Family Brought Transfer Jackson McKenzie to Florida State

As soon as the 2026 baseball season ended for Florida State, the transfer portal started spinning out of control.

Players seeking more playing time entered the portal to leave the Seminoles program, while others were lured to Tallahassee by baseball tradition and to reunite with family. That is how 1B/LHP Jackson McKenzie found his way to a senior year suited up in the garnet and gold.

McKenzie’s sister, Shelby, plays softball at Florida State, and she earned second-team All-ACC as a utility player. When the opportunity arose for Jackson to reunite with his sibling and to further his development and growth as a player at a D1 program like Florida State, he jumped at the chance.

As a junior at Florida A&M this past season, McKenzie batted .398 with 10 home runs and 47 runs batted in. He struck out 34 times.

The journey to Florida State was a long and winding road. McKenzie began his collegiate career at Mississippi State. Later, he dropped to the junior college level in an effort to get more reps on the field and improve his baseball skills, and landed at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Florida. Later, he was on the move again, landing in Tallahassee to play for the Rattlers of FAMU.

On the At the Plate episode of the Side Retired Podcast, McKenzie talked about how his baseball journey landed him in Tallahassee with Florida A&M and now at Florida State.

"I owe everything to coach Jamie Shoup at FAMU. He was transparent with me about saying if I had a good year, he didn't care that if i chose to go to a bigger school and that he would be a great resource for me at my time at FAMU," McKenzie said.  

"So you don't see that nowadays with coaches, like they tell you one thing to get you to campus, and then when that portal time comes, they are pissed off at you,” he added. “But Jamie, Coach Shoup was transparent with me the whole time. He definitely put in a good word for me at FSU, and after a week or so, set up the visit and everything."

It was not a hard sell. Florida State’s facilities are some of the best in college baseball, and couple that with a family reunion and McKenzie was hooked.  

"It's kind of a dream come true for my sister and I to be the first concurrent siblings to both play at FSU and school history,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie will join fellow transfer Coy Clements, a JUCO All-American catcher from Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. Both players will embody a power surge at the plate for the Seminoles. With a combined 34 home runs and 118 runs batted in, Jarrett has to be pleased with the new additions to his team and what the 2027 team could look like.

The roster will come into focus once the Major League Draft is completed next month. All-ACC freshman John Stuetzer returns, and outfielders Brody DeLamielleure and Brayden Dowd could return as well.

McKenzie will fill a void as first basemen Eli Putnam and potentially Myles Bailey may have played their last game in the garnet and gold. Bailey’s season-ending injury suffered against Duke could affect his draft status, dropping him to the lower rounds.

If that happens, Bailey would have a decision to make. If Bailey comes back, both he and McKenzie could swap out at first base and designated hitter in an effort to keep both talented stars in the lineup at the same time.  

McKenzie’s focus is to grow and develop into the best baseball version of himself, with the love and support of his sister and a baseball family.

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