In Link Jarrett’s fourth season leading the Florida State baseball team, the Seminoles will take a big step up in nonconference competition this weekend.
FSU is competing against a top-10 opponent and two other high-major opponents with a history of postseason success in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas.
It’ll be the first time the Seminoles have played in an MLB stadium since 2018, and they’ll get to do it three times, facing Michigan Friday at noon, No. 9 Auburn Saturday
at 4 p.m. and Nebraska Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
“This is quite the tournament,” Jarrett said Thursday. “Clearly, you can see the level of competition. I feel like this has the bracket in Omaha-type potential.”
It’ll certainly be a change for the 16th-ranked Seminoles (3-0), who haven’t played in these high-profile events of late. The timing is good for an early-season test after Florida State disposed of James Madison in a two-game sweep and then smashed Jacksonville on the road Wednesday, winning its last two games by way of the run rule.
It remains at least somewhat up in the air if Florida Atlantic transfer Trey Beard will be able to make his Seminole debut this weekend. He was scratched last Saturday due to a stomach bug.
Jarrett said that Beard threw a bullpen earlier this week and will do so again today during the team’s practice at Globe Life Field. A determination of his status will be made after his session today.
“He’s doing a lot better. I guess when you have that stomach virus bug, it takes you awhile to get your strength back,” Jarrett said. “ … This is a long season. When somebody’s beat up like that, you want to be smart and wise.”
If Beard is able to go, he’ll start the Sunday game against Nebraska, which is currently listed as a TBD in FSU’s game notes.
Wes Mendes will start the Michigan game after delivering five shutout innings last Friday on Opening Day, and Virginia transfer Bryson Moore will start Saturday’s game against Auburn after struggling in his FSU debut last Saturday, getting chased after allowing three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings.
As for the opponents, let’s go team-by-team in the order FSU will play them.
Michigan (3-1) is coming off playing in another neutral-site event last week in Surprise, Ariz. The Wolverines already have a pair of ranked wins, beating then-No. 12 Oregon State 5-3 on Opening Day and outlasting No. 24 Arizona 4-1 in its third of four games in Arizona. They also beat Stanford 7-6 before taking their first loss of the season, 5-4 in 10 innings in an Oregon State rematch on Monday.
The Wolverines haven’t been a very powerful lineup, with just one homer and five extra-base hits in four games, but their on-base percentage (.398) is nearly 100 points higher than their batting average (.299) because of the 21 walks they’ve worked. With 51 strikeouts, however, that’s also in their mix.
Michigan — like all of FSU’s opponents this weekend, hasn’t yet announced a starting pitcher for the Florida State game. Sophomore righty Tate Carey started on Friday last week, allowing three runs (all earned) on seven hits over five innings vs. Oregon State, so it feels likely you can pencil him in.
Auburn, which was the No. 4 overall seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament before losing a home regional to No. 13 Coastal Carolina, has gotten off to a somewhat wonky start to its 2025 season. Of the team’s 21 runs through four games, 17 of those came in one game.
The Tigers (3-1) eked out a pair of 2-1 wins in their first two games against Youngstown State last weekend and were blanked 8-0 Tuesday by Cincinnati. Remove that one explosive game and Auburn is hitting .196.
However, as rough as the offense has looked, the weekend rotation delivered against the Penguins, allowing a combined two earned runs. Sophomore southpaw Jackson Sanders allowed one run on two hits with eight strikeouts to one walk over six innings last Saturday vs. Youngstown State, making him the likely arm the Seminoles will face in their lone ranked matchup of the weekend.
Nebraska (3-1) also started the season at a neutral-site event in Arizona after making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The Cornhuskers didn’t play the premier level of programs that Michigan did, but they found success against some mid-major teams which have recently made the postseason.
Nebraska beat UConn, Northeastern and Grand Canyon by a combined margin of 28-7 before losing 11-6 to Stanford on Monday. The Cornhuskers lineup has been mashing early this season with 15 doubles and a .370 batting average.
Sophomore RHP Gavin Blachowicz started Sunday’s 9-1 win over Grand Canyon, potentially aligning him against FSU’s TBD starter. He allowed just two hits and one run over 4 2/3 innings, striking out five but walking two and hitting two more.
This weekend’s games are all unfortunately being streamed on the FloSports website. That means they will be the only FSU games this season not available through ESPN’s streaming service. You can subscribe to FloSports’ FloCollege service for $19.99 for a month to watch this weekend’s games. Remember to cancel immediately if you do.
Friday, February 20th, 12:00 p.m. ET vs. Michigan
- Pitching matchup: FSU Jr. LHP Wes Mendes (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Michigan TBD
- How to watch: FloSports
- How to listen: WFLA 100.7 FM
Michigan hitters to know:
- OF Brenden Slessler: .500/.563/.786 this season. First-year Saint Louis transfer who hit 11 homers last season for the Billikens
- OF Evan Haeger: .400/.500/.400 this season. All singles so far but he has six of them in the team’s first four games.
- DH Cade Ladehoff: .333/.474/.600 this season. Has three of the Wolverine’s five extra-base hits (two doubles and a triple).
Saturday, February 21st, 4:00 p.m. ET vs. Auburn
- Pitching matchup: FSU Jr. RHP Bryson Moore (0-0, 16.20 ERA) vs. Auburn TBD
- How to watch: FloSports
- How to listen: WFLA 100.7 FM
Auburn hitters to know:
- C Chase Fralick: .533/.588/.733 this season. Hit .335 last season as a freshman and seems to be carrying that into a hot 2026 start.
- 1B Bub Terrell: .412/.444/.706 this season. Another impactful freshman last season (17 doubles, .300 average) who has carried that into his sophomore season.
- 3B Eric Guevara: .353/.389/.529 this season. Three of the team’s eight doubles through four games, building off a breakout 2025 campaign.
Sunday, February 22nd, 3:30 p.m. ET vs. Nebraska
- Pitching matchup: FSU TBD vs. Nebraska TBD
- How to watch: FloSports
- How to listen: WFLA 100.7 FM
Nebraska hitters to know:
- 1B Case Sanderson: .500/.650/.643 this season. Seven hits (two doubles) and five runs early this season.
- 2B Jett Buck: .471/.500/.588 this season. A D-II Washburn transfer, he’s immediately adapted with eight hits in his first four D-I games.
- 3B Joshua Overbeek: .471/.550/.706 this season. One off the national lead with four doubles through four games this season.
