FSU baseball lands Tennessee Tech transfer Brett Roberts

Florida State baseball is putting in work to strengthen their weaknesses from the 2021 season. The Seminoles lacked athleticism, contact hitters, and consistent defense. FSU has landed a commitment from Tennessee Tech transfer Brett Roberts. Roberts brings athleticism, high contact rates, and quality defense to Florida State’s middle infield. Roberts will come to Tallahassee as a redshirt sophomore and be immediately eligible.

Roberts led Tennessee Tech, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, in numerous offensive categories. The middle infielder led Tech with a .343 average, 17 stolen bases, 70 hits, 13 doubles, and 39 RBI. Despite playing eight less games, he would’ve led FSU in hits and stolen bases. Roberts also had a team-low strikeout rate of 15.2%. Roberts averaged 1.49 hits per game. He had 22 multi-hit games in just 47 games.

The middle infielder has extremely quiet and quick hands at the plate which lead to consistent hard contact. He also can pack a punch with five homers this year. In 2020, his freshman season, Roberts slugged four homers in just 15 games. After the shortened freshman season, the Georgia native was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. This season, he was named to the All-OVC 2nd team. In 62 career games, he’s posted an .870 OPS.

Roberts’ athleticism isn’t just present on the base paths. The middle infielder can play both shortstop and second base and puts on a display of range at both positions. Roberts has the arm to play shortstop and was up to 93 MPH across the diamond in high school. In 47 games between short and second this past season, Roberts posted a .962 fielding percentage with just six errors.

Roberts has the potential to be a five-tool player at Florida State. When speaking to him over the weekend, Roberts mentioned that he feels he can bring a little bit of everything to Mike Martin Field. He described himself as, “Someone who plays hard, good and quick actions on the field, good bat speed, finds many barrels, can put a ball out whenever, and good speed on the base paths.”

Since his season ended at Tennessee Tech and he entered the transfer portal, Roberts had the chance to visit Tallahassee and FSU’s campus. The visit gave him a chance to see a place that he dreamed about going to and grow his relationship with FSU’s coaches. “Oh the campus was beautiful, and I have a great relationship with the coaches. Love what they’re doing with the program... Florida State was for sure a dream school. I’ve been following the program ever since I started watch baseball.”

When Roberts’ name popped up in the portal, many schools were interested. Roberts is from Atlanta and his home-town Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were in pursuit of his game. Other ACC schools and multiple other power five schools were interested in the middle infielder. When asked about the difference between Florida State and the others, Roberts said, “Just the history, and the coaches made it feel like home to me.”

The redshirt sophomore is excited to get down to Tallahassee after a summer of baseball in the Cape Cod League. Roberts feels like he’ll bring a contagious energy to the Seminoles’ locker room. He said, “I feel like I will bring joy to the team because of my love for the game. I’m always smiling and laughing and that could easily be contagious.”