Upgrades made to Howser Stadium as FSU baseball opens Link Jarrett Era
Florida State baseball has been busy preparing for the season under first-year coach Link Jarrett.
The Seminoles open against James Madison at Howser Stadium Feb. 17-19.
Jarrett is one of three new coaches in the ACC, making the jump from Notre Dame to his alma mater and replacing Mike Martin, Jr. Shawn Stiffler was hired at Notre Dame and Erik Bakich at Clemson.
A perennial national brand, FSU enters the season unranked in Baseball America's and D1Baseball's top-25 preseason polls - LSU is atop both polls.
The Seminoles were also picked to finish third in the ACC Atlantic Division by league coaches. Wake Forest and Clemson were the favorites in the ACC, according to the preseason poll.
FSU's schedule is daunting. Over its last 35 games, 21 are against preseason top 25 teams.
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Excitement building for the Jarrett Era
Jarrett, of course, is a familiar face.
He grew up in Tallahassee, played at FSU from 1991-94 and got his start as a Division I coach in 2003.
The Seminoles went 77-54 over the last three seasons and made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons (the event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). However, FSU did not advance past regionals for the first time in back-to-back seasons since a span from 1981-85.
The Seminoles held their Lead-Off Social at the Champions Club in Doak Campbell Stadium Friday, and Fan Day was rescheduled due to inclement weather from Saturday to Sunday at Howser Stadium.
Gates open Sunday at 11:30 a.m., followed by a scrimmage from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and an autograph session with players and coaches from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Single-game tickets for February and March games – including the March 11 jersey retirement of Buster Posey against Pittsburgh – are on sale at Seminoles.com.
Howser Stadium will also look the best it has in years, thanks to $2.8 million in improvements and renovations.
Here are a few things fans will notice:
Home dugout is back to first base side
Player names on the jersey
Concourse refresh. Including a new graphics package that highlights the history of Florida State Baseball on floors one and two
Concourse repainting
Staircase repair, painting
New grass surface on playing field
New field turf in batter’s box and perimeter of infield
New field turf in home bullpen and recreation area
New dugout railings and netting
New Grand Stand netting to protect the seating area
Videoboard graphics update
Additional statistics available on the video board this season
Other Items:
Graphics refresh in locker room, coaches offices and dugouts
New showers in locker room
New 8-camera analytics system inside Howser Stadium
FSU 2023 schedule
Feb. 17: vs. James Madison (5 p.m.)
Feb. 18: vs. James Madison (3 p.m.)
Feb. 19: vs. James Madison (1 p.m.)
Feb. 21: at Jacksonville (6 p.m.)
Feb. 24: at TCU (7:30 p.m.)
Feb. 25: at TCU (3 p.m.)
Feb. 26: at TCU (TBA)
MARCH
March 1: vs. USF (5 p.m.)
March 3: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (5 p.m.)
March 4: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (3 p.m.)
March 5: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (1 p.m.)
March 7: vs. Bethune-Cookman (5 p.m.)
March 10: vs. Pittsburgh (6 p.m.)
March 11: vs. Pittsburgh (3 p.m.)
March 12: vs. Pittsburgh (1 p.m.)
March 14: at UCF (6 p.m.)
March 15: at UCF (4 p.m.)
March 17: vs. Boston College (6 p.m.)
March 18: vs. Boston College (3 p.m.)
March 19: vs. Boston College (1 p.m.)
March 21: vs. Florida (6 p.m.)
March 24: at Virginia (6 p.m.)
March 25: at Virginia (1 p.m.)
March 26: at Virginia (1 p.m.)
March 28: vs. Florida in Jacksonville (6 p.m.)
March 31: at Miami (7 p.m.)
APRIL
April 1: at Miami (1 p.m.)
April 2: at Miami (1 p.m.)
April 4: vs. Jacksonville (6 p.m.)
April 6: vs. Clemson (6 p.m.)
April 7: vs. Clemson (6 p.m.)
April 8: vs. Clemson (2 p.m.)
April 11: at Florida (6 p.m.)
April 14: at NC State (6 p.m.)
April 15: at NC State (6 p.m.)
April 16: at NC State (1 p.m.)
April 19: at North Florida (6:05 p.m.)
April 21: vs. Virginia Tech (6 p.m.)
April 22: vs. Virginia Tech (3 p.m.)
April 23: vs. Virginia Tech (1 p.m.)
April 25: vs. Stetson (5 p.m.)
April 28: at Notre Dame (6 p.m.)
April 29: at Notre Dame (3 p.m.)
April 30: at Notre Dame (1 p.m.)
MAY
May 5: vs. Mercer (6 p.m.)
May 6: vs. Mercer (3 p.m.)
May 7: vs. Mercer (1 p.m.)
May 9: vs. Jacksonville (6 p.m.)
May 12: vs. Wake Forest (6 p.m.)
May 13: vs. Wake Forest (3 p.m.)
May 14: vs. Wake Forest (1 p.m.)
May 16: vs. Kennesaw State (6 p.m.)
May 18: at Louisville (6 p.m.)
May 19: at Louisville (6 p.m.)
May 20: at Louisville (1 p.m.)
May 23-28: ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C.
JUNE
June 2-5: NCAA Regionals
June 9-12: NCAA Super Regionals
June 16-26: College World Series
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State's Howser Stadium: A look at improvements and renovations
