College baseball coaches barely have time to blink. The transfer portal opened June 1 and runs through June 30, adding urgency to an already chaotic offseason.
For Florida State coach Link Jarrett, the timing is especially cruel. Just hours after the No. 10 national seed Seminoles suffered a stunning NCAA Tournament exit — a 5-4 loss to St. John’s at Howser Stadium — Jarrett was forced to shift his focus immediately to rebuilding his roster for 2027.
The task, and the timing, are daunting.
“Somebody told me there’s thousands of players in it today,” Jarrett said after the elimination loss. “Never could you dream this is where it’s landed in terms of trying to construct a roster to produce a functional team. It is hard. The inconsistencies from year to year — who is successful or not — it’s escalated to the point where it’s very difficult to even predict once it’s together.
“As coaches, as we try to construct this, it is as hard as anything I ever thought I would do as a college baseball coach.”
A trio of Seminoles declare intentions to enter transfer portal
A trio of Seminoles are looking elsewhere as infielder Kelvyn Paulino Jr. and outfielder Noah Sheffield declared their intentions on Instagram to enter the transfer portal Tuesday, June 2, while outfielder Chase Williams’ decision was reported by a national media outlet.
Paulino started 26 of 35 games hitting .276 with a .355 on-base percentage. The freshman had a home run, 21 RBI and 13 runs scored. Sheffield hit .250 as he started 26 of 38 games in his second season. The son of former MLB star Gary Sheffield, Noah had a .331 on-base percentage with four home runs, 29 RBI and 26 runs scored.
Williams hit .269 in 42 games (34 starts) and was often used as a pinch runner. Williams stole 17 of 22 bases that he attempted, had an on-base percentage of .349 and scored 28 runs.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Transfer portal opens, adding urgency for FSU coach Link Jarrett
Reporting by Jim Henry, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
