Micah Posey will be perfect 'fit' as FSU pitching coach, according to Next Level's Robinson

Having once been a top Major League Baseball prospect and then a successful high school and college coach, soon-to-be-named Florida State pitching coach Micah Posey is very well-known in baseball circles.

But very few people know him as well — or for as long — as Ryan Robinson, founder and operator of Next Level Professional Baseball in Tallahassee.

Robinson, a former MLB scout, actually evaluated Posey when the left-handed pitcher was coming out of high school power North Florida Christian in 2001, and he and the Anaheim Angels signed Posey as a 15th-round MLB draft pick that year.

Robinson later hired Posey as Next Level’s pitching coordinator and as head coach of one of their youth travel teams, while Posey also served as pitching coach at NFC for his father, longtime head coach Mike Posey.

“I don’t think Link (FSU head coach Link Jarrett) could have hired a better guy,” Robinson said. “Link and Micah are very similar people. I don’t think there could be a better fit than Link Jarrett and Micah Posey on the same staff.”

As a pitcher, Posey showed great promise early in his minor-league career, being named an All-Star in the Class A Midwest League in 2004.

“He had tremendous feel on the mound,” Robinson said. “He was the [Angels] organization Pitcher of the Year one year. He was on his way to the big leagues, and then he got hurt. And when Micah got hurt, he just never really came back to the way he was before the injury. But he was on the path to pitching in the big leagues.”

While watching Posey later work with young players in the highly selective Next Level program and at North Florida Christian, Robinson said he always expected his former draft pick to be a successful coach at the college or professional level.

He said Posey’s knowledge of the game — and desire to stay current with all of the latest trends in baseball — was only matched by his passion for helping young people.

“From a young age, Micah knew that he wanted to coach,” Robinson said. “Growing up with his dad, he knew he would end up coaching. And the big thing with Micah is he cares about people, and he cares about the players. You could see that when Micah would work with players even back then. He was not only a coach, but he was a mentor.

“He gave everything he had to the guys because he really cared about them, more than just as baseball players.”

Former NLB pitching coordinator and coach Micah Posey named pitching coach at Florida State.
Outstanding hire by Link Jarrett. Posey is an outstanding coach and extraordinary person. Posey is the coach that parents want coaching/mentoring their kids.
Posey played high school… pic.twitter.com/kFibSn0loY

— Next Level Baseball (@nextlevelbb) June 19, 2023

Posey’s first job on the collegiate level was as a volunteer assistant at Elon University in North Carolina, and he later was elevated to a full-time position.

From there, he spent three years at East Tennessee State before moving to Dallas Baptist University. And after a successful three-year stint as pitching coach there, Posey now is coming back home to Tallahassee and Florida State.

He brings an excellent reputation. Last month, Posey was named Conference USA’s Assistant Coach of the Year, based on voting by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Posey’s hiring has not been officially announced yet by Florida State, but multiple sources have confirmed that it’s happening.

Robinson, who also has known Jarrett since they were young baseball players in Tallahassee some 30-plus years ago, could not have been more excited about the news. And he said he has no doubt that Jarrett, Posey and the rest of the staff will build the Seminoles back into a national power.

“If you’re a parent of a baseball player right now, you want your kid at Florida State,” Robinson said. “Especially in today’s baseball environment.”

Of course, Jarrett has some work cut out for himself this offseason.

Along with rebuilding the FSU roster and bringing Posey in to replace Chuck Ristano, Jarrett also is looking to replace recruiting coordinator Rich Wallace. Ristano (Navy) and Wallace (UCF) both have left FSU after one year to take Division-I head coaching positions.

“I grew up with Link; we went to school together since we were 13,” Robinson said. “I think Rich and Ristano leaving is a feather in Link’s cap, that he produced two head coaches already. And the way I know Link, I’m sure he’s overly excited for them getting to be head coaches. That’s what Link’s all about. Link’s about everybody around him getting better and getting to move up and getting to do what they want to do.

“Micah is the exact same way. And I have a lot of confidence that whoever else Link brings in to take the recruiting coordinator job will be the same way. I think Link is going to build a dynamic staff again.”

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