From undersized player to coaching giant: Link Jarrett now might be Seminoles' savior

OMAHA, Neb. – There was a hint of pain in Link Jarrett’s voice as he sat here Thursday afternoon, previewing Florida State’s 24th College World Series appearance.

It’s not a cross he should have to bear.

He was not here each of the first 23 times the Florida State Seminoles came to Omaha with dreams of winning a national championship and left empty-handed. 

None of those disappointments are on his head coaching resume. He wasn’t even alive for five of them.

Still, you could sense the sting as he spoke.

When asked about his relationship with FSU coaching legend Mike Martin Sr. and Martin’s legacy with the program, Jarrett couldn’t help but work his way to the defeats.

Yes, he spoke about Martin’s many achievements. He reflected on his mentor’s foundational beliefs in pitching, defense and base-running. And how those core tenets helped pave the way to 2,029 career victories.

But Jarrett also brought up the years of frustration. The fact that he was a star shortstop on three of those 23 teams that came up short in Omaha. 

And, Jarrett explained, near the heart of his coaching mission is a desire to solve the riddle of why the Seminoles have never won it all.

He is determined to take care of that unfinished business.

“I want to win it for him,” Florida State’s second-year head coach said. “Like, why as a player couldn’t I get it done? It keeps me up. What did I not do? What were we not doing that kept us from that?”

Jarrett made his final trip to Omaha as a Florida State player in 1994. Exactly 30 years before he arrived here this week as the Seminoles’ head coach.

Thirty years.

Yet when he laments his College World Series losses as a player and says they still rob him of sleep, it does not sound at all like hyperbole. And one absolutely knows it’s not an exaggeration if you understand how he got here; if you know Link Jarrett’s story.

How he went from undersized and “under-speed,” as one of his old high school and college teammates described him, to receiving All-America honors at shortstop.

How he essentially got passed over by Florida State as a player and as a coach before the Seminoles realized he was just what they needed … both times.

The way he has worked so incredibly hard to succeed at every last thing he has attempted in an athletic arena. How he has defied his doubters more times than anyone could remember. And why he wants so desperately to fill the void that leaves Florida State Baseball incomplete:

“I owe it to the program – him – to figure out how to finish it.”

‘That guy I could count on’

It was about 40 years ago that Link Jarrett first popped up on Jeff Hogan’s radar. Maybe even 41 or 42.

Hogan was coaching baseball at Tallahassee’s Florida High, and on this particular day, he was running a summer camp for local youths. Jarrett immediately made an impression on the demanding coach, but for exactly none of the reasons why athletes typically get noticed in these settings.

“He was not very tall and not very fast,” Hogan remembered this week. “He was a little overweight. But he just had a grasp on the game that was beyond his years.”

Anyone who has spent significant time around the Tallahassee baseball community has heard about Hogan’s storied Florida High program. In the 1980s and ‘90s, it was among the best in the state, racking up numerous district and region championships, two state titles and producing future MLB players like Dean Palmer and David Ross.

Because of their sustained success and Hogan’s reputation as a coach, the Seminoles’ roster was typically loaded with talent. (At one point in the early ‘90s, Florida State’s entire starting infield and a backup catcher were all Florida High grads.)

So even though Jarrett was extremely intelligent and savvy as a young ballplayer, it was a challenge to establish himself as one of the top players in the program. He wouldn’t even win the starting shortstop job until his senior year because teammate Kevin McCray was a year older and a Division-I prospect in his own right.

So Jarrett spent most of his early high school career as a utility player.

“Instead of getting discouraged, he just learned how to play all of the other positions better,” Hogan said. “Because that’s what I needed him to do. He could play any position on the field, including catcher. And he probably knew more about the position that he was filling in for somebody than they did. He understood every position, every responsibility on the field, way before his years.”

“Florida High was a baseball factory when we were there,” said Michele Bertoldi, who was three years older than Jarrett but would play alongside him for one year in high school and another at FSU. “But when Link was a freshman, he was our Opening Day starting second baseman on the varsity because our starting second baseman got in some trouble.”

It would be the story of Jarrett’s playing career throughout high school and college.

Never one of the biggest, strongest or fastest. But always determined to do whatever his team needed.

“Link was always that guy that I could just count on,” Hogan said. ”He probably had the most accurate arm that I can remember coaching in the infield, especially on the left side. He didn’t have great range, but he made ALL the plays.”

Perhaps Bertoldi’s favorite story from Jarrett’s playing days took place after Bertoldi had already graduated from Florida High. While finishing classes at Tallahassee Community College and preparing to transfer to Florida State as an invited walk-on, Bertoldi helped Hogan coach his 1990 squad.

According to all accounts, this was not one of Hogan’s more talented teams. But the Seminoles had a solid season and found some magic in the postseason, where they eventually were pitted against national powerhouse Miami Westminster Christian in the state playoffs – the same Westminster Christian that produced Alex Rodriguez and many other college and Major League Baseball stars.

“The two teams were not comparable, and Link was the starting pitcher — even though he wasn’t really a pitcher,” Bertoldi recalled. “And he kept those guys in check with nothing. He didn’t have a college ability to pitch. He had this weird little palm-ball thing that he would throw; it was almost like a split-finger. But he did his thing and competed, and we didn’t get killed. We lost, but we were in the game.”

“I never liked to claim a moral victory,” said Hogan. “But I think he lost 5-4, and I was tickled pink, because I could see us getting 10-runned. Link was not a pitcher, but he could pitch when we needed him to. And we needed him to that day.”

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‘From good stock’

Despite all of his accomplishments in high school, virtually every college recruiter in the country passed on Jarrett during the recruiting process. Including the ones whose stadium sat just a few hundred yards from his Tallahassee home.

Jarrett literally grew up on Florida State Baseball. As a kid, he would hop the fence to take ground balls on the Dick Howser Stadium infield. His father, Lincoln Jarrett, played for FSU in the early ‘60s, and Link dreamed of one day doing the same.

At the time, Florida High was located on the current site of FSU’s medical school. And Jarrett lived just around the corner on Chapel Drive.

“If you go up the hill and look down from his backyard, you can see the stadium,” Hogan said. “It basically overlooks home plate.” 

Yet as his senior year concluded at Florida High, Jarrett’s only college interest came from much smaller schools: Mercer in Macon, Ga., and the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

It wasn’t until Florida State lost a couple of incoming signees to Major League Baseball at the 11th hour that Mike Martin reached out to see if Jarrett might still be available. And the coaching legend lucked out when the answer was yes.

Jarrett saw his first college action as a pinch-hitter in the second game of his freshman season, and he would be inserted into the starting lineup for his third game. Despite being listed at 5-foot-10 and 158 pounds back in 1991, he would start the rest of that year and go on to be a four-year Seminole star. 

By the time he was done, Jarrett would set an NCAA record for career assists with 802, and he would earn All-ACC and All-America recognition.

It was a level of success that not even his closest friends believed was attainable.

“Here’s a guy that’s undersized and maybe a little under-speed — that nobody really was looking at — and he’s gonna start at shortstop at Florida State?” former teammate Kevin McCray says, incredulously. “And he’s going to do it as a freshman?”

McCray was the shortstop who started ahead of Jarrett when they were in high school. And they would both go on to be part of that all-Florida High infield for FSU in 1992 – McCray played first, Allen Bevis was at second, Jarrett manned shortstop, and Nandy Serrano was at third. Bertoldi was a backup catcher.

When reflecting on what made Jarrett so special as a player, McCray believes the foundation was the relentless work ethic and leadership skills instilled by his father.

Instead of taking Sundays off during the season in high school, for example, Jarrett would gather up his teammates and tell them to meet at Florida High’s field for practice. 

“His Dad had this little Volkswagen Rabbit,” McCray remembered. “And he would squeeze it through the gate and then drag the infield for us – just so we would have a smooth surface to field ground balls on.”

With no prompting, Hogan shares the same stories and also recalls Jarrett’s father bringing his lawnmower down on weekends to cut the grass. He even lined the field on occasion.

And the selfless work didn’t stop there. 

Because Chapel Drive intersects with West Pensacola Street near Doak Campbell Stadium, McCray said, Jarrett’s father would wake his son up on Sundays after home football games and they would go clean up trash and debris from the road.

“And if the city wasn’t getting to it quick enough, his dad would have him and Link literally edge Pensacola Street,” McCray said. “That’s the kind of family he comes from. He comes from good stock. Everyone knows what Link has done in baseball. But outside of baseball, he’s one of the best human beings I know.”

‘The perfect cocktail’

It was two years ago this week that Florida State athletics director Michael Alford made a bold move by firing then-head coach Mike Martin Jr. after two-plus seasons.

The Seminoles went 12-5 in a COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, then 31-24 in 2021 and 34-25 in 2022. They failed to make it out of an NCAA Regional in both of those seasons, and there were rumors of dysfunction inside of the program.

Still, for many with ties to the program, it was a jolting development. Not only was Martin Jr. the son of a Florida State icon, but he played at FSU in the early ‘90s and served on his father’s coaching staff for over 20 years.

“It was a gut punch,” former Florida State infielder Jack Niles recalled this week. “Regardless of how you feel, or anyone feels, that’s one of our guys. He’s been there and he’s tied to that place as much as anybody. And when you get that news, it’s not good. It’s not good.”

McCray and other former Seminoles felt the same way. But once the initial shock wore off, it didn’t take long before many started lobbying for Jarrett to get the job.

There were other qualified candidates, of course. But none who checked every box quite like the guy who grew up in the shadow of the stadium. 

After playing five years of minor-league ball following his Florida State career, Jarrett broke into coaching at Flagler College in 1999. It was the first of five assistant coaching positions he would hold over the next 14 years before finally landing a top spot in 2013 at UNC-Greensboro.

Jarrett then proved himself there for seven years – finishing in the top three in the conference each of his last four seasons – before landing his first Power 5 head coaching job at Notre Dame in 2020.

“Link did it the old-school way,” said McCray, who went on to a lengthy high school coaching career in Tampa. “And the old-school way is what drove a lot of us away from pursuing our college coaching dreams. He made his six, eight stops along the way. No one can say this guy caught a break. He earned every single thing he’s done. And his family went through the ups and downs of that, moving over and over.

“The average fan probably doesn’t realize how many years this guy has grinded to get to this level.”

While that path might have been arduous at times, it provided Jarrett with countless opportunities to refine his craft. Just like he did as a young utility player.

Being a successful recruiter and coach at Mercer or East Carolina might have required one approach, however, spending three years at Auburn – where he was named SEC Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010 – was a completely different animal.

And Jarrett achieved success at each stop, culminating with his stint at Notre Dame from 2020-22.

After that first COVID-shortened season, Jarrett led the Fighting Irish to a Super Regional berth in ‘21 and a trip to the College World Series in 2022. It was Notre Dame’s first trip to Omaha in two decades and only the third in school history.

To get there, the Irish had to go into a Knoxville Super Regional and take two out of three from the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers.

Jarrett was named National Coach of the Year by different publications after each of those last two seasons. And when Martin Jr. was relieved of his duties on June 10, 2022, it seemed obvious that Jarrett had to be the top target to replace him.

“If you can win at Notre Dame – where they have no facilities, nobody goes to the games, and the weather’s awful — then you should be able to win in Tallahassee,” said Hogan, who was a two-sport star in basketball and baseball at Florida State in the late-1960s. “I couldn’t be more proud of the things he’s accomplished. But I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised at all.”

When evaluating other keys to his coaching success, Jarrett’s old teammates and friends point to his serious temperament and his ability to lead and communicate. 

“Link’s always been a fantastic teacher. Even as a player, he was a great teacher,” Niles said. “So I think that’s one of the huge things that gives him an edge. He’s just a great teacher. And he’s got more of the Tony Dungy approach as a leader. Just a great, great leader by example.

“If he needs to get a point across, he’ll get it across. He may not throw a chair at you to get it across, but he’ll get it across.”

And then there is the never-ending attention to detail, which was harnessed by playing for Hogan in high school and Martin at Florida State.

“I think it’s the perfect cocktail for a good coach,” Bertoldi said. “He had this amazing coach in high school and then he goes to Florida State, and he has the best coach of all time.”

Toughest test yet

Florida State passed on Link Jarrett for its head coaching position when Mike Martin Sr. retired following the 2019 season, instead opting to keep the job in the family. And there were legitimate concerns about whether the Seminoles would be able to land Jarrett when they had a change of heart three years later – the way Martin had back in 1990.

“He had other choices,” Niles said, referencing the fact that Southern Cal and Clemson were both considering Jarrett for their vacancies in the summer of 2022. “So kudos to Michael Alford for making that deal and getting him to Tallahassee. Because I think in a very short period of time, we’re seeing some of the fruits of his labor. And hopefully, it only gets better from here.”

As miraculous as Jarrett’s work was at Notre Dame, the turnaround at Florida State might be equally impressive.

Playing with a makeshift and young roster in 2023, the Seminoles failed to make the postseason for the first time in more than four decades. Jarrett’s first season as head coach concluded with a dismal 23-31 record.

To turn things around, the second-year coach knew he needed to change the culture of the program and also infuse the lineup with talent. He did both in short order, bringing in 26 new players during the offseason, and now the Seminoles are one of eight teams remaining in college baseball.

The ‘Noles are 47-15 and will take on No. 1 Tennessee (55-12) in the opening round of the College World Series tonight (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“I would love to be able to say I’m not surprised by any of it, but I’m totally surprised,” said Bertoldi, who still lives in Tallahassee and attends many practices and most games. “I know how awesome Link is. But he’s more awesome than even I thought he would be. Because it’s not possible what he’s doing. There’s something even more special about him than I even realized.”

While some Florida State fans and media have suggested this week that the Seminoles’ resurgence is a sign that the program is back where it belongs among the nation’s elite, Bertoldi, Niles and McCray all expressed concerns individually about some of the challenges still facing the program.

They appreciate recent cosmetic improvements to the concourse and other areas of Dick Howser Stadium, but point out that Florida State’s baseball facilities overall pale when compared to many programs across the Southeast. And until the Seminoles can get into a conference with much greater television revenue, they worry about Florida State’s ability to compete with many of the nation’s top programs from an NIL perspective.

Niles, a successful businessman in Key West, has taken it upon himself to share that message with other boosters and the university’s administration.

“He can make more out of less than anybody,” Niles said of Jarrett. “But we’ve got to figure out a way to give him what he needs and what it’s going to take to build the thing back to make sure it’s in good hands for a long time down the road.”

“It has not been an easy road on any front,” McCray said of Jarrett’s first two seasons. “What they inherited is not necessarily on par with the top SEC programs and the schools that they need to compete with.”

From that perspective — considering the transfer portal, NIL and the facilities arms race — the challenge of winning a national championship these days could be even greater than it was during Martin’s tenure. There are certainly far more variables at play.

But when Jarrett delivers statements like he did on Thursday – saying he won’t be able to rest until he brings Florida State a title – it would be unwise to bet against him.

He didn’t have the raw talent to do what he did in high school. Didn’t have the size or speed to become an All-American in college. Wasn’t FSU’s first choice as a player or a coach.

Yet here he is. 

Link Jarrett has accomplished all of those things and then some.

And, as he explained on Thursday, he’s got some unfinished business.

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