New Florida State coach Link Jarrett breaks down timeline, process for his hire

The Florida State athletics department had to tread lightly in the search for its new head baseball coach as top candidate Link Jarrett took the Fighting Irish through the NCAA Tournament.

“Our pathway to try to get to Omaha was the most difficult any team could experience in the postseason, this happened here, an hour before I had my scouting report team meeting to go play Friday night in Knoxville,” Jarrett said last week. “I sensed, at that time, what might be coming. I was not going to speak to anyone during our team’s run. Michael (Alford) was gracious enough to allow the completion of our season.”

The Seminoles announced the 50-year-old would take over for former head coach Mike Martin Jr. last Friday after Notre Dame fell in the CWS. They held the introductory press conference on Monday.

Jarrett took over at Notre Dame in 2020 after a successful run at UNC Greensboro. He built an 86-32 record with his team over three seasons and made a Super Regional in 2021 before the College World Series appearance in 2022.

In 2021, Jarrett earned National Coach of the Year honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Link Jarrett reveals the missing piece to his full circle moment

Link Jarrett delivered the type of introductory press conference you would expect of a Tallahassee native returning to his roots. Right out of the gate, reporters asked the former Seminoles player-turned-DI head coach if he ever imagined taking the podium as the head coach at his alma mater.

“Yes, I did,” Jarrett responded simply, earning applause. “I played for the greatest coach in college baseball history and Jeff Hogan was a phenomenal high school coach, so those two motivated me to think the game and study the game. I envisioned one day, thinking about what it would be like to be the head coach at Florida State. Does that appear to line up with today’s world of college athletics? Did I really think that was a possibility? Faintly. But I had thought about it.”

The former Notre Dame skipper described the full circle moment he felt upon returning to Tallahassee but alluded to the one thing still missing – a national title. Florida State has reached Omaha 23 times without touching the championship trophy.

“I feel like I closed the circle and I feel an obligation to get these guys to perform at a championship level,” Jarrett said. “That’s what I felt when I walked into the stadium. How can we get this? How can we do this? This has brought me right back. The circle is closed but I don’t feel like I’ve filled in what’s missing on the inside of that.

“It’s very special to be able to stop by my parents’ house, pop in on them. Couldn’t do that from South Bend. It’s deeper than baseball. But I have to fill that circle in with a couple things that I lack.”