A dominant rotation and 40-win season culminated in postseason heartbreak as injuries stifled the Seminoles' offensive firepower, leaving Link Jarrett’s squad just short of a deeper run.
After hosting a regional for the 38th time in school history, the No. 10 national seed Florida State Seminoles ended their season with a 5-4 loss to St. John’s in the Tallahassee regional on Monday.
The Seminoles finished the 2026 campaign with a 40-19 record and a 19-11 mark in ACC play. It was the third consecutive season with 40 or more wins. Against ranked opponents, the Seminoles recorded a sweep of No. 12 Wake Forest, and series wins over then No. 10 NC State and then No. 10 Virginia. But against in-state rival Florida, Florida State was 0-3 against the Gators, scoring just six runs in those three games.
The 2026 Seminoles were loaded with talent that could hit for power and hit for average, and placed four of their own on All-ACC teams. Pitcher Wes Mendes earned first-team All-ACC honors and was named ACC Pitcher of the Year. Mendes finished the season with a 9-3 record, 125 strikeouts and 25 walks. Opposing batters hit just .207 against him.
The Seminoles season changed dramatically when first baseman Myles Bailey suffered a leg injury in the Duke series and was done for the season. Until that point, Bailey was hitting .363 and blasted 13 home runs and 33 runs batted in. But other players stepped up to compensate for the loss of Bailey’s production.
Three players were named third-team All-ACC: pitcher John Abraham, pitcher Trey Beard and outfielder Brayden Dowd. Abraham posted six saves and 58 strikeouts, to go with a 1.91 ERA. He was the ace out of the bullpen until a late-season injury caused him to miss the Miami series and limited his action the rest of the season.
Beard was the Saturday starter and posted a 6-1 record with 97 strikeouts and 24 walks. Beard, along with Mendes and Bryson Moore, was part of a rotation that helped Florida State rank second in the conference in ERA (3.97) and in strikeouts (630).
Dowd patrolled the outfield, along with John Stuetzer and Brody DeLamielleure. Dowd batted .293 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI and earned third-team All-ACC honors. DeLamielleure batted .343 and had and recorded an 18-game hitting streak. Stuetzer earned All-ACC Freshman recognition after leading the Seminoles in runs batted in with 43. He batted .270 and collected 10 home runs.
One of the good stories to come out of this season was the emergence of converted pitcher Ben Barrett. Barrett, who saw little to no action over the previous three seasons, led all active players with a .364 average as a first baseman, and provided some timely production when it counted the most.
A dejected coach Link Jarrett spoke with the media after the devastating loss to St. John’s and talked about his team’s fight and preparation throughout the season, and the effects of ending your season with a loss,
“These guys absolutely fought and never stopped. Um, I don't know that we ever saw our personnel intact to provide the opportunity to see everybody full speed ahead health-wise. That was a part of our story this year,” said Jarrett.
Jarrett continued, “The fight of the group is something that I felt with this team more than any other team. Why that was it's an accumulation of the tenacity of the guys in the locker room. Man, that's where the fight comes from. And they all pull for each other and they want to win.”
“I hadn't been in a dugout that was that eerie and that silent after a loss like that. And the locker room was worse. And overcoming some of the injuries with the position players was also part of our story to hopefully not ever repeat something like that,” Jarrett said.
It remains to be seen which players will return for next season. The Major League Draft will impact those who could return, as will the transfer portal. This will be a developing story throughout the off-season.
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