Noles News: Major linebacker target locks in commitment date, legendary FSU track and field coach retires (2024)

Recruiting

It’s not football season, but it’s another most wonderful time of the year — the point where we kick off the latest of deep dives from Tomahawk Nation’s NoleThruandThru into Florida State recruiting.

As we get into the full swing of the summer recruiting cycle, what is FSU looking to do with #Tribe25? Sir ThruandThru starts off with an inside look at the offensive side of the ball:

Norvell has shown that he isn’t afraid to lean on the transfer portal to supplement his prep recruiting classes. In his five recruiting classes at FSU, Norvell has averaged 20 prep signees and 13 transfer portal signees per year, good for a total of 33 new players on average each cycle.

That may seem high but to put it into perspective, those numbers coincide with an average of a little over 20 outgoing transfers per season as Florida State’s program has been rebuilt. For now, we’ll use those incoming player averages to help inform the total number of projected signees for #Tribe25.

2025 four-star linebacker Tavion Wallace is set to announce his commitment on July 15 — the blue-chip prospect out of Jespup, Georgia is considered the No. 6 linebacker in the class and has announced a final six of potential schools in Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Florida and Arkansas:

Football

We’ve officially got another kickoff time locked in for the 2024 Florida State Seminoles football schedule — FSU’s November matchup vs. Notre Dame has been set for 7:30 p.m. start time with the game to be broadcast on NBC and Peaco*ck.

2024 Florida State football schedule

Aug. 24: vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

• Time: 12 p.m. ET (5 p.m. IST)
• Network: ESPN

Sep. 2 (Monday): vs. Boston College Eagles, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Network: ESPN

Sep. 14: vs. Memphis Tigers, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Sep. 21: vs. Cal Golden Bears, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Sep. 28 :at SMU Mustangs, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX

Oct. 5: vs. Clemson Tigers, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Oct. 18 (Friday): at Duke Blue Devils, Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, NC (Friday)

Oct. 26: at Miami (FL) Hurricanes, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

Nov. 2: vs. North Carolina Tar Heels, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Nov. 9: at Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Network: NBC, Peaco*ck

Nov. 23: vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Nov. 30: vs. Florida Gators, Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

Heading to Ireland for Florida State’s season opener? Nole99 has set up a thread and Google Form to organize a get-together for those traveling across the pond:

Baseball

2024 NCAA Tournament: Tallahassee Regional schedule

Friday, May 31:

• Game 1: Stetson vs. Florida State, noon ET, ACC Network
• Game 2: UCF Knights vs. Alabama Crimson Tide, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Saturday, June 1:

• Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, noon ET, TBA
• Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m. ET, TBA

Sunday, June 2:

• Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, noon ET, TBA
• Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m. ET, TBA

Golf

A valiant effort for Florida State men’s golf came up just short in Wednesday’s NCAA Championship Final, with the Seminoles falling 3-2 to Auburn in match play:

The match was about as close as it gets, with each team securing two wins apiece before coming down to the anchor match. In the end, Auburn’s J.M. Butler was able to put away the Seminoles on the 17th hole to defeat FSU’s Luke Clanton, 2&1.

Despite the loss, the 2024 Seminoles made program history by becoming the first FSU squad to reach the National Championship Match. It also marked their first time reaching Match Play in consecutive years.

Freshman Tyler Weaver went 3-0 in NCAA Championship Match Play, getting a 2&1 win over Josiah Gilbert on Wednesday to put FSU’s first point on the scoreboard and tie the match officially at 1-1. After sitting out all four stroke play rounds, the ACC Freshman of the Year subbed in and got three impressive match-play wins over North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Auburn. A par on the 17th hole gave Weaver the win.

Graduate golfer Cole Anderson won his last match by taking down Carson Bacha, 1UP, as Anderson had to hang on during the 18th hole. Anderson led Bacha 3UP through 15 holes, but the Auburn Tiger came back to win holes No. 16 and 17 before Anderson held off the rally on 18 with a beautiful chip shot right by the hole. A missed par putt by Bacha secured the win.

Anderson, Frederik Kjettrup, Brett Roberts and Gray Albright leave as one of the most decorated senior classes in program history. Anderson, Kjettrup and Roberts each made their fourth NCAA Championships appearance, while Albright enjoyed a historic season capped by an All-ACC Team selection.

Sophom*ore Luke Clanton recorded one of the best single seasons in program history, and figures to enter next year as one of the most accomplished returning players.

All Sports

Legendary Florida State track and field coach Bob Braman, who won three NCAA men’s outdoor national titles (2006, 2007 and 2008) and an ACC-record 33 conference titles (25 men’s and 8 women’s) while leading the Seminoles, has announced his retirement:

Currently finishing his 21st season as a head coach at FSU, a tenure that ranks second in Seminole track and field history, Braman will conclude his coaching career at the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to be held next week.

The 2010-11 John McDonnell Award Winner as the nation’s top coach, Braman’s tenure as head coach saw FSU emerge as one of the nation’s most consistent national contenders as his teams earned a combined 20 Top 10 NCAA Championship finishes. On the conference level, Braman’s unmatched success included 13 men’s outdoor team titles, 12 men’s indoor titles, four women’s outdoor titles and four women’s indoor championships.

Individually, Braman’s impressive stable of elite performers includes two Bowerman Award Winners – Trey Cunnigham (2022) and Ngoni Makusha (2011) – and Adrian Wildschut’s runner-up finish at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships is the highest finish ever by a Seminole. Overall, Braman’s student-athletes earned 40 individual NCAA national titles and 428 All-American honors.

Over the course of his career, Braman earned a combined total of 50 national, regional and conference Coach of the Year (COY) honors, including three consecutive USTFCCCA National of the Year honors (2006-08) for outdoor track and field. On the conference level, Braman was named ACC Coach of the Year 28 times, and he earned 19 South Region COY honors.

Braman’s stature as one of the top distance coaches in the nation is borne out by the success of FSU’s cross country program during his tenure. Over the last 24 years, FSU’s men’s team has made 15 NCAA appearances, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2010 and a fifth-place showing in 2012. He led FSU’s women’s cross country team to their first three NCAA national championship appearances (2002, 2003 and 2006). FSU won the ACC triple crown in 2008-09 and 2013-14, sweeping the conference’s cross country, indoor and outdoor team titles. FSU also has earned five NCAA South Region cross country team titles under Braman’s leadership.

Florida State softball’s Jaysoni Beachum and Michaela Edenfield were both named to NFCA All-American teams on Wednesday, with Beachum being named a Second Team All-America selection while Edenfield earned Third Team honors:

Beachum and Edenfield become the 36th and 37th players in school history to earn All-America honors. In total, FSU has garnered 56 All-America honors in its history, 24 of those coming under Head Coach Lonni Alameda. Florida State is one of 12 teams to have multiple All-Americans this season.

Beachum continues to make history in her first season with the Garnet and Gold. Beachum is just the third true freshman in school history to earn All-America status joining Sydney Sherrill in 2018 and Veronica Wootson in 2004. Both players went on to be three-time All-Americans. The unanimous National Freshman of the Year by the NFCA, D1Softball and Softball America led the team in batting average, hits, home runs, RBI and on-base percentage. The ACC Freshman of the Year broke the school’s freshman record for RBI in a single season with 66 which was the fifth-most in school history. Beachum ended the season with a .417 batting average which was the third-highest batting average in program history. Her 16 home runs are tied for the sixth-most in program history. Beachum’s .743 slugging percentage ranked eighth in program history.

One of the most dangerous hitters in all of college softball can cross “All-American” off her checklist as Edenfield earned her first All-America honor in her third season with the Seminoles. Edenfield’s power has always been a mainstay of her game, but this year, Edenfield had the most consistent season of her career with a career-high .381 batting average which was second on the team behind Beachum. Edenfield did not hit higher than .300 in her first two seasons with the Seminoles. The power was still there for Edenfield as she hit 15 home runs this season to go along with 46 RBI. For the last month of the season, Edenfield was playing with a broken finger that caused her to miss nine games. Edenfield did not miss a beat when she returned to play, hitting .333 with four home runs and 12 RBI in her final 15 games. Edenfield was terrific behind the dish as she emerged as a leader with the young pitching staff and continuously made great blocks behind the plate. Not many tried to test Edenfield behind the plate as opponents had just 39 stolen base attempts in 53 games against Edenfield. Edenfield ended the season with just one error behind the plate.

Devyn Flaherty, Kaley Mudge, Amaya Ross and Emma Wilson earned some honors of their own, with all being named to the CSC Academic All-District team:

To be considered for CSC Academic All-District, athletes must hold a 3.50 GPA or higher and compete in 90% of the team’s games or start in 66% of the team’s games. Pitchers must have made either 17 appearances or pitched 22 innings. These four athletes are now eligible to earn Academic All-America status.

Both Flaherty and Mudge put together All-ACC caliber seasons for the Noles who made their 10th Super Regional appearance in the last 11 seasons. Mudge hit .333 this season and earned First Team All-ACC honors after she hit .400 in ACC play. Mudge battled injury at the beginning of the season but made her way back to her usual spot in the leadoff position of the Seminoles’ lineup.

Flaherty started 60 games at second base this season and was a main factor in the Seminoles’ turnaround in the second half of the season. Flaherty ended her season with a .329 batting average with one home run and 16 RBI. Flaherty had a great year on the base paths as she stole 16 bases on 18 attempts and became just the seventh player in school history to record 100 or more career stolen bases. Flaherty ended her career playing in 275 games which was the second-most among active Division I players and tied for the fourth-most in school history.

Ross was one of just two players on the Florida State roster to start in every game this season as she was FSU’s primary first baseman and had a breakout season for the Noles. Ross had career highs in all major hitting categories including a .322 average and eight home runs. Ross was unstoppable on the base paths this season stealing an ACC-leading 28 bases this season.

Wilson got the most action of her career in the circle this season as the senior made a career high 22 appearances and pitched a career high 38 innings. Wilson made five starts for the Seminoles and finished with a 4-2 record. She finished with a 5.16 ERA with 18 strikeouts.

No. 22 Florida State women’s tennis had four athletes named in the final ITA rankings — two in the singles, two pairs in the doubles:

Vic Allen ended the spring season ranked 21st and Ellie Schoppe is 48th in the national singles rankings. Sophom*ore Millie Bissett and Allen finished 16th and Anna Arkadinaou and Allen are 85th in the national doubles rankings.

Allen finished with 16 victories in singles, which included seven over ranked opponents. The three-time ACC Player of The Week winner’s most memorable moment came in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals when she defeated 11th-ranked Alexa Noel 6-3, 7-5 to help FSU earn the 4-1 victory over No. 20 Miami. Noel recently earned the NCAA singles championship this past weekend.

Schoppe earned 15 wins in singles this season, with three victories over top-25 opponents, and was named ACC Player of The Week in February. Her biggest victory of the spring came when she defeated 14th-ranked Carson Tanguilig of No. 8 North Carolina 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Allen and Bissett ended the spring season with 14 victories and made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo’s four ranked victories included three pairs inside the top-15. Their best win of the season came when they defeated No. 14 pair of Dasha Vidmanova and Aysegul Mert, who recently won the NCAA Doubles Championship, 6-4 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Arkadianou and Allen collected three wins as a pair. The duo earned a ranked victory against No. 20 Tennessee as they defeated 29th-ranked Sofia Cabezas and Elza Tomase 7-6 (2) at No. 1 doubles. They also defeated Katie Codd and Shavit Kimchi of No. 14 Duke 7-6 (1) at No. 1 doubles to help the Seminoles the to a 6-1 victory.

Former Florida State forward Baba Miller is switching course on his next step, withdrawing from the NBA Draft and committing to the FAU Owls for next season: