Noles News: FSU takes on Tennessee for spot in WCWS finals

Recruiting

2026 defensive back prospect J’Zavien Currence received a Florida State offer this weekend, adding to a list that includes the Arkansas Razorbacks, Virginia Tech Hokies, NC State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils and South Carolina Gamecocks:

2025 four-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn also received a Seminoles offer — the 6-foot-2, 205-pound prospect is considered the No. 9 linebacker in his class. His offer list includes the Auburn Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies, Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish:

Football

Bill Connelly took a look at former ACC Atlantic teams as part of his season preview, attempting to tackle the question of if FSU can truly challenge Clemson for top spot in the conference this year — with run defense being his major concern:

SP+ gives us basically three tiers when it comes to ACC title odds:

Tier 1: Clemson 29%, Florida State 28%

Tier 2: North Carolina 10%, Louisville 8%, Pitt 6%, Miami 6%, NC State Wolfpack 5%

Tier 3: Wake Forest 2.5%, Syracuse 2.2%, Duke 1.8%, Virginia Tech 0.8%, Georgia Tech 0.5%, Boston College 0.5%, Virginia 0.4%

Indeed, FSU has expectations again. It’s not hard to see why. The first top-15 finish since 2016, plus a six-game winning streak, plus a top-10 returning production ranking, plus a top-20 recruiting class, plus another strong transfer haul equals top-10 hype.

The Seminoles might have a Heisman candidate, too. Quarterback Jordan Travis blossomed in 2022 — among returnees, only USC’s Caleb Williams and Kansas’ smallish-sample Jalon Daniels ranked higher than Travis in Total QBR. He raised his completion rate to 64% and managed a 24-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio. And because he’s Jordan Travis, he also averaged 8.0 yards per nonsack carry and 9.7 yards per scramble. Opponents hold their breath the moment he looks to leave the pocket.

The two-deep overflows. If the new additions up front allow the Noles to actually slow opposing run games, there isn’t an obvious hole.

That hole definitely needs plugging, though.

FSU ranked 63rd in rushing success rate allowed and 93rd in percentage of opponent carries gaining at least 4 yards. Louisville, Florida and Oklahoma all topped 250 rushing yards against the Noles, and while FSU won all three of those matchups, it had to average 38 points per game to do it. When you’ve got top-10 (or higher!) expectations, you can’t leave yourself that vulnerable.

Basketball

Baseball

The honorable Tim Scribble has been keeping tabs on all things FSU baseball with the offseason underway, with the latest bit being a transfer portal pickup for the Seminoles — Cam Leiter, a right-handed pitcher who began his career at UCF.:

From his UCF bio, nephew of Al and Mark Leiter, cousin of Jack Leiter. The MLB bloodline pitcher is the third UCF to FSU transfer of the offseason. Leiter posted a 4.92 ERA in 15 appearances for the Knights. The freshman turned his season around in the second half. Over his last four starts, his numbers were 18.2 IP, 32 K, 4 ER. This run included his final start in the AAC tournament where he punched out nine over seven scoreless innings.

Softball

After starting off the Women’s College World Series 2-0 for the first time in school history with a heart-stopping win over the Washington Huskies, Florida State Seminoles softball is set to take on the Tennessee Volunteers with a berth in the championship waiting for FSU if the squad pulls off the win.

According to DraftKings, FSU is the favorite (-200).

Florida State vs. Tennessee in the Women’s College World Series gets underway at 7 p.m., with the game set to be televised on ESPN. If Tennessee wins, the two will play again later that night at 9:30 p.m. in a winner-take-all scenario.

They’ll be facing off against the winner of the Oklahoma and Stanford matchup, who face off at 12 p.m. — the Sooners are currently on an NCAA-record 50-game win streak.*

*(Fun fact next time you want to seem smart, courtesy of my random Googling: Oklahoma has the longest winning streak in both softball and football.)

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All Sports

Florida State beach volleyball athletes Maddie Anderson, Paige Kalkhoff, and Anna Long have been named to the Academic All-District team by the College Sports Communicators:

Anderson, Kalkhoff and Long led the Seminoles to a 32-9 record, the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Championship, and the No. 2 seed in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships during the 2023 season.

Anderson, a redshirt junior from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., holds a 3.747 grade point average as a finance major. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State at the conclusion of the spring 2023 semester and is a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll Honoree. She has earned FSU Academic Dean’s List honors through her career, and was named to the CCSA All-Academic team in 2022 and 2023.

Kalkhoff, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, has a perfect 4.0 GPA and was named as the CSA Scholar Athlete of the Year, as well as to the CCSA Al-Academic team in 2023. Academically the public health major was named to the FSU Academic President’s List as she earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the spring of 2023 – the Seminoles’ main competitive season.

Long, a sophomore from Lakeside Park, Ky., has earned a 3.538 grade point average in Media and Communication Studies in her first two years at Florida State. She was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2022.