Special to The Crossroads from TomahawkNation.com
Florida State baseball’s season came to an end just two weeks ago, but the ‘Noles are already active on strengthening the 2022 roster. The Seminoles have added a JUCO commitment from Conner Strickland. Strickland comes from East Georgia State College, where he was a first-team all-region player in the GCAA.
Strickland hit .346 over 49 games in 2021. The Bainbridge native also posted a .449 on-base percentage, .549 slugging percentage, and .998 OPS. Strickland led his team with seven homers and was second with 38 RBI. Strickland swiped nine stolen bases. The JUCO product plays first baseman and was named the Gold Glove 1B in his region. He had just two errors and compiled a .994 fielding percentage.
Strickland feels he has lots of tools to offer at Florida State. He said, “I play kind of the prototypical first baseman way with an added threat to the base paths… I take a lot of pride in my glove. I’ve grown to have a good amount of power with my bat and feel that I pose a threat in the middle of the lineup.”
The first baseman grew up less than an hour away from Tallahassee. He’s always had a dream of playing at Dick Howser Stadium, “Florida State was always my dream school growing up. With me living only 45 minutes away, I would always go down and watch as many games as I could. I have always been a huge fan of the university and the baseball program.”
He added, “When Coach [Mike] Martin called me and said he wanted me to come play for him, it was a dream come true. It was a goal I set from a very young age and to see it come true was unlike anything I had ever felt before.”
Florida State’s lineup will likely have many holes to fill after the draft in early July. Last season, the Seminoles never found a full-time designated hitter. Strickland will be in the competition to be an everyday starter at DH or first. No matter where he lands on FSU’s roster, he expects to bring a competitive energy to Tallahassee.
Strickland said, “I’m a competitor, I’m going to bring energy and I’m going to compete in everything I do. Whether that be in the classroom, on the field, or in the dugout I want to be the best at whatever it is I do and at whatever I can do to make the team the best they can be.”
[Editor’s note: The Chronicle reached out to Strickland for comment on Thursday, June 27, and Monday, June 28, about his two years at East Georgia State. Unfortunately, the Tally-bound athlete could not be reached.]