Tallahassee native Micah Posey to be named new Florida State baseball pitching coach
Florida State baseball coach Link Jarrett didn't waste any time finding his new pitching coach.
And it's a familiar name.
Dallas Baptist pitching coach and North Florida Christian graduate Micah Posey will be named the next pitching coach at FSU, according to a Democrat source.
Multiple reports began to surface Sunday that Posey would replace Chuck Ristano, who was named the new head coach at Navy Saturday.
Posey, a former NFC, college and professional pitcher, is returning home after three seasons at Dallas Baptist.
He helped the Patriots to their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, where they fell to Oral Roberts in the Stillwater Regional championship.
More: Dallas Baptist pitching coach, Tallahassee native Micah Posey earns conference award
The Patriots' pitching staff under Posey had a 4.40ERA, the lowest in Conference USA and the 26th lowest in the country.
Dallas Baptist also averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings, the 12th highest in the country, and a 2.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the 12th highest in the country.
The pitching rotation's impressive stat line earned Posey Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Four Patriot pitchers were also named to All-Confence-USA teams: Kyle Amendt (1st Team - RP), Braxton Bragg (2nd Team - SP), Ryan Johnson (1st Team - SP), and Brady Rose (2nd Team - RP).
During his stint at Dallas Baptist, five different pitchers have been drafted into the MLB: Jacob Meador (2022 - St. Louis Cardinals), Chandler Arnold (2022 - St. Louis Cardinals), Dominic Hamel (2021 - New York Mets), Rhett Kouba (2021 - Houston Astros) and Ross Carver (2021).
In his first season in 2021, DBU went on a run to the Columbia Super Regional, falling to Virginia in three games.
Posey joined the Patriots after spending three seasons at East Tennessee State University.
Tallahassee born and bred
Posey is deeply rooted in the Tallahassee baseball scene as he is the son of longtime NFC head baseball coach Mike Posey, who has won over 700 games and four state championships. Posey was a part of his father's staff for four years, helping the Eagles to the 2011 Class 3A state championship.
During his time as an assistant coach at NFC, Posey coached five pitchers that were eventually selected in the MLB Draft: Cole Ragans (2016 - Texas Rangers), Carson Sands (2014 - Chicago Cubs), Cole Sands (2018 - Minnesota Twins), Gage Smith (2014 - Detroit Tigers), and MT Minacci (2015 - Chicago Cubs).
Following his time at NFC, Posey got his first college job at Elon, helping the Phoenix to the Charlottesville Regional final in 2017. That season, Elon's staff ranked No. 25 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (9.0), and established a school record for strikeouts (491).
More: Florida State baseball pitching coach Chuck Ristano accepts head coach job at Navy
As a player, Posey was selected in the 15th round in the 2001 MLB Draft by the Anaheim Angels out of NFC. He spent four seasons in the Angels' minor league system and was a 2004 Midwest League All-Star selection.
Posey went on to pitch two years in Independent Baseball and was named to the 2008 United League All-Star Team, and won a league championship the same year.
Following his playing career, Posey graduated from FSU in 2011 with a degree in Marketing.
This past season, FSU went 23-31 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.
The program's string of 44 consecutive NCAA appearances (2020 season was canceled due to the COVID pandemic) was the country's longest.
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee native, Dallas Baptist pitching coach Micah Posey named to FSU baseball staff
