Ahead of Florida State baseball kicking off its 2026 season with a three-game series against JMU, head coach Link Jarrett, entering his fourth year with the program, met with the local Tallahassee media
on Thursday.
Most notably, Jarrett announced the starting weekend rotation for FSU to begin the year: LHP Wes Mendes, who will be the Friday night starter, LHP Trey Beard, and RHP Bryson Moore. Mendes was the Seminoles’ Sunday starter a season ago and made starts in the Tallahassee Regional and the Corvallis Super Regional during the 2025 postseason.
The first two spots of the rotation were expected, but Moore had to earn the right to be a starter on the weekend. The junior transferred to FSU after two seasons at UVA, where he only threw a combined 31.1 innings in his time in Charlottesville. He oozes potential with a mid-90s fastball that headlines a five-pitch mix, but staying healthy and consistent will be key to Moore’s success this season.
Here was Jarrett on why he decided to go with Mendes as the Friday-night starter:
“The pitch mix is noticeable. He’s got multiple breaking pitches. The changeup has always been very good. The fastball life has always been very good. His continued growth and additional success will come from repeatability.”
Along with the weekend rotation, Florida State had ongoing competitions in the middle infield. Jarrett decided to go with Cal Fisher at shortstop to begin the year, but remains undecided on the rest of his defensive lineup. Fisher mostly played third base during his time at Florida State, but has also seen time at shortstop and second base. Now, entering his junior year, the Wisconsin native will take over for Alex Lodise.
Here was the head man on Fisher:
“He has been very consistent. I think his knowledge of what we’re trying to do systematically helps that. His throwing accuracy stands out to me…He’s got a knack for the double play feed and pivot at that positon and he’s solidified the opportunity to play short tomorrow.”
Florida State baseball opens its campaign against JMU on Friday, marking its second consecutive year beginning the season against the Dukes. FSU is 9-0 all-time against James Madison. The Seminoles are ranked #16 in D1 Baseball and #12 in The Athletic’s preseason polls.
