Tag: Florida State Seminoles

Gators take down FSU, Caglianone ties school home run record

Jac Caglianone tied the program single-season home run record, Blake Purnell had a career outing in relief and Florida swept the season series against FSU with a 7-5 win Tuesday night.

Gainesville has never seen a power hitter like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], and the Florida first baseman etched his name into the program record books with his 26th home run of the season during a 7-5 win over Florida State on Tuesday night.

Caglianone’s line drive home run might have only traveled some 325 feet, but it counts the same as his 480-foot tank against Missouri over the weekend. He ties the school record held by Matt LaPorta and teammate [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. Caglianone should set the new mark over the weekend against Texas A&M and could pass the 30-homer threshold by the season’s end if he keeps on his current pace of one every eight plate appearances.

The Gators have three series left for Caglianone to do some damage in the regular season, and he’ll likely add to his home run total throughout the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Caglianone’s home run was a part of back-to-back jacks to lead off the top of the fifth inning and put the Gators out in front, 7-5. [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] hit the first homer of the inning, and that score held for the rest of the night.

Most of the scoring came in the first inning of the game. Florida State once again threw Ben Barrett, and Florida went with [autotag]Clete Hartzog[/autotag], who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season. Neither made it out of the first, giving up at least four runs each, with Hartzog failing to record an out.

[autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] took over and pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Hartzog, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] took over in the fourth. Purnell has struggled this season. He fell out of the weekend bullpen rotation after leading the team in appearances a year ago, but Tuesday was a career night for the St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus.

Purnell struck out eight over five innings, setting new career highs in both categories. If the Gators can get Purnell back for an inning or two every weekend, a ton of pressure will be taken off some other arms in the ‘pen and the starters.

An extra bullpen arm or two can make the difference deep in a tournament, so it’s very encouraging to see Purnell return to form. [autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] closed out the game for save No. 2 on the year as [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] rested up for the upcoming series against Texas A&M.

Florida is at College Station for a three-game series starting on Friday.

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Oklahoma Sooners crack USA TODAY Sports post-spring ball top 25

Despite a 6-7 season a year ago, transfer additions and Oklahoma’s recruiting prowess has USA TODAY Sports optimistic about the Sooners, including OU in their post-spring top 25.

Spring is over and the football season is still four months away, but that shouldn’t stop us from reflecting on where teams stand after the completion of spring ball.

Though we will not have any official answers on how the Oklahoma Sooners stack up with their national counterparts, it is telling the Sooners are receiving as much respect as they are this spring.

Oklahoma was picked third in USA TODAY Sports Big 12 post-spring power rankings behind Texas and Kansas State. There’s an argument that could be made that the Sooners are too high for a team coming off a 6-7 season.

However, with what they’ve done in the transfer portal and the maturation of the returnees under Brent Venables in Year 2, there’s reason to believe they’ll be better this year.

In their post-spring top 25, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg and Erick Smith look to be feeling good about the Sooners, including them in their power rankings. Here’s a look at their top 25.

Oklahoma sends offer to Philadephia prep school cornerback Omillio Agard

Oklahoma joins the race for Philadelphia area cornerback Omillio Agard, issuing an offer to the four-star prospect.

Oklahoma has gone to work recruiting the northeast since Brent Venables has taken over. In 2023, they signed a pair of players, Phil Piccioti and Logan Howland, from that neck of the woods.

In the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], they’ve offered multiple prospects from that area, and this past weekend, they added to that growing list by offering composite four-star cornerback Omillio Agard.

Agard hails from Philadelphia, where he attends St. Joseph’s Prep School. The 5-foot-10 corner excels with physicality at the line of scrimmage despite not being the biggest player on the field. He showcases the ability to jam and reroute receivers while also showing a willingness to come up and tackle.

Agard is being pursued by a number of Power Five schools like Clemson, Penn State, Tennessee, Michigan, and Alabama. Clemson and Penn State look to be early frontrunners, but at this time, it may be too early to call the race.

Omillio Agard’s’ Recruiting Profile

HUDL

Oklahoma lands two sport athlete in 2025 4-star WR Gracen Harris

Oklahoma continues to build its 2025 class landing a commitment from composite four-star receiver Gracen Harris.

The class of 2025 has gotten off to a much quicker start than Oklahoma’s [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], with just under two years until 2025 national signing day.

The first day of May brings the Sooners their second commitment of the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. Composite four-star wide receiver Gracen Harris announced his commitment to Oklahoma Football on Monday afternoon. He chose the Sooners over offers from schools such as Florida State, Baylor, and TCU.

[autotag]Gracen Harris[/autotag] hails from Ennis, Texas, and has been firmly on the Sooners’ radar the moment they landed wide receivers coach [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag]. Following his hiring, a crystal ball prediction was submitted for the Sooners to land the talented slot wide receiver after receiving his offer.

The momentum kept building for Oklahoma and never stopped as other predictions continued favoring Oklahoma’s chances.

Harris fits Jeff Lebby’s offense due to his ability to win from the slot. He has the speed to win vertically via slot fades but can also win with in-breaking routes and screens as well.

In 2022, Harris was named a Texas District 5-5A-II first-team selection at inside WR. The year before, he was Texas District 8-5A-II Offensive Newcomer of the Year. He’s a productive and proven slot wide receiver, and that’s where he will be deployed for the Sooners.

When not playing football, he is also a star on the baseball diamond, where he was offered a scholarship by Oklahoma Baseball head coach Skip Johnson. It seems likely Harris will double dip and be a dual sport athlete at the University of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s most notable dual sport athlete, [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag], was the No. 1 overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Harris’ commitment continues to validate Oklahoma’s decision to hire Emmett Jones.

Known for his ability to recruit, Jones has already received three commitments since being hired in January. His highest-rated target, five-star wideout [autotag]Bryant Wesco[/autotag], is still uncommitted, but Jones’ efforts have the Sooners in the lead for him as well.

2025 QB commit Kevin Sperry is now joined by Gracen Harris as Oklahoma works on building two recruiting classes at once.

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5 Sooners with the best chance to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft

Taking a look at five Sooners that have a chance to be NFL draft picks in 2024.

Another year and another NFL draft has come and gone. For Oklahoma, this draft saw the Sooners have five players selected. The Sooners had picks on all three days of the draft, with Anton Harrison’s leading the way. Drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Harrison became Oklahoma’s the first round one selection since CeeDee Lamb was taken 17th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.

With this draft behind us, NFL and college football have already turned their attention to next year’s class. It’s a group that will be headlined by standout quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Oklahoma lost five players to the NFL Draft despite having their worst season in over 20 years. What can another year of development and better results on the field bring next year’s NFL Draft picks?

Only time will tell, but Oklahoma is well-positioned to have multiple draft picks next year as well. We take a look at a few of the names below. Several names will have legibility after 2023, but big-time seasons this year could lead them to declare early.

Florida State Men’s Basketball adds Georgetown guard Primo Spears to roster

Florida State looking to rebound from a tough 2022-2023 season picked up a big piece of their roster for next season on Saturday.

The Florida State Seminoles and head coach Leonard Hamilton are working hard this offseason to get past a poor 2022-2023 season that saw the program go 9-23 overall.

On Saturday, the Seminoles added a big piece to their roster in Georgetown transfer guard Primo Spears.

Spears come to Tallahassee as one of the transfer portal’s top available scorers. This past season for Georgetown, he averaged 16.0 points on 40.0% shooting from the field, he also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Notably, it will be the third program that the Hartford, Connecticut native will be a part of as he was previously at Duquesne for the 2021-2022 season. As a freshman for the Dukes, he averaged 12.7 points per game.

While the NCAA usually only allows one free transfer in a player’s NCAA career, the coaching change at Georgetown which saw the departure of Patrick Ewing and the arrival of Ed Cooley, allowed Primo to enter the portal again and have immediate eligibility.

While Spears isn’t an efficient scorer, with his 40.8% shooting percentage which includes just 30% from deep, he did show improvement this past season while with Georgetown.

His overall shooting percentage increased from 36.7% to the aforementioned 40.8% including seeing his field goal percentage from within the perimeter rise from 39.1% to 43.4%. Spears’ effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentages also saw quality ticks up from 40.6% to 43.7% and 44.8% to 48.0% respectively. Notably, he is a quality free throw shooter, with a 77.2% conversion rate at the charity stripe.

With the Seminoles, Spears will join Devin Green in the backcourt. Green was the Seminoles’ No. 2 scorer this past season only behind guard Matthew Cleveland who has entered the transfer portal and is likely soon going to make a decision of his own. They also saw the departure of guard Caleb Mills, who is now at Memphis.

Spears will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Offensive tackle Isaiah Autry commits to the Oklahoma Sooners

Isaiah Autry joins the Sooners 2024 recruiting class, choosing Oklahoma over Ole Miss, Auburn, Alabama, and FSU.

Bill Bedenbaugh is on the board for the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag] as he led the charge and helped Oklahoma land its first offensive line commitment for the class of the cycle. Three-star offensive tackle [autotag]Isaiah Autry[/autotag] chose Oklahoma over Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida State, and Auburn.

Autry’s second cousin is Marcus Dupree, a former Oklahoma running back. He hails from the state of Mississippi, and while Ole Miss was a major factor in his recruitment, a visit and offer from Oklahoma in March changed everything. Autry’s mother Pashen Dent was a player for the Tennessee Volunteers under Pat Summit.

“Over the past years, I have been blessed to be able to play the game of football at a high level,” Autry said in his commitment release. “To my family, coaches and friends, I would like to say thank you for praying for me and supporting me throughout my football recruiting process.

“A special thanks to my parents, Marcus and Pashen Dent, and grandparents Ruby Jean Brazzle and the late Johnny Brazzle, for a Christian and humble upbringing, and teaching me the meaning of hard work and dedication. I want to thank my Itawamba Agriculture High School family, friends, fans, and administration for a wonderful on and off-the-field experience.”

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Autry is a large young man with the frame to become a strong bookend player for years. One underrated aspect about Autry is that he’s a powerlifter, so he has strength in spades already. He’s also very athletic for a player his size, providing a lot of upside for the future Oklahoma tackle.

With a detailed nutrition program and some time with the head of strength and conditioning, Jerry Schmidt, Autry has an incredibly high ceiling.

Autry showed a knack for displacing defenders in the run game and finishing blocks. That trait will endear him to Bedenaugh and Jeff Lebby as Oklahoma has become a run-first team.

April has been extremely kind to Oklahoma in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag].

This week alone, the Sooners landed three-star wide receiver [autotag]K.J. Daniels[/autotag] on Monday after getting a commitment from four-star quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] earlier in the month. The Sooners’ trio of April commits joined four-star cornerback [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag], who broke the ice for the 2024 class in March.

Autry will be in Norman to get a taste of a game-day-like atmosphere for the first time while watching the Sooners’ spring game.

With Autry on board, Bill Bedenbaugh will focus on adding a few more talented offensive linemen. Casey Poe, Kaedin Massey, Garrett Sexton, and Bennett Warren are players to watch as the Sooners continue to put together a strong offensive line class.

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REPORT: Florida State loses 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod to transfer portal

Florida State lost a big part of its men’s basketball roster on Wednesday, both literally and figuratively.

Florida State lost a big part of their men’s basketball roster on Wednesday, both literally and figuratively as 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod has entered the transfer portal according to multiple reports including by 247Sports and Rivals.

McLeod leaves Tallahassee after just two seasons in which he averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game over 46 games. He also started 16 games for the Seminoles including 16 this past season.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – McLeod entered the Florida State program after spending a season at Chipola College in 2021 where he averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game though he originally made his decision in 2019. At the time he chose the Seminoles over Oregon, and a group of local programs in La Salle, Penn State, Temple, and Villanova. A chance to return home to one of those schools seems high for McLeod including Penn State and Temple who are undergoing quite a bit of roster changes following the departures of their former head coaches.

He joins former Seminoles in guard Caleb Mills and forward Matthew Cleveland as players to leave the Florida State program this offseason. Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles are coming off their worst season in his 20-year tenure, going 9-23 including 7-13 in conference play. Missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons in the process.

Florida State flips consensus top-50 prospect TE Landen Thomas from Georgia

The Florida State Seminoles made a major splash on Monday on the recruiting trail.

The Florida State Seminoles made a huge splash on the recruiting trail on Monday when they flipped consensus 2024 top-50 prospect, TE Landen Thomas from the Georgia Bulldogs.

Thomas, a standout out at Colquitt County is a native of Moultrie, Georgia. While many view it as a major in-state recruiting loss for the Bulldogs, it is worth noting that Tallahassee is significantly closer to Moultrie than it is to Athens. Thomas was originally committed to the Bulldogs on Jul. 7, 2022, and remained until Monday when made the decision to flip to the Seminoles.

Across the recruiting industry, Thomas is highly regarded with each of the three major recruiting networks ranking him inside their top 40 prospects nationally. ESPN has him as the 48th-best player in the country, his lowest ranking. Three of the four also have him as the top tight-end prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Other notable offers that Thomas holds in his recruitment include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Miami (FL), Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, and USC.

For Mike Norvell and his program, Thomas becomes the highest-rated member of their 11-member 2024 recruiting class. They also hold commitments from consensus top-100 prospect running back, Kameron Davis and four-star quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, who is considered a top-100 prospect by both On3 and 247Sports.

The Seminoles 2024 recruiting class is ranked fifth in the country by 247Sports, On3, and Rivals.

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Baba Miller to return to Florida State for sophomore season

Miller is highly touted for his versatility and athleticism, and ability to defend with his 7-foot-2 wingspan.

Florida State forward Baba Miller on Friday told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he will return to school after an up-and-down freshman campaign.

Miller, who was born in Palma, Spain, averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 47.4% shooting from the field. He was limited to 15 games due to an  offseason injury and a suspension stemming from a rules infraction committed in 2020.

He was highly recruited last year as a four-star prospect and ultimately chose the Seminoles over Gonzaga. Miller, standing at 6 feet, 11 inches, is highly touted for his versatility and athleticism, and ability to defend with his 7-foot-2 wingspan.

Miller, now healthy, will represent Spain in the 2023 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Hungary from June 24-July 2. The event will give him the opportunity to compete against the top players in the world in his age group ahead of his sophomore season.

He is considered a potential first-round pick next year given his overall skill set and physical attributes. The program has helped send several players to the NBA in recent memory and Miller looks to join that list.

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