“I’m so proud of where the guys have fought to get us:” Link Jarrett previews Tallahassee Regional ahead of opening game on Friday

In just 24 hours, the No. 10 overall-seeded Florida State baseball team will open the Tallahassee regional against St. John’s, marking the third straight year FSU has hosted under head coach Link Jarrett. Before postseason play begins, Jarrett met with the local Tallahassee media on Thursday to preview the regional and give updates on his team heading into the weekend.

“(I’m) very excited. I’m very proud of the team. This is difficult. It’s hard to have consistency. There were exciting moments, and difficult times…One of my main goals in this as a coach is to get to a point where you have done enough to host a regional in your home stadium. I think it encompasses everything a team can do throughout the year.”

On paper, the Seminoles seemed to have received a fair draw with Coastal Carolina, Northern Illinois, and St. John’s as the other teams in this regional, while being paired with the Tuscaloosa regional, headlined by the No. 7 overall seed Alabama. FSU is favored to come out of its own regional, as it has the best starting pitching among the four teams, while none of the other sides boast powerful lineups, a potential Achilles’ heel for FSU. However, if the Noles do not bring their A-game, CCU and the Red Storm will be more than capable of taking advantage.

Below are the three main updates that Jarrett covered in his pre-postseason availability.

No. 1: Bryson Moore gets the ball on Friday

The last two seasons, Jarrett has chosen to throw a different arm than his Friday-night starter in game one of the regional, which in 2024 was Carson Dorsey and in 2025 was Joey Volini, to keep Jamie Arnold for the Saturday game. This year will be no different as Jarrett and his coaching staff tabbed Bryson Moore as the opening-game starter on Friday against St. John’s, saving Wes Mendes for Saturday.

“We thought (Bryson) was the right matchup…He’s had some unbelievable back-against-the-wall outings for us, and your back is against the wall in every one of these games from here on out. We feel very confident with Bryson or we wouldn’t start him in any of our games.”

“He’s very capable. I like the moxie and the poise that I’ve seen. I like the toughness on the backend of those weekends when there’s a lot riding on those games.”

Moore seems to be the right decision, mostly because he has been arguably FSU’s best arm the last few weeks of the season. Against Clemson, in a rubber match, Moore fired six innings of one-run ball to help the Noles take the series over the Tigers. A week later, against Miami, Moore pitched a career-high 7.2 innings on just 82 pitches, while allowing only two runs. His fastball command has sharpened as the season has gone on, and throughout the year, the righty has induced weak contact and missed barrels. Both of those qualities match up well against an SJU team that does not strike out often but has not seen much velocity.

The main risk in throwing more on Friday is that he has not pitched since May 16, and his pitch count hovers around 85. However, if he looked sharp in bullpens and can push between 95-100 pitches, the decision should not be second-guessed.

No. 2: Injury updates

While speaking with the local Tallahassee media on Thursday, Jarrett said John Abraham “seemed to feel really good” after a bullpen this week and expects the right-handed reliever to play in during the Tallahassee regional.

“I watched (Abraham’s) bullpen yesterday, and it looked like the John Abraham that you would expect to see on the mound, and we do expect to see him on the mound (this weekend). I thought the stuff was good. Micah and I will assess the workload and, pitch-count-wise, what he’s capable of handling. But, it really looked sharp yesterday.”

Jarrett seemed less committed about C/DH Nathan Cmeyla’s status, who has been banged up throughout the year and did not play in the ACC tournament game against Pitt.

“We’ll see how he feels when he wakes up. We finally felt in Charlotte, ‘Hey, we get some rest. Let’s go. The troops are ready. And he couldn’t go. So, we’ll see.”

After playing only one game in the last two weeks, Jarrett has mentioned multiple times during his availabilities on Monday and Thursday that this is as fresh as FSU has been this season. Hopefully, it pays off for the Noles and rest wins out over rust.

No. 3: Link’s Rules

As mentioned, FSU is hosting for the third straight year, and for the third year in a row, Florida State chose to play in the early game on Friday, drawing the ire of some fans. While an afternoon start makes it difficult for fans to get to Dick Howser or watch from work, Jarrett believes the decision gives his team the best chance to win the regional, and explained his decision further on Thursday.

“I know there are pluses and minuses to which game you chose to play…There are a lot of reasons why I chose to do (the earlier game). We get a normal pregame timeline, which is nice, and one of the advantages of being at home. You get to focus on this game, and then you get to watch the game after that.”

Below is the full availability of Link Jarrett on Thursday:

Video courtesy Warchant.com

2026 Tallahassee Regional: Schedule

Friday, May 29

Game 1: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 4 St. John’s – 3 p.m. – ACCN

Game 2: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 3 Northern Illinois – 8 p.m. – ESPN+

Saturday, May 30

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 1 p.m.

Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 31

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 – 1 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 6 p.m.

Monday, June 1

Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (TBA – IF NECESSARY)