Mike Fuentes to be inducted into College Baseball Hall of Fame

FSU sports information

The College Baseball Foundation announced that former Seminole outfielder Mike Fuentes is one of 12 new members. The 16th induction class will be honored at the Night of Champions on February 15, 2024, in Overland Park, Kansas.

Fuentes played for Florida State from 1978-81, earning the 1981 Golden Spikes Award as the best player in college baseball. He was an All-American in 1980 and 1981 and his .373 career average, 280 hits, 64 home runs, and 233 runs batted in earned him an induction into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

Fuentes was selected in the fifth round of the 1980 MLB Draft, returned to school and won the Golden Spikes Award and was a second-round selection in 1981. Fuentes made his Major League debut in 1983, playing the 1983 and 1984 seasons with the Montreal Expos.

Fuentes is the sixth Seminole inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Dick Howser (2008), J.D. Drew (2016), Mike Martin (2019), Terry Kennedy (2021) and Danny Litwhiler (2021).

The 2023 class includes six players, four coaches and two former umpires: Chris Bando (Arizona State), Pat Casey (coach, Oregon State), Jack Coffey (coach, Fordham), Ron Darling (Yale), Mike Fuentes (Florida State), Alex Gordon (Nebraska), Steve Kemp (Southern Cal), Russell Martin (Southwestern), Mike Metheny (coach, Southwestern Oklahoma State), Marty Miller (coach, Norfolk State), C.J. Mitchell (umpire) and Tony Thompson (umpire).

To be eligible for the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, players must be out of college for 15 years and have completed one year of competition at a two-year institution in the CCCAA, NJCAA or a four-year NCAA (Division I, II or III) or NAIA institution. Ballot-eligible coaches must be retired for two years or be active and no less than 75 years old.