Ten Best Coaches In Florida State History

The Florida State Seminoles have a long history of having outstanding coaches. At one point the Seminoles have had the winningest coach ever in football and baseball. The university has several others that have won national championships. So who are the best Seminole coaches of all-time?

We have a football coach now that we hope will be on this list one day, but he hasn't coached a day for FSU so far. The early returns are good. While we have had a few great football coaches, we've had some excellent coaches in some other sports too. This list is going to be an outstanding reflection of a fantastic athletic program.

FSU's coaches in all sports will be evaluated over their entire body of work. Doing that, the 10 that have had the greatest success will be included on this list. Only that individuals contribution to Florida State University will be considered. What did that coach do for this great university?

Here is the list of the 10 greatest coaches in Florida State Seminole history!

10. Odell Haggins

1994-Present

4-2 Record as Head Coach (.667 Winning Percentage)

Odelll Haggins twice took over a broken team at FSU and united those teams to lead them to bowl games. He extended FSU's legendary bowl streak and then reestablished a new bowl streak this past season. This list is mostly made up of head coaches and Odell has only coached 6 games, so his inclusion may seem like a stretch to some. Repairing the damage left by Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart respectively was no easy task. Add in that he is everything right with FSU and has been one of the best position coaches in the country since 1994, and I had to include Odell on the list. Jimbo Fisher won a national championship at FSU and he won 29 games in a row, but he also completely wrecked the program and is the biggest reason the program is in the hole it is now. The biggest reason why it didn't get even worse than this is Odell. He will also be the biggest reason we will eventually come out of it. Odell belongs on the list.

9. Cecile Reynaud

1976-2001

635-326 Record as head coach (.661 Winning Percentage)

Reynaud is a living legend that helped put FSU women athletics on the map. Her success was perhaps best felt inside the classroom as Reynaud had all but two of her athletes graduate during her 26 year tenure. On the volleyball court, Reynaud led the Seminoles to 7 conference titles and 10 postseason appearances. The two-time ACC coach of the year is recognized nationally as one of the absolute best volleyball minds out there. She published several books and made DVDs about coaching the sport.

8. Leonard Hamilton

2002-Present

379-221 (.632 Winning Percentage)

Hamilton has gotten better with age and has managed to turn the football school at Florida State into a basketball powerhouse. It is really crazy to consider that FSU just won the ACC in a league with perennial powerhouses Duke and North Carolina. Hamilton won the ACC Tournament way back in 2012 too, its not just now. The 3x ACC Coach of the Year is someone that I was tempted to put much higher on this list. This team was Hamilton's best and I will forever believe that they would have won a national championship if the tournament was not cancelled due to Covid-19. Hamilton has figured out a recipe for success at Florida State and the program keeps getting better.

7. Sue Semrau

1997-Present

475-269 (.649 Winning Precentage)

FSU's longest tenured coach at the moment is no stranger to success herself. She is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the women's basketball program. Semrau has captured 2 ACC titles and is a 3x ACC Coach of the Year. FSU never reached the sweet 16 before Coach Sue came, and she has helped the Seminoles reach the Sweet 16 5 times. Three of those trips, included trips to the Elite 8. FSU had a really good chance to advance that far again, but Covid-19 strikes again. FSU Women's Basketball is in great hands with Coach Sue.

6. Lonni Alameda

2009-Present

555-167-1 (.768 Winning Percentage)

Alameda has brought tremendous success to the FSU softball program. The obvious feather in the cap for Alameda is the 2018 Women's College World Series championship. However, there is a lot more to the resume of the 5x ACC Coach of the Year. Florida State has won 6 ACC regular season titles, and 7 ACC tournament titles during her tenure at FSU. Each season that Alameda has coached at FSU, the team has competed in postseason play and during 3 of those seasons, the team advanced all the way to the Women's College World Series.

5. Mark Krikorian

2005-Present

276-66-30 (.782 Winning Percentage)

Krikorian his FSU's 4th longest tenured current coach. He has a really good claim to being at the top of the list. FSU has won 2 national championships during Krikorian's tenure and he has won 78% of games in which he has coached. His success at FSU has been so incredible that the Seminoles have advanced to the NCAA Tournament every year of his tenure. Not just that, but FSU has made the Quarterfinals in all but two of those seasons. During 8 of those seasons or half of his tenure, Kirkorian has taken the Seminoles to the College Cup. It is beyond incredible that he has had FSU as one of the last 4 teams in half of his seasons as head coach.

4. JoAnne Graf

1979-2008

1,437-478-6 (.748 Winning Percentage)

The Seminole softball field is named after JoAnne Graf, which should tell you a lot about the former coach. At the time of her retirement, Graf had more wins than any other coach in the history of D1 softball. Graf led the Seminoles to 17 NCAA Tournaments and 10 ACC Championships. She also led the Seminoles to 7 College World Series Games and two National Championships. Those National championships were in 1981 and 1982. The craziest thing about Graf's story is those 1981 and 1982 championships were AIAW championships (now NCAA) and were for slow pitch softball. Graf crafted a dominant team in slow pitch softball and navigated the change to fast pitch softball while keeping the Seminoles dominant. She would keep them so dominant that they would win 6 straight ACC championships from 1995-2000. JoAnne Graf is a true Seminoles legend.

3. Bob Braman

2004-Present

Braman is another long tenured coach for Florida State. Judging purely by national championships, Braman has been the most successful at FSU. His Seminoles three peated from 2006-2008. Of course the 2007 title was vacated due to the cheating scandal, but the NCAA came down way too hard on FSU and the track athletes involved in that were walk-ons that didn't contribute to the national title. The NCAA might only currently recognize two of Braman's titles, but he certainly won 3. Braman coaches two sports at FSU, cross country and track, and the Seminoles are very good at both. The cross country team advanced to 13 NCAA Championships in a 16 year period. FSU received the John McDonnell Award for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons for having the highest average finish for cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. Braman has 22 ACC Championships in Men's track already. He also has helped FSU to two ACC Triple Crowns (winning cross country, indoor, and outdoor in the same school year) on the women's side. Prior, to Braman's arrival, FSU never finished higher than 7th in Cross Country in the ACC. He came and delivered a balanced program that is a national powerhouse.

2. Mike Martin

1980-2019

2,029-736-4 (.734 Winning Percentage)

Martin is the first  2,000 game winner in NCAA history in any sport. He has the most wins of any coach in any sport! How can he not be near the top with that stat? How is he not #1 honestly? The big knock against Martin is that he never won the NCAA championship, but he has done so much for the university. FSU's baseball field is named after the legendary coach for one. I already mentioned his legendary win total. Martin also appeared in 41 consecutive NCAA Tournaments under Martin. FSU not only had winning teams under Martin, but they went to the postseason for that many seasons in a row. Incredible. Martin has 13 regular season conference titles and 19 tournament titles. Florida State made 17 College World Series appearances under Martin and were the national runner-up twice. Martin advanced to the Super Regionals 27 times. 27 seasons as a top 16 team is incredible no matter how you want to act like it isn't.

1. Bobby Bowden

1976-2009

304-97-4 (.758 Winning Percentage)

Bowden is the greatest coach in college football history. He was at one point the winningest football coach in history. For some reason though, the NCAA restored Paterno's wins and not his. None of that matters though, what matters is that Bobby Bowden was an absolute force for a team that never had football success prior to his arrival. Bowden had 33 straight winning seasons at Florida State and established a winning season streak that started in 1977 and did not end until 2018 (thanks Willie Taggart). Florida State finished in the top 4 every year from 1987-2000. That 14 year stretch of dominance is really what separates Bowden from the rest of the college football coaching field. It is an amazing stretch of excellence. Can you imagine if the college football playoff existed then? FSU would have far more than 2 national championships if that was the case. Those 2 national championships are why Bowden finished ahead of Martin. What an excellent group of coaches this university has produced, led by the great Bobby Bowden.

- Noland

Mike Martin's Last Ride

This weekend was the last opening weekend ever for FSU legend Mike Martin. The living legend is calling it quits after this season. FSU's brilliant coach had a fitting final opener with an 11-0 victory. Eleven to zero in the final opening game for Eleven. If that isn't the perfect opener, I do not know what is. I am sure the fact that his team had a no-hitter made it even better. It was the 10th no hitter in program history. Maybe this year, we will see the 11th as well?

Drew Parrish, Conor Grady, and Chase Haney combined for the no-hitter. Parrish had 5 strikeouts over 5 innings of work to notch his first of what will be many victories for the Seminoles this season...

Onto Game 2..

Game 2 was another slugfest. The Noles won that one 16-3 on Saturday. CJ Van Eck picked up the win in that one. Van Eck had 8 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.

Game 3 ended in a walk-off!!!!!

The Noles swept the doubleheader of the opening series on Saturday with a walk off hit against Maine. Mat Nelson's sacrifice fly was able to score JC Flowers from 3rd base and deliver the win for the Seminoles. Flowers has been a multi-year starter for Martin and pinch ran before ultimately delivering the winning run. Flowers had an outstanding weekend scoring 6 runs on just 5 official at-bats. He had a tremendous start to the series to move the Noles to 3-0 in Martin's final campaign. What an exciting win for the Noles and a great way to send 11 out right.

This series against Maine had a 4th game on Sunday. The Noles won that one too, to move to 4-0. With that 9-1 victory over Maine on Sunday, the Noles sure like like a force to be reckoned with in 2019. 11 has got another awesome team on his hands.

Who could have written a better script for this weekend? I am not sure who could have, but there is only one thing that can top this season and this legendary career. Let's finally send this guy off right and get him that win in Omaha. That would truly be a fitting end to a legendary career.

- Noland

State of Florida State Athletics

Florida State University Athletics has built itself into one of the finest athletic departments in the entire country. The university boasts several elite teams that compete for national championships. Each of the programs at the school is nationally relevant, and here it is determined just how relevant each program is. I will go program by program, analyze the season and talk about the future of that sport at Florida State. Before we begin, it is just important to acknowledge that the future is bright for the Seminoles. So let's begin the look into Florida State Athletics....

Baseball
FSU baseball enjoyed an up and down year that would be considered a success for most schools. Florida State is not most schools though. At this point, FSU fans expect championships. They expect at least an ACC title, and really want a national championship. That being said, most fans are proud of this young squad. The Noles made it to the ACC Championship game and battled back to make it a game despite being blown out by rival Clemson. Florida State won the regional and nearly knocked the hated Gators out in the Super Regional. Runner-up in the ACC Tournament and being knocked out in the Super Regional by the #1 team in the country is not a bad year. It just stings more because of the teams that beat the Seminoles this year.
All of that said, FSU is bringing back a lot of firepower in 2017 and should be one of the favorites in all of college baseball. The Noles return their offensive core of Dylan Busby, Cal Raleigh, Jackson Lueck, and Taylor Walls. They also return all three starters from the UF series. Add in the veterans and recruits and this is a scary good team. Drew Mendoza, was expected to be drafted, but is instead coming to Florida State as well. Gotta love a guy that turns down millions to become a Nole! The lineup will be scary good, and all 3 starting pitchers from the Super Regional are coming back! John Sansone and Mike Compton are the only regulars that FSU is losing in 2017. Things are looking up for the Seminoles in 2017!
This could be 11's best shot yet to win a title. Many don't want to see Martin coach next year, but personally I do. I really want Martin to win that elusive title. This past season was Martin's 39th consecutive (every season at FSU) 40 win season. That is an absolutely incredible feat, that should continue the next two years. Martin has signed a contract extension through 2018.

Basketball (Men's)
If the baseball team was up and down, then I have no words for the basketball team. It has reached its ceiling under Leonard Hamilton in my opinion and the teams don't even have the defensive qualities that used to be the trademark of Hamilton teams anymore. If he is not leading an incredible defensive squad, then Leonard Hamilton is useless as a basketball coach other than recruiting. His top recruiting class all went pro with XRM after a disappointing season too so.....
Hamilton may have dodged a bullet as Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan Mayes decided to return to school after testing the NBA waters during the pre-draft process. Those two returning give the Seminoles a shot at making the NCAA Tournament. Miss that tournament and the calls for Hamilton's job will become deafening.

Basketball (Women's)
The women's basketball team has raised itself to the upper echelon in the ACC and become far more successful than the men. Head Coach Sue Semrau has built quite the program down here at Florida State. Her career record at Florida State is 337-225 for a winning percentage of 62.4%. Semrau has led the Noles to NCAA appearances in 10 of the last 11 seasons including a Sweet Sixteen appearance this past season. She was even named coach of the year in 2015.
It is obvious to see that Semrau has done a fantastic job leading the Noles recently, but how does that relate to any future success?
A 15-1 home record last year shows that the Seminoles have become very strong at defending their home court. The lone loss was to an elite Notre Dame squad and it was one of only 3 ACC losses. Those facts make it seem clear that the Seminoles will remain near the top of the ACC and remain a nationally elite program. The NCAA appearances in 10 of 11 seasons dont hurt and neither does Coach Sue. Add in the majority of the roster returning and the future is looking bright for the Seminoles Basketball on the Womens side.
Beach Volleyball
The Florida State Beach Volleyball team has been a national championship contender since the sport was added by the NCAA. This season was the 1st that sand volleyball was a full-fledged NCAA sport though. This May, FSU made it all the way back to the National Championship, before falling to Southern Cal. That loss was only the Seminoles 3rd loss on the entire season. Their 2nd loss was at the end of the winners bracket for that tournament, also to Southern Cal. Making it all the way to the finals is quite the accomplishment. The Seminoles will look to build on that for their next season.
Retaining their coach will certainly help in that crusade for a championship. 1st year coach Brooke Niles was so successful that she was recognized as the AVCA National Coach of the Year. Niles is married to FSU alum Nick Lucena who will represent Team USA in Rio (more on him on another day). Unfortunately for the Seminoles, their top duo of Julie Brown and Jace Pardon will no longer be with the team due to graduation. Next year, the Seminoles will have to find a new top team. 

Cross Country (Men's)
The Seminoles men's cross country team is led by head track and field coach Bob Braman. This guy is arguably the best coach out of all of FSU athletics. It is hard to argue with his 3 National Championships in track. Heading into the 2015 season, Braman had made 11 NCAA Championship meet appearances with the Seminoles. Prior to him being hired, the Seminoles made only 1 title appearance.
This past season the Seminoles again made a championship appearance, but only finished 29th. That result though was an improvement over where they were in 2014. FSU's top runner was a junior in 2015, so he will look to help the Noles finish much higher in the 2016 season. Florida State was able to win the regional title for the 2015 season and will look to repeat that in 2016.

Cross Country (Women's)
The Seminoles women's track team is led by Kelly Phillips. Phillips was in her 1st year at FSU this past season. FSU finished 4th in the region on the women's side and failed to make the NCAA Championship. With an incredibly young team this past season, it is almost guaranteed that FSU will improve on that finish and make the championship in 2016.
Football
Let's be honest, it took a long time for me to get to the sport that everyone cares about for Florida State athletics. I care about every sport though and wanted to do them in alphabetical order. That being said...
FSU football is a national power. The Seminoles have been nationally relevant since my birth and enjoyed numerous top 5 finishes and 3 national championships in that time. This team has been a football juggernaut. From 1987 to 2000 the team finished in the Top 5 an incredible 14 consecutive years. More recently, the Noles won 29 straight games from 2012-Jan 2015 and had back to back undefeated regular seasons in 2013 and 2014. All of this is not to mention a modern day draft record for most players selected from one school in a 3 year period. The Seminoles have had an incredible run.
Last year that run slowed a bit as the Seminoles finished 10-3. This record during a rebuilding year following all those draft picks came with its ups and downs. Among the ups were going wire to wire with national runner-up Clemson @ Clemson in a game the Seminoles easily could have won and dominating in state rival Florida. The downs were losses to lowly Georgia Tech and the bowl loss to Houston. Although the bowl loss was largely due to injuries at Quarterback and Tailback. The offense was carried (no pun intended) by runningback Dalvin Cook for the entire season. He dominated on the field despite a lingering hamstring issue all season. Cook broke the school single season rushing record during that incredible stretch and finished with 1691 for the season. The incredible playmaker returns for the Seminoles for the 2016-2017 season.

With Cook and the rest of the offense returning (Golson was the offensive player on the 2 deep that was a senior last season) the Seminoles are a playoff favorite for a lot of people this upcoming season. There are quite a few outlets that have the Seminoles winning the national championship this upcoming season. Many have Dalvin Cook and Derwin James as the top returning offensive and defensive players respectively. The Seminoles are loaded with talent and still coached by Jimbo Fisher. Fisher has won 83% of the games that he has coached. These are the Florida State Seminoles and they will be in the national championship picture.

Golf (Men's)
The FSU Golf team made tremendous strides this season and is officially nationally relevant. FSU spent nearly the entire year ranked in the Top 20 and ended up finishing 19th at the NCAA Championships. The team finished one stroke out of the top 15 cutline in that 19th place finish. Head Coach Trey Jones is encouraged by that finish and the underclassmen returning. The Noles look to improve in 2016.

Golf (Women's)
FSU's women did even better than the men in golf. The team finished 15th at the NCAA Championships. That finish included a 2nd place finish in the NCAA Shoal Creek Regional to qualify for the NCAA finals. Coach Amy Bond has led the Seminoles to 6 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. Those appearances bring the total current streak to 11 consecutive appearances (a school record). The Seminoles will look to make it 12 next year and perhaps bring home an NCAA title.

Soccer
The FSU Soccer team had the most successful 2014 of any Seminole team. They are arguably the best team on campus and were looking to defend that National Championship in 2015. FSU finished play in 2015 with a loss in the College Cup seminfinals. While the Noles failed to repeat in 2015, it is rare that a team can make the final 4 in their sport multiple years in a row. The past three years, FSU finished with a 2nd place finish, a championship, and a 3rd place finish. Most teams would kill for those results. However, this program has become so strong that it expects to win a national championship each season. There is no doubt that the Seminoles will be in the thick of it. Coach Mark Krikorian has built the Seminoles into a machine that competes year in and year out for championships. Despite 3 top ten selections in the past draft, the Seminoles will likely be a major factor again for 2016.

Softball
The Seminoles set a school record 459 runs this season on the way to advancing again to the Women's College World Series. It was there that the Seminoles advanced to the WCWS semifinals and were a series threat to win it all. Auburn was actually able to knock off the Noles in softball, which is quite different than the results in other sports. Head Coach Lonni Alameda has been ACC Coach of the Year for the past 4 seasons in leading the Seminoles to this unprecedented level of success. Almeda has led the Noles to 4 straight ACC regular season titles and 3 straight tournament titles. FSU has advanced to the WCWS in 2014 and 2016. The Seminoles return a stacked team for 2017 including superstar Jessica Warren among others.

Swimming and Diving (Men's and Women's)

Frank Bradley led the Seminoles during the 2015-2016 season which is still technically going on as some former and current Seminoles look to qualify for the Olympics. However, there is no coach listed for the 2016-2017 season. One coach that does return though is diving coach John Proctor. Proctor was able to lead Dylan Grisell to a 7th place finish at the NCAA Championships. Grisell was the 1st All-American in that event in school history. Unfortunately, he will be leaving FSU as a graduated senior. There are multiple questions heading into the 2016-2017 season, but the number one question has to be who will take over duties as the swimming coach.

Tennis (Men's)
The Seminoles male tennis team was able to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was during the second round that seniors Lock and Nunez fell and were eliminated from the tournament. Coach Dwayne Hultquist will look to have even more success with a new duo in 2017. The Seminoles were able to knock off a #1 team for the 1st time in school history in 2016. That success leaves reason for optimism despite FSU losing some seniors.

Tennis (Women's)
The lady Seminoles did not do quite as well as the mens team finishing ranked 63rd in the country. They also lose their top player from the past four seasons in Daneika Borthwick. She was able to reach the NCAA individual championships in her final season. There is still reason for optimism though as FSU returns their all-time winningest female tennis coach in Jennifer Hyde.

Track and Field (Men's)
Entering this season, FSU had finished 4th or better at the NCAAs 7 times in the last 11 seasons. That would not happen in 2016, but what did happen is the Noles continued to advance to the NCAA Finals and continued to earn points. With a young and talented team returning, it is quite possible that the Seminoles have another top 4 finish in 2016. They will look to win their 4th National Championship for the legendary Bob Braman (the 2007 championship was vacated due to the academic cheating scandal though, even when it didn't involve athletes that earned points). All of this year's success was without All-American Jalen Ramsey, who was selected 5th overall in the past NFL draft. The Seminoles will be back in a major way in 2017.

Track and Field (Women's)
The Seminole women are also led by the legendary Braman, but have not enjoyed quite the same success. However, this team is still nationally prominent. Several women were able to advance to the NCAA Championships. With such a young team, the Seminoles look to make an even bigger impact in 2017. The FSU women are poised to have a decent shot at winning their 2nd national championship during either the indoor or outdoor season. FSU owns a national championship in 1984 indoor womens track and 1985 outdoor womens track. Coach Braman is the perfect guy to try to lead them there. I heard field events coach, Dennis Nobles, isnt bad either.

Volleyball
Florida State has built up quite a name for themselves on the volleyball landscape since Chris Poole took over in 2008. Since 2009, Poole has led the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament every season. The best of these seasons came in 2011 as the Seminoles reached the national semifinal. The current streak of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances is a school record. Poole led the Seminoles to a 2nd round finish in 2015 behind some fantastic seniors. Those seniors, Carolina Dadowski, Laura Dadowski, Karlie Hauer, Mercedes Vaughn, and Nicole Walsh went 109-23 as Seminoles. That group only lost 2 games during their entire careers at Tully Gym. Just two losses at home! Absolutely incredible. Despite losing some crazy talent, I'd bet on the Seminoles to make another NCAA appearance in 2016, stretching the school record to 8 seasons. Poole's track record would have you believe nothing less. Heck, they already beat Auburn and Florida during the spring volleyball season.

I told you FSU owns Auburn.
I guess we will let them live in their alternate reality though....

-Noland

100 Greatest Coaches of All-Time (90-81)

So far on this countdown you have seen a preview and the first ten names revealed. You can click on those links if you missed them in order to catch up before today. Now, we will look at the greatest coaches of all-time numbers 90-81.

90. Gary Williams

Career Coaching Record: 668-380 (.637 Winning Percentage)

Gary Williams had 4 successful stints as a head coach, but he will be best remembered for his success at the University of Maryland. From 1989-2011 Williams made Maryland basketball a perennial NCAA Tournament team. He even led them to multiple Final Four appearances. His 2000-2001 team went to the Final Four and the 2001-2002 team won the whole thing. Along the way, the Terrapins made 11 consecutive NCAA appearances. That 11 year run was quite unexpected at the time because of sanctions placed on the team by the NCAA because of the previous coach. This made Williams job much more difficult at Maryland as did the fact that the university was still shocked by the tragic death of Len Bias. However, once he lead them to a surprise Sweet Sixteen run in 1994 he kept them a major player until 2005. Gary Williams remains the only coach to win the national championship without a single McDonald's All-American on the roster. He had far less talent and was still successful. The playing surface for the University of Maryland is currently named Gary Williams Court. His legacy remains quite strong at the University.

89. Marv Levy

College Career Coaching  Record: 45-60-5 (.391 Winning Percentage)
CFL Career Coaching Record: 43-31-4 (.577 Winning Percentage)
NFL Career Coaching Record: 143-112 (.561 Winning Percentage)

Levy actually started out in college with a below average record. This was not indictive of the future success that he would have. Most of that bad record was from a terrible stint at Cal in his second coaching gig. Marv Levy started out coaching with a 14-6 record over two seasons with New Mexico, followed by a disastrous stint at Cal and a mediocre stint at William and Mary before turning to the pro game.

His winning percentage over his career and lack of a Super Bowl championship, would make you believe that he was good enough to be considered, but not included on this list. However, Marv Levy won two Grey Cup championships in the CFL having a very successful career with Montreal. He was also one of the most successful coaches in the playoffs with the Buffalo Bills. Levy was 11-8 in the playoffs with the Bills, leading that team to four straight Super Bowls in the early 90s. Super Bowl losers rarely advance in the playoffs the following season and Levy brought the team back to the big game 3 other times after that initial loss. From 1988 through 1997, the Buffalo Bills had the highest winning percentage in the NFL. They also won 6 AFC East division titles during that timeframe. Marv Levy is the winningest coach in Bills history, 1988 NFL Coach of the Year, and three time AFC Coach of the Year. In 11 full seasons with the Bills, Levy made 8 playoff appearances and won the division more than half of the time. This despite being in the same division as Dan Marino and Don Shula. Marv Levy has a lot to do with Marino never getting a ring.

88. Sid Gillman

College Career Coaching Record: 81-19-2 (.810 Winning Percentage)
AFL/NFL Career Coaching Record: 123-103-7 (.543 Winning Percentage)

Sid Gillman was incredibly successful at coaching both college and professional. He coached in either the AFL or NFL for 18 seasons and 10 seasons of college ball. During that timeframe, Gillman had only 5 losing seasons in 28 years. None of those were in college, where he won 81% of his games. That college record includes one undefeated season and 3 conference championships out of 4 years in a conference. His teams were independents the other 6 seasons.

Gillman also enjoyed quite a bit of success in professional football having a winning record quite often. He won an AFL championship in 1963 for the Chargers a few years before the Super Bowl. It is still the Chargers only championship in either the AFL or the NFL. The downside of that is that it was Gillman's only playoff win. So, although he has a league championship and a fantastic record, he only has one playoff victory. His overall playoff record is 1-5 which prevents him from being higher on the list. With his winning percentage, the only Chargers championship ever, and his overall portfolio he fits in nicely at 88. Gillman won 1 AFL title, 5 AFL division championships, and 1 NFL conference championship in his time coaching professionally.

His influence on the game is incredible even outside of his record. Through his coaching tree if you work down, you see Chuck Knoll, Joe Gibbs, Bill Walsh, Tony Dungy, and many other Hall of Fame level coaches. Chuck Knoll is right below Sid Gillman having been his assistant. The influence of this fine coach is legendary.

87. Al Maguire

Career Coaching Record: 404-143 (.739 Winning Percentage)

Al Maguire was a coaching legend for the Marquette Warriors(now the Golden Eagles). He is one of very few coaching legends to retire immediately after winning a championship. Maguire did this after leading Marquette to their only basketball championship ever in 1977. The team would not return to the Final Four without Maguire until the time of Dwayne Wade. The schools only Final Four appearances have come in 1974, 1977, and 2002. The Wade led Golden Eagles went in 2002, a year after Al Maguire passed away. Those other teams to make the Final Four for Marquette were led by coach Maguire. Each of those years, they advanced to the championship game. Marquette advanced to the postseason 11 times under Coach Maguire, 9 of those times were appearances in the big tournament, and 8 of those were finishes in the Sweet 16 or better. During one of their rare NIT appearances, they won the NIT. Their other NIT appearance, they were runner-up. Maguire advanced to an incredible 4 Elite 8's in a 13 year period. That means on average this team was one of the 8 best in college basketball every three years. Little independent Marquette was a great team led by Al Maguire. He put that program on the map.

86. Billy Martin

Career Managerial Record: 1253-1013 (.553 Winning Percentage)

Billy Martin is of course known for multiple stints with the New York Yankees. Billy though actually coached for 5 different teams in his 16 years as a manager.His winning percentage was much higher with the Yankees and the Twins than in his other stops. Both pennants and the World Series title came as coach of the New York Yankees. His off the field antics as a player and manager were his undoing, because he actually knew baseball quite well. He got into alteractions often though with players, and those that ran the organizations he worked for. His first Yankee stint ended despite constantly having elite teams because of public feuds with star outfielder Reggie Jackson. Martin had the guts to stand up to Steinbrenner and take Reggie Jackson out for Paul Blair (one of the most underrated players in baseball history). Martin was brought back after his first firing in New York mid-season 1979 and fired after the season following another off the field altercation. Billy Martin also famously chased a young Ken Griffey Jr. out of the Yankee clubhouse while Sr. played for the team and yelled at Al Leiter for lifting weights telling him instead to do long toss to strengthen his arm. One of the most famous coaches in Yankee history was about to manage the team again in 1990 for the 6th time, but unfortunately passed away in December of 1989.

85. Mike Martin

Career Coaching Record: 1813-628-4 (.743 Winning Percentage)

Mike Martin is the legendary baseball coach at FSU. He is the best coach in history to not win a national championship. The fact that he has not won a national championship prevents him from being higher on the list and allows you to argue some others ahead of him. Despite not winning a championship, Martin still has a winning record in the postseason at 135-77 (.637 Winning Percentage). It is not like he gets knocked out every year. He has a couple of conference titles though. Martin is an 11 time metro conference champion a five time ACC champion, a 7 time ACC coach of the year and a 6 time metro coach of the year. Since the ACC split divisions in 2006, the Seminoles have won the ACC Atlantic every year except that first season in 2006. The regular season title has been won by FSU in the ACC 9 times, again proving Martin's excellence in the regular season.

In 35 seasons at Florida State, Martin's Seminoles have advanced to at least an NCAA regional every single year. 15 of those times they have advanced to the College World Series. During 8 other seasons they advanced at least one round going to the NCAA Super Regionals. The Super Regional is the equivalent of the Sweet 16 in March Madness. So for 23 seasons, Martin led the Seminoles to at least the Sweet 16. 15 of those times were to at least the Elite 8. They have advanced to the championship game 2 times, losing each time. My favorite thing about Mike Martin though is this quote "there is never a wrong time to do the right thing." Mike Martin is a good guy and a class act. If a player violates team rules he follows through. He has suspended players during the CWS and cost himself a title on multiple occasions because it was the right thing to do. Most would wait until after the season to do so, but not Mike Martin. He is one coach truly deserving a title, and hopefully will get one before he hangs them up for good.

84. John Thompson

Career Coaching Record: 596-239 (.714 Winning Percentage)

John Thompson coached Georgetown basketball from 1972 until his resignation mid-season 1999. During that time, he turned Georgetown into a National Powerhouse and consistent championship threat. He failed to make the playoffs his first three seasons, but reached postseason play in each of the 20+ years after his first three. Those postseason appearances included an incredible 19 trips to the NCAA tournament. He also advanced to the Elite 8 or better 7 times in his time at Georgetown. They made it all the way to the championship 3 times. Georgetown won their only title in school history in 1984 under Thompson. They threatened to win quite a few more especially the two seasons where they reached the title game. Michael Jordan wouldn't have any of it during one of those championship games though. This team was consistently good and consistently a threat under Thompson. Unlike the recent Georgetown teams, this team was never an easy out either and rarely was upset. Take away two historic wins by North Carolina and Villanova and Georgetown has three NCAA championships pushing Thompson further up the list. As it sits, John Thompson is the 84th best coach of all-time.

83. Frank Chance

Career Coaching Record: 946-648 (.593 Winning Percentage)

Frank Chance is a Hall of Fame player for the Chicago Cubs that should also be a Hall of Fame coach. Chance was the player/manager for the Cubs for 8 seasons, the Yankees 2 seasons, and just the manager of the Red Sox for 1 season. In his 8 years with the Cubs, Chance led them to 4 National League Pennants and 2 World Series titles. He averaged beating the entire National League in half of his seasons in Chicago. Frank Chance has the highest winning percentage of a manager in Cubs history at .664 with the Cubs. His biggest accomplishment by far though is that he led the Cubs to their only 2 titles in World Series history. The team has appeared in the game 10 times (4 trips from Chance) and won only twice (both from Chance).

82. Joe Paterno

Career Coaching Record: 298-136-3 (.686 Winning Percentage)

When it comes to Joe Paterno you have to evaluate his overall body of work just like everyone else. For him, this is the most difficult due to over a decade of vacated wins and a sex abuse scandal that shook the sports universe. To me, it seemed he was absolutely a lock for the list, but those two factors made it incredibly difficult to place him somewhere. Most people are in one of two camps on Paterno, either he absolutely neglected his duty in a leadership position and doesn't belong on the list at all or he is a legendary coach that did nothing wrong and belongs in the top 25. I happen to lean towards him neglecting his duty, but I am not there 100% which is why I placed him at 82.

Paterno towards the end of his career was a figurehead. Let's be honest. He was not coaching the games and seemed to care about his legacy a great deal. Was it his legacy that seemed to lead a cover-up of the abuse scandal? The emails were pretty clear in saying that Joe Paterno had a huge influence in covering up the heinous crimes of Jerry Sandusky. Even Paterno said, "I should have done more." One of his coaches reported a despicable act to his head coach and there is no evidence Paterno did anything positive. I agree though that there is no evidence that he didn't report it to his superiors. The fact that the investigator ended up dead back in the early 2000s adds a whole new layer of creepy to this mess, but Paterno could have had nothing to do with that as well. Honestly, I don't know what to think about Paterno, but I lean towards him helping cover-up the biggest scandal in sports history. This scandal absolutely should have resulted in vacated wins, as it did. Had, this scandal come out into the public eye, no sane parent would let their kid attend a university that allowed a sex predator to walk around. I don't buy it. I could be wrong, but I don't buy it.

However, even with that scandal, one must acknoweldge Paterno as an all-time great ON THE FIELD. Even with the vacated wins, Paterno still won 69% of games played. They won two national championships, were ranked constantly and played in numerous high level bowls. For his 1983 championship, he beat Vince Dooley who has already been listed on this countdown and his Georgia Bulldogs. During the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, Penn State beat Miami and legendary coach Jimmy Johnson for his second national championship. Paterno was fantastic for the Nittany Lions and a living legend until his death. Just before his death though, all the scandal with Sandusky was revealed. Sandusky was an assistant of Paterno from 1966-1999, so take that for what it is worth. He was embraced by the Penn State program until his arrest.

Whatever your opinion is of Joe Paterno, please do not say he died of a broken heart. Be intellectually honest with yourself. The man died of cancer. Cancer sucks, but to say it was a broken heart is a joke.

81. Jack Ramsey

Jack Ramsey was a true legend of basketball all the way up to his death this April. He remained in the game even after his coaching days as a broadcaster and even really young fans know Dr.Jack. Ramsey is another victim of cancer, a horrible disease that continues to claim far too many lives.

College Career Coaching Record: 234-72 (.765 Winning Percentage)
NBA Career Coaching Record: 864-783 (.525 Winning Percentage)

During his career, Ramsey coached 4 NBA franchises. Those franchises are not historically good, but Ramsey managed them brillantly. They were the Philadelphia 76ers, the Buffalo Braves (who then moved to San Diego and became the Clippers, now the LA Clippers), the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Indiana Pacers. Two of those teams to this day have not won an NBA title (LA and Indiana) and one (Portland) won their only NBA title under Jack Ramsey. He led the Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship in his most successful as a head coach. Probably the most successful fact about Dr. Jack though is that he led his teams to the playoffs in 16 of 20 full seasons as an NBA head coach. He led 4 bottom feeder teams to the postseason an incredible amount of times.

Percentage wise, Ramsey was an even better coach in college. While a coach at St. Joe's, Ramsey won an incredible 76% of his games. During his first season as head coach, Ramsey led St.Joe's to their first Big 5 title and their first ever postseason birth. Ramsay led St.Joe's to a total of 7 Big 5 titles, 10 postseason births, 5 top finishes in the MAC, and most impressively a Final Four appearance.That 1961 appearance in the Final Four is the only appearance in the history of St.Joe's. The school has made 7 appearances in the Sweet Sixteen and 4 of those teams were led by Jack Ramsey.

- Noland

What To Look Forward To In 2013

Instead of looking back and seeing how the year went (it was fantastic by the way in sports!!) I thought I would look forward towards what good will be coming in 2013. I'll look at the 3 major sports for both college and pro and a few of the things that we can look forward to.

Major League Baseball

Nolan Reimold Returns

On this blog I am a big Nolan Reimold fan. He is my second favorite Oriole (now that Andino is gone) and is behind only Nick Markakis on my list of Oriole favorites. Before Reimold went down in May, he was the Oriole's best and most reliable hitter. Look up the stats. Reimold would have been an all-star if he stayed healthy and kept that pace up. This guy can just flat out hit. Imagine the production if he stays healthy. Unfortunately, it is a big if, but we are being optimistic. Oh ya, Markakis returns too!

Full Season of Manny Machado

Manny Machado was brought up late in the year for the Orioles and stabilized their defense. The guy saved the Orioles from what was a disaster at 3rd. Very excited to see what the youngster will do with a full season at 3rd. He is the best non-pitching prospect the Orioles have had in a very long time.

Buster Posey is Back!!!

Buster will try to defend his MVP award in 2013. The guy is an animal. He is also one of the classiest athletes in professional sports. Oh and he is a Seminole! Buster Posey has played two full seasons in Major League Baseball. The Giants have won the World Series in each of Posey's full seasons.

NFL

Christian Ponder Makes Playoff Debut

This may not be very exciting for all NFL fans, but as a CP7 fan and a Seminole alumni, I am psyched for Ponder's playoff debut. The guy is all class and I love that the Vikings are going to the playoffs. Sure, Peterson is the big success story with Minnesota this year, but the Vikings don't beat Houston without that performance from Ponder. Ponder played very well the last two weeks, and I hope it continues this week. This is certainly one game I will be looking forward to this weekend.

Peyton Is Still Great

Peyton Manning is back and almost as good as ever. He led the Broncos to the top seed in the AFC and looks poised to make another Super Bowl run. How can you not be intrigued by this guy's return to the playoffs. A possible game with the Patriots must have ESPN going nuts.

Alfred Morris Is On A Mission

Alfred Morris is a terrific running back and one of the great steals of this past year's draft. He also seems very motivated by his Pro Bowl snub. It will be tough for Seattle to stop Morris and RG3, but they will have to try. This seems to be the game to watch in the 1st round of the playoffs.

NBA

The Spurs Teamwork

Some may call it boring, but I call it the best teamwork in sports. This team is so unselfish and so great and it is something to watch. I cannot wait to see if Pop is able to deliver another title this season. The way this team plays basketball is like poetry in motion. I look forward to more Spurs basketball in 2013.

One Year Closer to David Stern's Retirement

I have not left my feelings for commissioner Stern unknown. Check out my previous entry on him if you want to know more about that. This guy has got to go so the best team can actually win. We can see the Spurs hold that trophy once again if the commish leaves.

College Baseball

#11 Goes For The Title

The Seminoles beloved baseball coach, who I am a big fan of here, goes for that coveted title. This is my #1 team if I had to pick the team I most want to win. Mike Martin is such a loyal and good man. Martin is one of my role models in coaching. A famous quote of his is "there is never a wrong time to do the right thing." A guy like that really deserves to win the big one.

College Football

One Year Closer to Louisville in the ACC

This team should help end the hate against the ACC. Losing Maryland and gaining Louisville was a huge get for the conference. Louisville is much more legit than Louisville. This will help stop the strength of schedule questions that plagued the Seminoles this season. Teddy Bridgewater coming to the ACC sounds big. Pittsburgh and Syracuse join next year too which is also exciting. Both are solid enough that they add another legit opponent.

One Year Closer to a Playoff

Personally I wanted to see Notre Dame play Kansas State or Oregon for the national title. The playoff will help determine which one truly deserves the opportunity. Even if it is Alabama or Florida, I prefer it get settled on the field some way. The playoff is coming soon.

Seminoles Look Strong

The Seminoles had the #1 recruiting class 2 years ago, the #2 class last year and will likely add another top 10 class this year. These Noles look pretty good. They are already 1-0 in 2013 too. Must be a good omen for things to come. I sure will miss Lonnie Pryor though.

Nothing excites me about College Basketball right now.

-Noland

Justin Gonzalez Returning

After the amazing season FSU had, FSU fans expected many departures into pro ball. However, they did not expect this many. We lost our senior class, including James Ramsey and Sherman Johnson. Also Devon Travis, long expected to stay, signed with the Detroit Tigers. Jayce Boyd, signed with the Braves. It was starting to look like we would lose everyone that got drafted.

We didn't lose everyone though. Justin Gonzalez our SS is coming back. The man at the most important position in the infield is coming back to be surrounded by a whole new infield. Gonzalez will be the undisputed leader on the field of FSU baseball in 2013. Is there anyway Gonzalez can help us return to another College World Series?

It will certainly be a tall order to return to Omaha, but Gonzalez coming back definitely increases our chances. He has been the starting SS for two years and should be a very effective leader as a senior. FSU will only have 4 seniors though as Gonzo is joined by Scott Sitz, Seth Miller, and Stephen Spradling. You have to remember though that FSU is coached by the great Mike Martin. They weren't supposed to do this last year either. However, Martin helped FSU exceed expectations and beat that preseason ranking once again. FSU will try to have another magical season in 2013. #11 will continue that quest for a championship, and Justin Gonzalez will attempt to deliver it for him.
"Knowing that we will have Justin in our line-up and out on the field certainly gives us a good feeling about the 2013 squad." - Mike Martin

-Noland

Mike Martin National Coach of the Year

For the 1st time ever, Mike Martin is Baseball America's National Coach of the Year. This announcement was made on June 29th, but due to a 15 hour drive, I am just getting to it now. I am a big supporter of #11 so this is great news as far as I am concerned.

Martin led the Seminoles to 50 wins for the 24th time!
He led them to a 15th trip to Omaha!

Perhaps this was Martin's best coaching job though because they weren't predicted to win the conference. They began the season ranked 20th by BA and finished in the top 5. These guys were ranked #1 for a large portion of the season, and played their hearts out for #11. They didn't lose in the Regionals or Super Regionals, and the only team they lost to in the CWS (Arizona) won the whole thing without a loss. FSU pushed AZ to extras in the opening game.

Martin becomes the 2nd ACC coach to win this award. The only other one to do it, is North Carolina's Mike Fox (2008).

This guy is a legend and a class act. I will say it all day long. Anyone that thinks he should be ousted due to no national titles is very ill-advised. Martin does what is right, and in the wake of all the scandals in college sports, what more can you ask for. He even suspended a starter during the CWS rather than try to postpone the suspension like some things.

"There is never a wrong time to do the right thing." -Mike Martin

Well, Baseball America, nice job doing the right thing.

Congrats to #11!

-Noland

Seminoles Eliminate #2 UCLA

The Florida State Seminoles are one step closer to that elusive title in the College World Series. They just took out the UCLA Bruins. UCLA was #2 and the highest ranked team left after the Gators were eliminated a night earlier. With UCLA and Florida knocked out, the highest ranked team is....The Florida State Seminoles. Don't get too excited though.

The Seminoles may now be the favorite on paper, but if you go by where they are at in the bracket they can't be the favorite. FSU will now take on the Arizona Wildcats again. Arizona beat FSU in 12 innings on the 1st day of this tournament. Arizona also has not lost in the CWS yet. In this double elimination tournament, that means that FSU has to beat Arizona twice. Not impossible, but a tall order. I will get to the other side of the bracket after I tell you about last night.

Scott Sitz was the hero for the Seminoles who have had surprisingly strong pitching through this CWS. He went 6 2/3 innings and had 8 huge strikeouts. UCLA had one threat, and Sitz struck out the side to end that threat as soon as possible. Sitz stranded the bases loaded in that instance and helped the Noles secure the victory. He shut down a very good UCLA lineup and only gave up 1 run in the 4-1 Noles victory. Robert Benincasa, the future Nationals closer, earned his 16th save of the season.

The top of the order again was what delivered for the Noles. Sherman Johnson was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Including scoring on a bunt by Jayce Boyd. Boyd's bunt was so perfect, that Devon Travis also scored on the play after the 3rd baseman didn't field it cleanly. Travis was also 2-3 in the game. The captain, James Ramsey, was also 2-3 with a run scored. Great night from the three at the top, again.

No word yet on Thursday night's starter.

Anyways, back to the bracket. On the other side of the bracket, Arkansas has yet to lose a game, and of course Florida is eliminated. Defending back to back champ South Carolina's winning streak was snapped by Arkansas and they will play Kent State in an elimination game tonight. The winner will meet Arkansas on Thursday and then play again on Friday if they win Thursday night. Hopefully Kent State wins out on their side and plays us for the title. We will see though.

Go Noles!

-Noland

Seminoles Survive

Tonight, the Seminoles kept their championship hopes alive by knocking out Stony Brook. Mike Martin's quest for that championship lives on. The next opponent is TBD. Whoever loses the UCLA-Arizona game tonight will be the Noles opponent.

The Seminoles advance behind a 12-2 victory and a fantastic performance by Freshman pitcher Mike Compton. Compton continues to be a huge difference maker for the Noles. Justin Gonzalez had a key three run homer in the victory. Gonzalez was drafted by the Dodgers as a defensive shortstop, so they have to be thrilled with Gonzalez's offense as of late. These Noles have now score 10+ runs in 3 of the 4 playoff games since the Regional. Hopefully, the Noles can score like this Tuesday night against their Pac 12 opponent.

Go Noles!

-Noland

Seminoles Going to Omaha!

The Florida State Seminoles are going to Omaha. After a brilliant offensive display again today, the Noles are going back to the College World Series. This team really deserves it and I like our chances the way we have been swinging the bats...17 runs last night and 18 tonight. Unreal.

If you were following me on Twitter you would know how amazing the victory was. I will share some more here. Hunter Scantling had an extremely huge K that stopped a short-lived Stanford rally. Following the rally the bats of the Noles came through by putting them back up 18-6. Seth Miller capped it off with a grand slam. It was Miller's third of the year and all his homers have been grannies. These guys are awesome.



An awesome note about this one is that Jimbo Fisher was very visible at the game rooting on another team. Classy job Jimbo.

Let's win this one for #11. What a way for Ramsey to go out as a Nole as well.

-Noland

Seminoles Are Super Regional Bound

#11 has done it again as he helped the Seminoles once again advance to the Super Regionals. The boys did it behind another victory over Samford. During the Tallahassee Regional the Noles didn't even have to play Mississippi State. This is the Noles 5th consecutive Super Regional. Dating back to 1999, the Seminoles are 15-5 in regional play. The MVP of the Super Regional was James Ramsey. In addition to Ramsey, Sherman Johnson, Josh Delph, and Brandon Leibrandt made the All-Tournament Team.

Josh Delph is a freshman right fielder for the Seminoles. I have not talked about him too much to this point, but he was huge in this tournament. Delph had 2 hits, 2 RBIs, a run scored, and a stolen base last night. Which is one of the big reasons for the win and for his inclusion on the Tournament Team.

The biggest reason for the win though was the pitching. Another freshman, Mike Compton, pitched another brilliant game for the Noles. Compton worked 6 innings plus and only gave up 1 earned run. If the Seminoles pitch in the Super Regionals like they did in this regional, then they will be going back to the College World Series.

Since FSU is paired up with the Palo Alto Regional, FSU will be hosting Stanford this weekend. Dates and times will be announced by the NCAA today. There are only 16 teams left and that will be reduced to 8 in a week. Well there is slightly more than 16 left now because some regionals have not been decided. The ACC had a bad weekend as FSU is the only team to advance thus far. NC State is still alive though as the Wolfpack are even with Vanderbilt in their regional. By contrast, the SEC has advanced 4 and could advance as many as 6 by the end of the day, including the Commodores who try to knock off the Wolfpack. The ACC was hurt by poor showings from the Tar Heels, Canes, and Cavs, all #1 seeds. GT and Clemson both gave it a good try, but it was tough to knock off #1 Florida and defending champs SC.

-Noland

Seminoles One Win Away From Hosting Super Regional

The San Antonio Spurs got hosed in OK City last night, but the rest of the sports day went well. We went to a fantastic Orioles game yesterday, and the Seminoles pulled out a victory against Samford. That win puts my beloved Noles only 1 win away from winning this regional.

In order to lose the regional, FSU must lose twice. They will play the winner of Mississippi State and Samford in the regional final. I would prefer Samford again, but that is just me. The first game will take place at 6pm tonight. Hopefully it is the last game of the regional, because if it is, then the Seminoles are advancing.

Florida State won 8-1 behind an absolutely brilliant pitching performance. Freshman Brandon Leibrandt led the Noles with a brilliant pitching performance. He tossed 8 scoreless innings last night for the Noles. If Leibrandt can replicate this performance a couple more times, he might just lead FSU to a national championship. Leibrandt also had 10 strikeouts. He had the first double digit strikeout game since Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin, who I will post on soon, is in the Atlanta Braves organization.

FSU now has 144 all time victories in regional/superregional play. According to Seminoles.com they are in the process of becoming the winningest school because of that. It doesn't say what the current record is though. Either way, it is a tribute to #11. FSU has a current Regional winning streak of 15 games as well. Let's hope they make it 16 straight and advance to the Super Regional. Mike Martin wants that title.

-Noland

Mike Martin ACC Coach of the Year

Once again, #11 has done it. After leading FSU to their 9th regular season ACC title, Mike Martin has been named ACC Coach of the Year for the 7th time. I know that the award isn't what Martin really wants and that he wants to win that first national title, but he has to be proud of the team.

Outfielder James Ramsey was named ACC player of the year. Ramsey becomes the 5th Seminole to bring home that honor. The others include Buster Posey, JD Drew and John Ford-Griffin. This guy had a great year and deserved the honor.

It goes without saying that Ramsey was an All-ACC first teamer given his honor. Joining Ramsey on the 1st team are 1st baseman Jayce Boyd, 2nd baseman Devon Travis, and relief pitcher Robert Benincasa. Freshman pitcher Mike Compton made the 2nd team. After receiving all of the awards, the Noles will look to win the ACC Tournament.

-Noland

Noles Rained Out, Magic Number Remains 2

Today due to an incredible amount of rain, Game 2 of the Clemson-FSU series was rained out. Clemson took Game 1 against the Noles. Entering this series FSU was up 6 on Clemson and 5 on NC State for the #1 spot in the Atlantic. That is basically locked up. All teams have 6 games remaining, and FSU plays NC State after Clemson. FSU isn't just looking for the top seed in the Atlantic though, the Noles want #1 in the ACC.

To get that #1 seed overall in the ACC the top ranked Noles have a magic number of 2. Their top threat is North Carolina. FSU coach Mike Martin said it will be difficult to do against Clemson. He said it will be difficult to do this weekend because Clemson is the hardest place to play in the conference. The Tigers proved that last night.

This always seems to happen when the Seminoles play Clemson. In 2010 FSU only needed 1 win to win the division and Clemson swept the Noles. Clemson ended up winning the division that year. Last year, FSU needed one win and only got one win. It sure will be tough against the Tigers. Let's hope FSU takes the double header tomorrow to save us the trouble.

The Noles likely will lose their top ranking soon with three losses this week, but they will still be ranked high. This week will be a good week for FSU baseball.

-Noland

Seminole Baseball

The Florida State Seminole baseball team is one of the classiest teams in all of college sports. The tradition for the team is unparalleled and Mike Martin is a class act. He also has 1700 career wins. Steve Melewski over at MASN had some really nice words about the Seminole baseball program today. Just like all Noles, Melewski is a class act. Steve was out radio broadcaster in the mid 2000s and is proud of his time in Tallahassee. The Seminole baseball team is one to be proud of. Dick Howser is the best coach in college baseball. I am now and will always be proud to be a Florida State Alum. Check out Steve's post here. He commented on my comment during the post. You can also follow Steve on twitter @masnSteve. Melewski now of course covers the Baltimore Orioles.

-Noland

#1 FSU Sweeps Miami

Always good to beat Miami. It's also always good to be the #1 team in the country. FSU baseball continues to impress going undefeated this week including 3 wins over #18 Miami. Very impressive  performance by the Noles. They now move to 33-7 overall with only 2 losses in ACC play. Let us get back to these games though. Miami has perhaps the most annoying fan base in the country. My first sporting event as a student at FSU was the game that snapped Miami's winning streak in football. That whole game the Hurricane faithful were loud, obnoxious, and cocky. After the game they were still loud, obnoxious, and cocky trying to call back to past games. It was great to see those people watch their team lose. Whenever FSU is able to knock them off it is incredibly sweet.

This win came on a walkoff in 10 innings. An even better way to beat the Canes. Sherman Johnson had the walk off single and went 2 for 6 in the game. Johnson has been my favorite Seminole baseball player for the last three seasons. I love the way that guy plays, and it was great to see him deliver the victory. I wouldn't mind that guy being picked up by the Orioles after this season.

Hopefully, Florida State will be able to keep this momentum going and maintain their top ranking. Mike Martin is a really good man and seeing him get a title would be amazing. There is not a more deserving coach in the country. I sure hope they pull it off. Up next for the Seminoles will be the Rhode Island Rams.

-Noland