Lawren Dodd
Staff Writer
After a postseason cut short against the University of West Florida last spring, the Mocs baseball team and Head Coach coach, Rick O’Dette, are entering their new season with minimal roster damage and a plethora of improved skills.
The team is heading into the new season with this motivation shared by both their returning players and 20 newcomers. Their wave of new talent includes eight high school signings and 12 transfers with a majority of them hailing from Division I. Despite Florida Southern’s Division II status, a large number of transfers were recruited from Division I. They fell into the hands of FSC because of how they filled needed roles on the team, most notably pitching.
“It’s just a matter of what we think is the best available for us. I got a guy named Christian Carew and Evan Parmer both; one pitched at VMI and one pitch at Eastern Illinois and had really good experience on the mound and we think they’re gonna help us a bunch,” O’Dette explained.
Returning players include junior pitcher Sachem Ramos who will remain the teams’ starting pitcher in the rotation and Casey O’Dell as the closer. New players are not the only thing the Mocs offered up this season, as new coaching hire Erik Dahl has joined the team with a vast experience in collegiate baseball. Dahl will be replacing former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Tony Caldwell. Dahl will not only take on the role of hitting coach, but will also oversee the catchers.
Last season, the Mocs had a historic offense, eradicating the previous school stolen base record by over 60 bases. Heading into the offseason, the team was surrounded by big expectations, but ultimately they fell short.
“We made a good run, but we just didn’t have enough pitching depth to run through the bracket. You know as a whole but yeah, It was not the ending we wanted, because we were so so offensive and I really liked our group a ton,” O’Dette said.
O’Dette stated that the team learned from that demoralizing game and ‘flipped the script’ by adding quicker, more experienced players. Although they were offense heavy last season, this year’s team will somehow be overall faster and more dynamic than the team who stole 230 bases.
“They just don’t know what to do with [the Mocs excessive base stealing], which is why it is so great,” Coach O’Dette explained.
The renewed offense will certainly be exciting and give the team an advantage that will make the opponents uncomfortable according to O’Dette. Over the offseason, the Mocs don’t just strengthen their skills but also their mentality. The team lives by the motto “Play every day like a national championship” which shows their determination every time they step out onto the field.
It gives the players a reminder that one game is not more important than another, which encourages them to commit to giving their best every single game.
The Mocs will start the 2026 season with a difficult task. Beat the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last spring. The Florida Southern Mocs take on the University of West Florida Argonauts tonight at 5 p.m.
“[Returning players] are gonna have a bad taste in their mouth, and I think it’s going to be some extra motivation.”
This article was written previous to the first games on Jan. 30
