Arizona Diamondbacks select Florida State C commit Hunter Carns in 2024 MLB Draft

Hunter Carns had a dream realized and heard his named called in the 2024 MLB Draft this week. The Florida State commit came off the board to the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 615 overall pick, which was the last pick in the draft.

A Florida native, he will now have to pick between starting his professional career now or deferring it to play for the Seminoles.

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As a prospect, the immediate plus for Carns is his bat as he continued to develop behind the dish defensively.

“A right-handed-hitting catcher, Carns has the tools to be a solid all-around backstop,” his MLB.com scouting report said. “He has a simple swing and is quick to the ball, generating loud contact. There’s plenty of power for him to continue to tap into, and he has strength in his swing thanks to powerful hands. He also runs very well, not just for a catcher, giving him a rare offensive asset for a catcher.”

As for his defense, Carns has work to do.

“Behind the plate, Carns has a strong arm that should help him control the running game, especially as he learns more about his craft,” the scouting report said. “He doesn’t set up well, but his hands help him overcome some of his current mechanical flaws. He’s athletic enough to play left field should catching not work out, but the Florida State recruit hasn’t received much instruction to date, so there could be considerable ceiling here as a backstop, something teams not afraid of the prep catching demographic might consider in the top five rounds.”

Florida State’s head coach is already working on returning to Omaha

It was by all accounts an incredible second season for Link Jarrett as the head coach at Florida State. The Seminoles went from finishing under .500 in 2023 to reaching the College World Series this year.

Not long after the season wrapped up in Omaha on Wednesday, Jarrett was asked about Florida State’s chances of getting back to the CWS and winning it all in 2025.

“When you can acquire some experienced freshmen, that helps. And I think the guys going into their sophomore year that have played and have felt it. So you get a little time, when you onboard a grad student or somebody that has one year, you know the turnover is coming. So I like what we’ve done,” Jarrett said.

Florida State had an offense that was as good as just about anyone in 2024, but what kept the Seminoles from accomplishing their ultimate goal was inconsistent pitching.

Jarrett knows that his club must be better on the mound in 2025 and is hopeful FSU can avoid some of the injuries that were costly this year.

“Now, we need [Cam] Leiter to be healthy. We need Jamie Arnold to be healthy. And we have some good young arms coming in, some JUCO arms. We’ve gotten three transfer arms out of portal,” Jarrett said. “There’s other pieces we need to add when you look at the puzzle and where we need to fit those athletes.”