Noles News: All the latest in Florida State Seminoles sports

Mar 22, 2023 - 10:00 AM

Recruiting

The latest entry into NoleThruandThru’s deep dive into Mike Norvell and his staff’s high school recruiting success goes live today — catch up on all the previous entries below:

Part 1 , The Data: Numbers behind FSU’s high school and transfer portal recruiting during Mike Norvell’s tenure as head coach.

Part 2, The Names: Taking a deeper dive into each of Mike Norvell’s FSU classes and the names behind the rankings

You can catch up on all the latest Florida State football recruiting news and pick the brains of our recruiting staff in the latest edition of our recruiting thread.

Class of 2024 commitments

QUARTERBACK: 4 star Luke Kromenhoek (GA)

RUNNING BACK: 5 star Kam Davis (GA)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Camdon Frier (FL)

WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star Tawaski “TJ” Abrams (FL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Keishawn Mashburn (FL)

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 3 star Jamorie Flagg (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star Jordan Pride (FL)

DEFENSIVE BACK: 4 star CJ Heard (GA)

KICKER: Jake Weinberg (FL)

Football

FSU was back out on the practice field Tuesday for its fourth day of camp in 2023 — Norvell was happy with the physicality but is still looking to see more from his players in regards to tempo.

“I thought guys had good spirit,” Norvell said. “There was some good physicality that showed up — want to see a better sense of tempo, [which happens] sometimes when you’re coming back and getting into the swing of practice.”

“We’re continuing to install...put a good amount on them. There are some newcomers [who] I’m sure their heads are spinning a little bit but it’s good to get thrown out there and have to adapt. I like what I saw, I want to continue to push that tempo.”

Earlier in the day, Norvell took part in a press conference celebrating the announcement of FSU’s international matchup vs. the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 2024, set to take place in Dublin, Ireland.

He was joined by athletic director Michael Alford, Aer Lingus College Football Classic officials, FSU athletes and other officials — amongst those athletes was Seminoles soccer player Heather Payne, Irish native who was featured in The Sun in a piece that tries their best to explain what college fandom means to those outside of the States:

Wearing a hoodie or carrying a bag with FSU written on it means she gets stopped pretty much everywhere she goes in America.

She added: “It is not really fully understood over here but over there, if you are passing through an airport and you have a Florida State bag, people will stop you and say, ‘I used to be Seminoles’. Going to college is such a big thing over there, it is not really understood over here. It is so big, it is the whole country.”

Not the first Ireland star to represent the college, she said: “The school is known for winning three national championships, with Megan Connolly and Megan Campbell as well. It is a big deal.”

Basketball

Another major accolade for Ta’Niya Latson, who was named the 2022-23 Tamika Catchings Award as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s National Freshman Player of the Year.

From FSU Sports Info:

Latson will receive the award at the USBWA College Basketball Awards Banquet in St. Louis on April 12, which is hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club.

The Miami, Fla., native recorded one of the best freshman seasons in collegiate basketball history, averaging 21.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, shooting 45.5 percent overall and 36.2 percent from 3-point range. Latson became the first freshman ever to lead the ACC in scoring and set the single-season scoring average record by a freshman in the conference with 659 total points.

Latson also shot 85.9 percent (171-of-199) from the free throw line, the second-most free throws made in a season at FSU and the most since Carla Williams’ record-setting 189 made free throws in the 1995-96 season.

Baseball

FSU baseball failed to take advantage of a late-game lead against the No. 3 Florida Gators on Tuesday, with a letdown of an eighth-inning sealing the Seminoles’ fate in a 9-5 loss:

A major issue with FSU pitching was the lack of competitive pitches. In his four innings Barrett didn’t walk a batter and only went to a three ball count once but in the next five innings FSU walked six and too often had pitches that weren’t even close putting them in bad counts. In the eighth the damn finally burst for FSU. Jaimie Arnold gave up a bloop single followed by a high chopper over his head and a walk to load the bases with one out. Link Jarrett brought in Jackson Baumeister in to try and keep the lead but four singles later, another just over the pitcher’s head, and FSU was down 9-5 and the game was over.

Softball

All Sports

Florida State distance runner Patrick Donnelly was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Track Performer of the Week after leading a 53-man field in the 5000 meters with a time of 14:15.81 at the River City Spring Break Classic hosted by North Florida.

Tuesday also marked another FSU Day at the Capitol:

Booths lined the first three levels of the Capitol Rotunda, showcasing FSU’s world-class colleges and programs and the university’s high-achieving students and faculty.

Jeff Culhane, the voice for Florida State football and men’s basketball, hosted an outdoor pep rally featuring music by the FSU pep band Seminole Sound and performances from the FSU Cheerleaders and Flying High Circus.

Members of the Florida Legislature’s Seminole Caucus joined FSU officials, Head Women’s Basketball Coach Brooke Wyckoff and members of the Board of Trustees for the festivities.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, an FSU alumnus, spoke about the rising demand for a Florida State University education, noting the university’s more than 70,000 applications for fall admission.

President Richard McCullough built on Patronis’ remarks, highlighting the university’s advancements throughout his tenure, including an increase of research and fundraising totals along with student success and graduation rates.

McCullough lauded the university’s record 99% of first-year undergraduates who started at FSU last fall and returned for the spring semester, one of the best rates in the country and another indicator of FSU’s national leadership in student success.

“We are competing on and off the field at the highest levels for a Top 20 university,” McCullough said. “Our retention rate for freshmen this semester so far is 99% — that’s incredible and off the charts. Florida State University has the ingredients to continue to drive forward and be one of the greatest universities in this nation.”