The Seminoles are coming back to Pensacola.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, in partnership with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, announced on July 30 that the Florida State baseball team would, once again, host a fall series at the bayfront stadium.
The Seminoles will play Mississippi State in back-to-back seven-inning games on Oct. 18, starting at 1 p.m. CT. It’ll be a rematch rom this past spring when FSU played the Bulldogs in the Tallahassee Regional of the College World Series, with the Seminoles winning twice.
“This was a pet project of mine, as an FSU grad, to have Florida State baseball – obviously a storied program for generations – to play in my hometown,” Reeves said during a press conference. “So I’m certainly honored to announce that Florida State will be coming back to play yet again.”
The Seminoles are coming off a 42-16 record in 2025, claiming the Tallahassee Regional before falling in a best-of-three series at Oregon State in the NCAA Super Regional. Mississippi State was 36-23 in during the season.
FSU played Auburn in the October 2024 at Blue Wahoos Stadium, and tickets to the event sold out within hours. Over 6,000 fans attended the special “Fall Ball” series, and Reeves expects things to more or less be the same.
“Last year, I got lots of requests coming in about what the mayor can do, making sure (FSU fans) got tickets. … I won’t let my bias show too much, but I’ll try to make sure there are as many FSU fans as possible,” Reeves, a 2007 alum of FSU, quipped. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of excitement. … I full expect you’ll have enthused crowds on both sides.”
Tickets for the upcoming series will go on sale starting on Aug. 12. at 9 a.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the Blue Wahoos’ box office.
“We’re just excited to make it happen,” Blue Wahoos Vice President for Marketing Anthony Aspenson said.
Last year’s FSU-Auburn baseball game wound up featuring 18 MLB Draft picks just this past month, with three of those Seminoles – Max Williams, Drew Faurot and Joey Volini – all selected by the Miami Marlins.
It’s very well possible those three players could make a return to Blue Waohos Stadium as they begin their professional careers next season.
It’ll asl be a homecoming, again, for Pensacola native Carter McCulley, a Pensacola Catholic alum who went 2-for-4 in the second game against Auburn last fall. He’ll be a senior with the Seminoles this year.
“That’s the exciting thing when you have this high-caliber level of college baseball. The exciting thing is you’r going to be seeing guys that are going to be suiting up professionally very, very quickly,” Reeves said. “I’m very excited to see all those guys play again. That is the draw: you’re not only seeing two strong teams that have two strong fanbases, but you’re seeing some of the best college baseball players in the United States.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FSU baseball will return to Blue Wahoos Stadium for Fall Ball series against Mississippi State
Reporting by Ben Grieco, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
