2026 baseball roster will won't look drastically different, but will include several new faces from Florida Atlantic's 2025 roster, as pitcher r committed to the Aggies on Friday, while star outfielder Jake Duer, who was the Owl's best hitter before his season-ending injury, is also headed to College Station next season.
With the news that Utility player/outfielder Jamal George has entered the transfer portal, Duer's addition is timely, and his Texas connection as a Flower Mound (TX) native started his career at TCU before transferring to FAU. At the same time, his elite statline included 428/.551/1.048 with 11 doubles, 27 RBIs, and 21 walks in 34 games before his injury.
Knowing that infielder Wyatt Henseler is out of eligibility and junior outfielder Jace LaViolette is likely headed to the 2025 MLB Draft, it was vital for second-year head coach Michael Earley to land an elite hitter with experience, knowing that third baseman Gavin Grahovac is returning from his season-ending injury.
Duer is an immediate starting option with plenty of production. However, he only hit two home runs, which is the only knock for a player hitting .428. Entering the 2026 season as a senior, this is a big year for Duer, who has his own MLB dreams, knowing that a great season in the SEC can solidify his baseball future.
Star junior outfielder Caden Sorrell has yet to announce his return, but knowing that his former Marcus High School teammate is now on the team, that could all but seal the deal.
There’s a pause when you mention the name Miles Russell to golf cognoscenti, the length of the silence usually corresponding to the amount of praise to follow regarding the 16-year-old lefty from Jacksonville Beach, Fla. His list of accomplishments already includes winning the Junior PGA Championship, the Junior Players, the AJGA Tournament of Champions and the Sage Valley Invitational. He’s played in the Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Presidents Cup and is . A year ago, he broke Tiger Woods record as the youngest winning of the AJGA’s Rolex Player of the Year honor.
On Monday, Russell, who’ll begin his junior year of high school in the fall, made news about his future, announcing that he had made a verbal commitment to play college golf at Florida State.
Making it worth Russell’s while to stay is the fact he already has name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with TaylorMade and Nike, with others potentially in the offing. And given the ability for college golf programs to directly compensation student-athletes, there’s the possibility that he could earn some cash while developing his game at the elite amateur level.
Oh, and there’s also the fact that the Seminoles have turned into a national power, reaching the finals of the NCAA Championship in 2024 and producing , who recently earned a tour card via the PGA Tour Accelerated program by virtue of success at the college level and while competing in pro events on sponsor’s exemptions.
Russell’s short-term future looks bright, too. He’s currently No. 1 in the AJGA Polo Golf Ranking, putting him line for a second AJGA Player of the Year award (just six players have won the award twice, including Woods). He recently finished runner-up at the Northeast Amateur and is a favorite at the upcoming U.S. Junior Amateur. Sitting 16th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he’s also in the running to become the youngest player to compete in the Walker Cup with the roster for the U.S. team heading to Cypress Point Club to be decided in the next month.
Exactly when Russell might enroll at Florida State is still unclear. Russell is listed as the high school class of 2027 but many top junior golfers have fast-tracked their senior years in high school in order to enroll early at college. If Russell were to do that, he could be playing for the Seminoles in the spring 2026.
There’s also the potential that Russell could still bypass college golf. He’s already played in two PGA Tour events and four Korn Ferry Tour tournaments, becoming the youngest player at age 15 in 2024 to make a KFT cut in that tour’s history.