Link Jarrett reflects on path bringing Florida State to College World Series

Link Jarrett is no stranger to the College World Series, having been there both as a coach and a player. Now just two years after taking over at his alma mater of Florida State, he’s back.

The Seminoles defeated UConn by a score of 10-8 on Saturday to complete a sweep in Super Regionals and earn their first trip to Omaha since 2019. Jarrett appeared in the CWS three times as a player at FSU from 1991-94 and also took Notre Dame there in 2022.

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But with this being his first time taking the Seminoles there as a coach, it meant a little more. He reflected on the journey to get there in his postgame press conference.

“There’s five facets of program building and managing the players in the game,” Jarret said. “As you move to different programs, different programs need assets and tweaking to get the roster and the program how you want it constructed and playing. So I reflect on how challenging that is, especially in this day and age. Not easy to put it together. We dealt with recruiting. Our morning in that coaches’ locker room was unlike any recruiting discussions we had to make. That went on all summer last year.

“Then when you flip it to, ‘all right, it’s time for fall practice,’ you’re trying to grind and help them find the moments and the ways to play baseball this way. So there’s a lot that goes into it and I’m proud. It’s not easy to go there. We have to put them in the right position and hopefully the right mindset and we have to have the correct amount of talent to go compete against the teams that you see out here. They have to go execute it and be within themselves and play the games. That’s how I look at this. I’m so excited for these guys.”

Players that Jarrett recruited to Tallahassee such as Cam Smith and Marco Dinges have been pivotal in the Seminoles’ run. They’ve combined for 31 home runs and Smith leads the team with a .402 batting average. FSU ranks ninth in the country as a team with a .316 average.

Florida State has the third-most College World Series appearances of any program with 24. Despite this, the Seminoles have never won a title, coming runner-up three times.

Notre Dame also fell short in its trip to Omaha under Jarrett. However, the coach believes that going through the process and knowing what to expect will make him better prepared this time around.

He’s excited for his players to get the chance to compete in what he considers to be one of the best sporting events to take place every year.

“There’s a lot of things that come at you when you’re in Omaha,” Jarrett said. “There’s a lot of interviews. There’s a lot of distractions. There’s a lot of people. But I think the first opening weekend in Omaha is right up there an experience at an NFL Super Bowl-type game. The Final Four. Augusta. It’s that and they’re gonna feel it.”

Florida State will arrive in Omaha for the College World Series next week, as it is set to begin on June 14 at Charles Schwab Field.

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