The Florida State baseball team opens up play for its 2022 season this Friday against James Madison.

Before first pitch, Warchant.com recently sat down with FSU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Metcalf to discuss the Seminoles' returning roster and the newcomers who arrived in the offseason.

Prior to joining the FSU staff, Metcalf’s experience goes back two decades as a college assistant and scout in the Southeast before moving on to the San Francisco Giants organization.

Metcalf and FSU head coach Mike Martin Jr. have known each other for years, and he joined the Seminoles' staff shorty after Martin was named head coach in July 2019.

“We stayed in contact in recruiting when we ran into each other back when I was at Florida Southern," Metcalf said. "Once I got on the pro side with the San Francisco Giants, we spoke more and more each year. I was out watching the high school players that were committed to Florida State. We were at the same events quite often. We just kept building that relationship.”

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Metcalf's Seminole ties run much deeper than that. His father graduated from FSU, and he grew up a huge fan of the program.

And when he part of the Giants' organization, the player who led the team to three World Series championships in five years was none other than FSU all-time great Buster Posey.

“It was a really cool thing to see," Metcalf said. "Everybody sees him hit the home runs and go out and catch, but what he did for that clubhouse and what he did for those guys ... the way that clubhouse functioned and the way those guys worked together for one common goal. Obviously, Buster had a ton to do with that, and I think it's very important for a baseball team trying to reach their goals at the end of the year.”

When it comes to the roster FSU brings back in 2022, Metcalf said star left-hander and reigning ACC Player of the Year Parker Messick has been a “great leader” this offseason for the entire club.

“When he walks in that clubhouse, everybody in that clubhouse -- new guys or returners -- know what he did last year," Metcalf said. "It’s a great foundation for us this year. He’s not worried about last year; he’s worried about getting better for this year."

Behind Messick, redshirt sophomore Bryce Hubbart is the projected No. 2 FSU starter. And Metcalf says Hubbart has the “same mindset" and is a much-improved player.

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Nobody knows FSU's incoming class better than Metcalf, who was integral in bringing in the No.7 overall class in the nation, according to Perfect Game.

“It’s exciting. They’re a great group of guys in regards to human beings. They’re great people. They have a great makeup," Metcalf said. "They do everything that is asked and then some. But they also are athletic and versatile. That’s really been exciting. They’re not just pigeonholed to one positions; they can do multiple things."

The Seminoles also brought in several Division-I transfers, and the recruiting coordinator said evaluating personalities and attitudes was a, “major part of the process.” It's not always just about identifying talented players.

Two of the highest-profile additions are players who have competed against FSU in the past -- former Florida Gators infielder Jordan Carrion and former Miami Hurricanes slugger Alex Toral.

“During the recruiting process, you could tell that they have a passion for the game, they have a love for the game," Metcalf said. "They’ve always been talented players. A change of scenery is what they felt was in store for them. For us, more than anything, it was using our resources to find out the type of player and teammate they were.”

With the 2022 season fast approaching, Metcalf said all of the newcomers have done a great job of adapting to their new program and building relationships with the returning players and coaches.

“They’ve done a great job of buying in to what our veterans have been talking about," Metcalf said. "They didn’t come in with expectations to be the guys, they came with the expectations to work every day and help win a national championship.”

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