Link Jarrett met with the media to kick off Florida State baseball’s preseason camp on Monday. He covered a lot of information about the team and their outlook going into the 2026 season. He spoke about his view of the team at this point, along with the overall roster construction heading into the year. The season begins Feb. 13 vs. James Madison, and there is much to be finalized about this roster before then.
Jarrett described the landscape of college baseball as something that has changed “lightyears”
since he started coaching. This dynamic of the transfer portal, along with the MLB draft which took 11 players from Florida State — tied for most in the NCAA — has caused the recruiting process to be less straightforward than it used to be.
Jarrett acknowledged that his team is older this season, due to the many departures, but that the newness of the players still plays a factor in their development and figuring out team dynamics. FSU’s 2026 team will get back 44.6% of its games started for its position players.
The pitching group suffered huge losses after the departure of Jamie Arnold, Peyton Prescott, Joey Volini, Evan Chrest, Maison Martinez, and even untapped talent Cam Leiter. Jarrett responded by adding some top portal arms to bolster the staff’s depth. The pitching staff, especially the bullpen, has been the focus of criticism for this Florida State team over the past few years, and Jarrett responded with a lot of action in the portal on that front.
Infield
With some major departures in last year’s draft, the Florida State infield could see some new faces this season. Jarrett reflected on the middle infield from last year of Alex Lodise and Drew Faurot saying, “I think the middle infield we had last year was as good as I’ve ever coached”.
There is a clear transition that has to occur with the departure of two players of that caliber in the same position group.
“We’re going to have to replace those guys. We have capable bodies,” Jarrett said. “The consistency, playing clean, playing smart and understanding the team fundamentals were something that Lodise and Faurot did really well last year and something that we’re going to have to figure out as we move forward.”
We’ll start with First Base, because it seems to be the position that is the most solidified in this infield. Myles Bailey will hold down the fort over at first as Florida State’s everyday starter in 2026. The draft-eligible sophomore turned in a .327 batting average with a 1.104 OPS as a true freshman. He also added 19 homers and 56 RBIs to that count. Coach Jarrett has long praised Bailey’s effort to continue to improve on the defensive side of the ball at first base, and I think this is the most shoe-in of any infield position on the team.
At the hot corner, there are a few names in the hat for guys that have a shot to play serious time at the spot. Cal Fisher started the most games at third base last season, but we could see guys like Eli Putnam, Gabe Fraser or Carter McCulley show the ability to give Florida State good play at third. Out of these guys, Putnam seems most likely to play third base on a consistent basis, especially with his play there during scrimmages in the fall.
In the middle of the infield, the departures are significant. Lodise and Faurot held these two spots for the last two seasons and did it with excellence. Replacing these two will be quite the task, although there are plenty of candidates in the mix to do just that. Fisher, although he played mostly third base last season, was initially a middle infielder to begin his career at Florida State, and could see some time at second base primarily in 2026.
As earlier mentioned, Putnam has the versatility to play all around the infield, including potentially at the second base spot. Jace Estes is another name in that conversation. At shortstop, Fraser, an Arkansas transfer, seems to be the most likely to start. McCulley has also seen growth and has been spoken highly of in the fall. He would be another candidate to play that shortstop position.
Catcher
After a year in which Jarrett described the catcher position and his guys’ struggles with health by saying, “The wear and tear behind the plate has got us in the past year,” the coach emphasized health as a huge factor for the catchers coming into this year. He also said about the specific health of the players, “(Hunter) Carns and Nate (Cmeyla), we need to get those guys back to full speed; they’re still fighting through some issues.” These two look to be the primary catchers for this Florida State team this season. Hunter Carns was the No. 12 overall ranked player and number 1 ranked catcher in the nation by Perfect Game coming out of high school in the 2024 class. He turned in a freshman campaign with a batting average of .286 and an .860 OPS. He looks to be a candidate to continue to rise as he enters his sophomore season behind the plate. Along with him, the veteran Cmeyla returns for his sixth season — his second with the Seminoles as a Dartmouth transfer — to add a veteran presence to the room. As Jarrett noted, both of the catchers are looking to get healthy before the season begins.
Outfield
The outfield unit also saw the departure of two key starters to the draft in Max Williams and Gage Harrelson. In Jarrett’s first press conference of the spring, he was quick to note true freshman John Stuetzer and his phenomenal fall. Brayden Dowd landed at Florida State after his tenure with USC. He could see time in any of the three outfield spots. Chase Williams didn’t get to properly showcase his talent last season due to the injury bug, but is certainly capable of playing any spot in the outfield as well. Jarrett heavily emphasized his desire for each of his outfielders to be able to play all three spots, especially having the versatility to be able to man center field. Another candidate for playing time in the outfield is redshirt sophomore Brody DeLamielleure, who saw over 100 at bats last season as a redshirt freshman. Noah Sheffield and BJ Gibson are two other guys to keep an eye on for potential outfield spots. Depending on how the infield shakes out for Sheffield, we could see a move to the outfield. Gibson is still getting integrated into the program after fully committing to baseball, so we will continue to see more of his path unfold in the coming days.
Pitching
The pitching staff saw the most change out of any group in this program. 13 new arms enter the mix for this 2026 Seminoles pitching staff. The main returners on this staff are John Abraham, Ben Barrett, Payton Manca, and Wes Mendes. The headliners in the addition’s to this pitching staff are FAU transfer Trey Beard, Duke transfer Gabe Nard, Oregon transfer Cole Stokes and Virginia transfer Bryson Moore.
The coach outlined his pitching staff this season of a balanced mix of righties and lefties. The group is an older group that brings a lot of experience to the table.
Coach Jarrett commented on some of the pitchers and the areas in which they had an opportunity to develop going into this season. He mentioned Abraham’s fastball velo trending up, while continuing to refine his breaking ball that has been up and down so far throughout his career. Jarrett had encouraging words about Barrett, who he said works harder than anyone on the team. Jarrett also made it clear Barrett’s stuff and location — both of which he’s shown in stretches — need to come together at the same time in his fourth season. He mentioned the right-handed Stokes, an incoming junior transfer from Oregon, and his very large upside. The coach immediately made the claim, “I think he’s going to throw 100 miles an hour.” He also highlighted Stokes’ slider and his ability to control it.
When asked about what the coach looks for in the portal out of pitchers, he said “You’re just grading out stuff,” and “You want to have a variety if you can get it.” After losing left-handed pitcher Jacob Marlowe for the year to Tommy John surgery, the coach was adamant that the team will be okay, although the loss is heartbreaking.
“We’re building up 10 arms, pitch-count-wise, for a while, but that’s not going to continue the whole preseason. But we do want to build up a good bulk, and they’ll increase,” Jarrett said of how he’s handling management of the staff and who to extend in the preseason. “There is a cap at some point with some of the pitchers, and not everybody is going to get to 65-70 pitches in the preseason. Our hope is that as we go through the next four or five weeks, we get to a spot where we have a handful of guys that can throw 70-75 pitches on opening weekend.”
