FSU Baseball and Softball Prepare for Big 2017 Expectations

If you want to see excellence on the diamond this year, look no further than Florida State baseball and softball.

As of this article’s writing, neither the baseball or softball team has been ranked lower than 10th overall in any preseason list. Both teams had impressive postseason runs in 2016, with Florida State softball getting to the Women’s College World Series and baseball getting to within one game of the College World Series.

The best part for both teams was the fact that almost all of their talent would come back in 2017. It has gone a long way in building the hype for two teams that could both bring trophies to Tallahassee when all is said and done.

Baseball is getting tons of love from multiple publications. In fact, there is only one ranking that has Florida State outside the top 5. The Seminoles are expected to compete for both the ACC title and the national championship. The reasons are readily apparent.

Contributor Robert Blackburn details why FSU is a media darling heading into the 2017 season; the pitching staff is well-rounded and has almost no weak spots, while the bullpen packs serious punch and is at least five players deep. Below is where FSU is ranked by various sources. Included are fellow ACC teams also receiving recognition:

But FSU baseball might not even be the team most likely to win it all. That honor goes to FSU softball, who made a run in the 2016 WCWS before falling short to Auburn. The upside? It returns almost everyone.

That includes ACC Player of the Year, Alex Powers, ACC Pitcher of the Year, Jessica Burroughs, and former ACC Freshman of the Year, Jessica Warren. Florida State comes in at third in the USA Today/NFCA poll, fourth in ESPN/USA Softball, and second in FloSoftball rankings.

The Seminoles have star power, and it will show when the season starts up.

The teams are obviously expected to do big things this season, but how are certain players projected to do? The answer is, not surprisingly, very well. Here is the extensive list of players from both teams named to either ACC or national watch lists:

BASEBALL

Taylor Walls – Preseason All-American (D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America)

Dylan Busby – Preseason All-American (NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America)

Cal Raleigh – Preseason All-American (D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game)

Jackson Lueck – Preseason All-American (NCBWA)

SOFTBALL

Jessica Burroughs – USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Year watch list

Jessica Warren – USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Year watch list

Alex Powers – USA Softball Collegiate National Player of the Year watch list

It is officially time for Florida State to get excited about baseball and softball. Much like the basketball teams, it’s hard to go wrong when choosing which games to head towards.

For baseball, the first home series begins on Feb. 17 against Virginia Commonwealth. Friday at 4 p.m. EST will mark the first game. For softball, it will play in the Unconquered Invitational from Feb. 10-12. The first game will be on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EST against Lipscomb.