The Florida State Seminoles baseball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. Florida State competes in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

, and the Atlantic Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). The Florida State Seminoles are the second most successful NCAA Division I college baseball program in percentage of games won, with an all-time win percentage of , second behind

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The Seminoles rank sixth in all-time number of total wins and second in post-season wins. The Seminoles have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 59 times, advancing to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

23 times — and have appeared in the CWS Championship Game or Championship Series on three occasions (1970, 1986, and 1999). Florida State has won 11 regular-season conference championships and 20 conference tournament championships, including nine regular-season ACC championships and eight ACC tournament championships. Florida State has had 100

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and 62 players that went on to play

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Former Seminoles who have gone on to have success include

Randy Choate Randol Doyle Choate (born September 5, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. The New York Yankees selected him in the 1997 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft from Florida State University. Choate made his MLB debut for the ...

J. D. Drew David Jonathan "J. D." Drew (born November 20, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals, and also played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Bo ...

Stephen Drew Stephen Oris Drew (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Na ...

Ron Fraser Ronald George Fraser (June 25, 1933 – January 20, 2013) was the college baseball coach at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball," he was one of the most successful coaches in NCAA baseball history ...

Johnny Grubb John Maywood Grubb, Jr. (born August 4, 1948 in Richmond, Virginia) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who also occasionally played at first base. He played with the San Diego Padres (1972–1976), Cleveland In ...

, Terry Kennedy,

Doug Mientkiewicz Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz ( ; born June 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1998 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Minnesota Twins wher ...

, Shane Robinson,

Larry Rothschild Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. Rothschild played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1981 and 1982. He has coached for the Cincinnati Reds, A ...

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

Paul Sorrento Paul Anthony Sorrento (born November 17, 1965) is the Los Angeles Angels assistant hitting coach. He is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 1999, Sorrento played for the Minnesota Twins (1989–1991), Cleveland Indi ...

Kevin Cash Kevin Forrest Cash (born December 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Cash played catcher in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, ...

Woody Woodward William Frederick "Woody" Woodward (born September 23, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player, college baseball coach, and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball, primarily as a shortstop from 1963 to 1971 for the ...

, and

Jameis Winston Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the He ...

. The Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, presented annually to the top catcher in college baseball, is named for Florida State hall of famer

Buster Posey Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III (born March 27, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Posey spent his entire twelve-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the San Francisco Giants, from 2009 until his retirement at ...

. Former head coach Mike Martin is the winningest coach in the history of college baseball. The Seminoles play their home games on campus at

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium is a baseball venue located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, located adjacent to Doak Campbell Stadium on the campus of Florida State University. It is the home field of the Florida State Semino ...

on the university's

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, campus and are coached by

Link Jarrett Lincoln "Link" Jarrett (born January 26, 1972) is an American college baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of the Florida State Seminoles. Jarrett played college baseball at Florida State University from 19 ...

Program history

Seminole baseball is one of the most successful

collegiate baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

programs in the United States having been to 23

in 59 Tournament appearances, and having appeared in the national championship final on three occasions (falling to the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

in 1970, the Arizona Wildcats in 1986, and the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

in 1999). While under the command of head coach #11 Mike Martin ( FSU alumnus, 1966), Florida State became the winningest program in the history of college baseball. Since 1990, FSU has had more 50 win seasons, hosted more

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Tournaments, and finished in the top 10 more than any team in the nation. Since 2000, FSU has been one of the best programs in

with more victories and a higher winning percentage in the regular season than any other school. FSU has made the postseason 44 years in a row. FSU also has two 60 win seasons and twenty-four 50 win seasons. FSU has hosted more Super Regional Tournaments than any team in the nation. In 2012, FSU passed

for the most all-time wins in regionals and super regionals. In 2014, FSU set the record for the most National Seed selections of all-time. In 2017, FSU defeated

Cal-State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, in the 1000th College World Series game. FSU has never had a losing season in its history; there is no other team at any level of college baseball that has never had a losing season.

Early history (1948–1980)

The first coach of the Florida State Seminoles was Charlie Armstrong, who spent four years with the program and compiled a record of 46–29. Ralph Matherly became the second coach of the Seminoles. Matherly served as head coach for three years and compiled a record of 43–22–1.

Danny Litwhiler Daniel Webster Litwhiler (August 31, 1916 – September 23, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1940 to 1951 for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelp ...

was named as the third coach at Florida State. Litwhiler spent nine years coaching the Seminoles and compiled a record of 189–83. He is the second longest tenured coach in the history of the Florida State program. The fourth coach of Florida State was

Fred Hatfield Fred James Hatfield (March 18, 1925 – May 22, 1998), nicknamed "Scrap Iron", was a Major League Baseball infielder who played nine seasons in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52), Detroit Tigers (1952–56), Chicago White So ...

. Hatfield was coach of the Seminoles for five years, and he compiled a record of 157–57–1. Jack Stallings spent six years as head coach at Florida State. Stallings compiled a record of 248–107–3, making him the second winningest coach at the school. As the sixth coach of the Seminoles,

led Florida State to an overall record 174–57 in his four years spent as head coach.

Dick Howser Richard Dalton Howser (May 14, 1936 – June 17, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach, and manager who was best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s and for guiding them to the franchise's first ...

returned to his alma mater to serve as head coach of the Florida State Seminoles for one year and guided the team to a 43–17–1 record.

Mike Martin years (1980–2022)

Mike Martin Sr. era (1980–2019)

Mike Martin was the coach of the Seminoles for 40 years after serving as an assistant for five years. He is the winningest coach in school history and his teams never won less than 40 games a season and reached the postseason in every year of his tenure, advancing to the world series on 17 occasions; in 2017, Martin won his 1900th game, becoming just the second coach in college baseball history to reach that milestone, in 2018, he become the winningest coach in college baseball, and in his final season, he became the first coach in history to win 2,000 games. During his tenure, he had 85 players drafted in the first ten rounds of the

MLB Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

including 19 first round picks.

Mike Martin Jr. era (2020–2022)

On June 21, 2019, Mike Martin Jr., a former player and assistant, was named head coach of the Seminoles. He guided Florida State to two appearances in the NCAA tournament during his tenure although the Seminoles were eliminated in the regionals on both occasions. On June 10, 2022, Martin was let go following three seasons, ending forty-three years of a Martin at the helm of the program.

Link Jarrett era (2023–present)

On June 24, 2022,

, a former player under Martin Sr., was named head coach of the Seminoles.

Venue

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium is the home of the Seminoles and is located in

, on the campus of Florida State University. It is primarily used for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and is the home field of the Florida State Seminoles baseball team. It opened in 1983 and after a two-year, $12 million project was completed in 2004 to make it one of the top collegiate baseball facilities in the United States, upgrading the stadium to a 6,700 capacity level. FSU's record crowd of 6,789 was set on April 19, 2008 with a defeat of then #1

by a score of 9–5.

Head coaches

*''Records are through the 2022 season'' *^{^}4 wins were vacated due to the academic scandal in 2007.

Current coaching staff

*Head coach:

*Assistant coach: Brad Vanderglas *Pitching coach: Chuck Ristano *Hitting coach/Recruiting coordinator: Rich Wallace

Traditions

Animals of Section B

Before the home half of the 5th inning, a group of fans known as 'The Animals of Section B', lead the Seminoles crowd in singing the Canadian national anthem,

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

. This tradition is claimed to have started on February 13, 1988, during the 1988 Winter Olympics in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, when FSU was playing

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...

. During the bottom of the 5th inning, with the score tied 2–2, a member of The Animals began humming the Canadian anthem. As the Seminoles began to rally for more and more runs, more Animals joined in the humming and the team scored eight runs that inning. With baseball being a sport with a long history of

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

, The Animals have maintained the tradition ever since.

Sunday Golds

A tradition that began during the Mike Martin era, the Seminoles wear their gold uniforms for every game that they play on a Sunday.

Records and results

Year-by-year results

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, C = Conference *^{^}4 total wins vacated due to the academic scandal
*^{^}3 ACC wins vacated due to the academic scandal

Polls

Florida State been ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Division I Final Poll 54 times as of the end of the 2021 season. ''Top-10 finishes are colored ██''

All-time record vs. ACC teams

Florida State baseball maintains a winning record against all current ACC teams. *^{^}3 ACC wins are vacated from 2007 due to the academic scandal

Rivalries

Florida State in the NCAA tournament

Mike Martin coaches FSU at the College World Series

Florida State has appeared in the NCAA tournament a total of 59 times () the second most appearances of any team in history, including 44 straight appearances, the longest active streak and tied for the longest streak in tournament history. The Seminoles have hosted regionals a nation-leading total of 35 times (), including eight consecutive times from 2011–2018, have been selected as a national seed a total of 11 times (), the most of any school, and have advanced to a super-regional a nation-leading total of 17 times (), including six straight appearances from 2008–2013. *The

NCAA Division I baseball tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb ...

started in 1947. *The

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

of the tournament has changed through the years.

College World Series

Florida State has made twenty-three appearances in the

, compiling a 30–46 record and advancing to the title game on three occasions.

Championships

National Championship appearances

Florida State has appeared in the College World Series National Championship game three times in 1970, 1986 and 1999.

Divisional Championships

Conference Regular Season Championships

Conference Tournament Championships

Awards

Dick Howser Trophy

Golden Spikes Award

National Awards

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sp ...

–

(2008),

Matheu Nelson Matheu Adam Nelson (born January 14, 1999) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He played college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles. Amateur career Nelson grew up in Largo, Florida and attended ...

(2021) *

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

–

(2008) *America Baseball Coaches Association National Player of the Year –

(1997),

(2008), James Ramsey (2012) *Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year Award – Terry Kennedy (1977),

Mike Fuentes Michael Jay Fuentes (born July 11, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He attended Florida State University, where he was the 1981 recipient of the Golden Spikes Award. Career Fuentes was selected by the Montreal Expos with ...

(1981), Jeff Ledbetter (1982), Mike Loynd (1986),

(1997), Shane Robinson (2005), Tony Thomas, Jr. (2007),

(2008) *National Rookie of the Year –

Matt Diaz Matthew Edward Diaz ( ; born March 3, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins. Amate ...

(1998), Blair Varnes (1999),

(2002),

Sean Gilmartin Sean Patrick Gilmartin (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Gilmartin was the 28th overall s ...

(2009) *John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year – Mike McGee (2010) * Rawlings Gold Glove Award –

(2008), Tyler Holt (2009), Sherman Johnson (2012) *

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

– James Ramsey (2012) *Baseball America's National Coach of the Year – Mike Martin (2012, 2019) *Perfect Game/Rawlings National Coach of the Year - Mike Martin (2019) *Perfect Game Player of the Year: Matheu Nelson (2021)

Conference awards

*ACC Player of the Year –

(1997), Marshall McDougall (1999),

John-Ford Griffin John-Ford David Griffin (born November 19, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays. Early life An All-State athlete at Sarasota High School, was part of a s ...

(2001), Tony Thomas, Jr. (2007),

(2008), James Ramsey (2012), D. J. Stewart (2014),

(2021) * ACC Pitcher of the Year – Bryan Henry (2007),

Parker Messick Parker C. Messick (born October 26, 2000) is an American baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He played college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles. Amateur career Messick grew up in Plant City, Florida where he attende ...

(2021) *ACC Freshman of the Year – Jonathan Johnson (1993),

(2002),

(2021) *ACC Coach of the Year – Mike Martin (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2012)

All-Americans

*Luis Alicea *Mike Augustine *Roger Bailey *Ryan Barthelemy *Robert Benincasa *Allen Bevis *Barry Blackwell *Guillermo Bonilla *Jayce Boyd *Dylan Busby *Jim Busby *Brian Busch *

Stephen Cardullo Stephen Andrew Cardullo (born August 31, 1987) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman who is a free agent. After playing college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles, Cardullo played for the Colorado Rockies of Majo ...

*Kevin Cash *Ron Cash *Tyler Chambliss *Chris Chavez *Randy Choate *Bob Clem *Mike Compton *Tom Cook *Brian Cox *Wes Crawford *Daniel Davidson *Randy Davidson *Matt Diaz *J. D. Drew *Stephen Drew *Jack Dull *Matt Fairel *Frank Fazzini *Jaime Ferrer *Bien Figueroa *Gar Finnvold *J.C. Flowers *Mike Fuentes *Ed Fulton *Sean Gilmartin *Dick Gold *Richard Gonzalez *Brad Gregory *Rick Gremillion *John-Ford Griffin *Pedro Grifol *Brett Groves *Johnny Grubb *Mark Hallberg *Bryan Henry *Daniel Hodges *Tyler Holt * Tyler Holton *Dick Howser *Bryce Hubbart *Link Jarrett *Jonathan Johnson *Terry Kennedy *Ricky Kimball *Jeff Ledbetter *Brandon Leibrandt *Richie Lewis *John LiBrandi *Doug Little *Mickey Lopez *Mike Loynd *Matt Lynch *Jim Lyttle *Ryne Malone *Mike Martin Jr. *Robby Martin *Tyler Martin *Eddy Martinez-Esteve *Blane McDonald *Jon McDonald *Marshall McDougall *Mike McGee * Drew Mendoza *Parker Messick *Doug Mientkiewicz *Scooby Morgan *Jeremy Morris *Mat Nelson *Dick Nichols *Danny O'Brien *Pat Osburn *Drew Parrish *Geoff Parker *Craig Patterson *Eduardo Pérez *Trent Peterson *Buster Posey *Jeff Probst *Cal Raleigh *James Ramsey *Ray Revak *Tony Richie *Chris Roberts *Shane Robinson *Marc Ronan *Jack Rye *Jeremy Salazar *John Sansone *Mark Sauls *Brian Schultz *Jonah Scolaro *Scott Sitz *Chris Smith *Paul Sorrento *Gary Sprague *D.J. Stewart *Jason Stidham *Nick Stocks *Billy Strode *Ken Suarez *Stuart Tapley *Bud Teagle *Steve Tebbetts *Tony Thomas, Jr. *Devon Travis *Blair Varnes *C.J. Van Eyk *Taylor Walls *Jim Weaver *Luke Weaver *Conner Whittaker *Paul Wilson *Woody Woodward *David Yocum *Scott Zech

Notable players

Current professional players

Drafted players

Hall of Fame inductees

Two FSU players and one coach have been inducted into the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

Retired jerseys

Notable former players

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida State Seminoles Baseball Baseball teams established in 1948 1948 establishments in Florida

Program history

Early history (1948–1980)

Mike Martin years (1980–2022)

Mike Martin Sr. era (1980–2019)

Mike Martin Jr. era (2020–2022)

Link Jarrett era (2023–present)

Venue

Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium

Head coaches

Current coaching staff

Traditions

Animals of Section B

Sunday Golds

Records and results

Year-by-year results

Polls

All-time record vs. ACC teams

Rivalries

Florida State in the NCAA tournament

College World Series

Championships

National Championship appearances

Divisional Championships

Conference Regular Season Championships

Conference Tournament Championships

Awards

Dick Howser Trophy

Golden Spikes Award

National Awards

Conference awards

All-Americans

Notable players

Current professional players

Drafted players

Hall of Fame inductees

Retired jerseys

Notable former players

See also

References

External links