked 12th in the ACC with a 5.75 team ERA, that would be a big leap.

Also helping the pitching staff is an improved defense. The Seminoles last year ranked last in the ACC in fielding (.966). A revamped infield, led by Lodise taking over at shortstop and Farout at second base, and being healthier behind the plate has helped them make a jump.

Offensively, Florida State has a deep lineup. Smith and DeAmez Ross (.321/.420/.415, 6 SB) made significant jumps in their second season of college baseball. Tibbs, the team’s leading hitter a season ago, is already nearly halfway to his 2023 home run total of 17. The newcomers have made their presence felt as well, with Farout (.406/.444/.656, 11 2B) and Lodise (.341/.474/.614, 3 HR) again standing out.

Jarrett said he went into the season believing the Seminoles had the makings of a solid lineup and that evaluation looks to be spot on—no mistake considering his track record for developing hitters.

“Going into it, I’m thinking there’s a chance for a functional group,” he said. “You have guys that hit for average, you have power threats brewing, you hope you run enough so base stealing is another dimension.

“You stir it up and you feel like there’s a chance for this to be a functional offensive group. We have guys not playing that deserve to be playing, so that creates depth and creates competition within the program so everyone stays sharp.”

As well as things are going now for Florida State—and things are going pretty well during a 15-game winning streak—there’s still work to be done. Tuesday’s game at Florida was just the start of the schedule stiffening. After hosting Notre Dame this weekend, Florida State next weekend travels to No. 9 Clemson (15-1) for what will be its toughest test yet.

And Jarrett still sees room for improvement in a variety of areas.

“We have to clean some things up,” he said. “There are things that I see—I may be the only one to see it—but I see it.”

But on March 15, as ACC play begins, Florida State can feel good about where it is. After a dismal 2023, the Seminoles are back in familiar territory and ready to compete with the best teams in the conference.