Florida pitcher Yoel Tejeda becomes Florida State baseball's 7th portal acquisition
Florida State baseball has stayed busy in the transfer portal this offseason, welcoming its seventh player Monday.
Florida right-handed pitcher Yoel Tejeda announced via Twitter that he has committed to FSU. Tejeda was also drafted out of high school by the Pittsburgh Pirates, selected in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
The 6-foot-8-inch, 215-pound freshman right-hander threw 22.2 innings last season for the Gators, going 2-0 with a 5.56 ERA. Tejeda allowed 17 runs on 26 hits, with 12 earned runs, 12 walks, and 11 strikeouts.
Excited to announce I have committed to Florida State University! Very excited for this new opportunity! #GoNoles 🍢🍢 pic.twitter.com/RdZzgXED1l
— Yoel Tejeda (@yoelon52) June 13, 2023
His longest outings were all four innings against Bethune-Cookman, North Florida and Florida A&M. He tied his season high in strikeouts against North Florida with four. He had four Ks earlier this season in a win over Jacksonville.
Tejeda was part of a 19-man pitching rotation at Florida that went 50-15 and advanced to the College World Series with a home sweep over South Carolina in the Super Regionals.
Tejeda, a native of Davie, Florida, attended North Broward Prep. He went 8-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 61 innings as a senior. He earned 2022 All-American and All-State honoree and was an All-Area and All-City from 2019 to 2022.
He finished his high school career with a 15-0 record with a 1.40 ERA and 145 strikeouts. Tejeda provided to be a versatile player during his time at North Broward Prep, batting .355 as a senior with four home runs, one triple, 10 doubles, 30 RBIs, 28 runs, and 10 steals.
On the travel circuit, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 3 outfielder and the No. 12 recruit in Florida. He was also the No 13 outfielder and No. 52 player overall in the country. He's a three-time Perfect Game Preseason First Team All-Region selection and has been named to 10 different Perfect Game All-Tournament Teams.
FSU's busy transfer season
Tejeda is the Seminoles' sixth acquisition since June 1, and fifth from an in-state program.
On Sunday, UNC Wilmington junior right-handed pitcher Ethan Chenault announced his intention to transfer to FSU. The Forest, Virginia, native pitched 47.2 innings this season with a 4.91 ERA, allowing 28 runs on 34 hits, walking 24, and striking out 59. He went 3-1 in 17 appearances this season.
Chenault told 247 Sports that he is draft eligible and intends on going through the draft process in July.
UCF left-handed pitch Jacob Marlowe announced on June 2 that he was transferring to FSU.
The 6-foot, 175-pound pitcher is from Naples and was a sophomore last year. He went 3-6 with a 5.64 ERA in 19 appearances (eight starts) while striking out 41 and walking 12 in 60.2 innings.
On June 5, pitcher Cameron "Cam" Leiter announced he was committing to FSU after only one season with the Knights. At UCF, he pitched 56.2 innings with a 4.92 ERA, allowing 33 runs on 53 hits, walking 41, and striking out a team-high 80.
On June 1, three different players announced their intentions to transfer to FSU: Florida High alumnus and UCF shortstop Drew Faurot, UNF infielder Alex Lodise and Alabama outfielder Max Williams. That same day, current FSU player James Tibbs announced that he was returning to Tallahassee for his junior season.
Faurot, a 6-foot-3 shortstop known for his versatility, was a unanimous selection to the American Athletic Conference Freshman All-Conference Team. He started 57 games, hit .252, and had 51 RBI. He also set the freshman record for home runs with 16. He is also the son of former FSU baseball player Adam Faurot.
Lodise, a St. Augustine native was a first-team, All-ASUN selection last season as a freshman, hitting .306 with 51 runs, 67 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, and 63 RBI. Lodise set the UNF freshman single-season record for home runs, runs, and RBI. Defensively, he had a .928 fielding percentage.
Williams is also a Florida native, playing for Clay High School in Green Cove Springs. He made three starts this season as a freshman, appeared in 18 games, and hit .320 (25 at-bats).
The Seminoles went 23-31 this season in Link Jarrett's first year at the helm, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.
FSU baseball transfer tracker:
Transfers in:
UCF shortstop Drew Faurot, SS (UCF)
Transfers out:
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: Yoel Tejeda transfers from Florida to Florida State baseball
