Florida State-Mississippi State Game At Blue Wahoos Stadium An Instant Sellout 

Well, that didn’t take long.

The ticket demand for the Florida State-Mississippi State Fall Ball college baseball exhibition on Oct. 18 at Blue Wahoos Stadium has created a rapid sellout and extended inquires.

Within an hour after general sale of reserved seats began at 9 a.m. Tuesday (Aug. 12) at the Blue Wahoos Stadium box office, there were no more seats left.

“We had a line of people outside the box office more than an hour before tickets went on sale,” said Brandon Miller, the Blue Wahoos ticket operations manager. “Right at 9’o’clock, the phones were ringing off the hook and they didn’t stop for an hour.

“It was crazy. It just shows how good the fan bases are for both of those teams. College baseball is booming for sure and it's good to see this kind of interest."

Interest in the event, which will be two consecutive 7-inning games that do not count on the teams’ 2026 record, matched what occurred last year when the Florida State-Auburn game filled the ballpark.

It was the Seminoles’ first-ever appearance at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The astounding success quickly had FSU baseball coach Link Jarrett seeking to return this year.

Tickets for the Oct. 18 game, which begins at 1 p.m. that day, sold for $25 apiece. There are now a limited number of standing room only tickets available for $15.00. Those can be purchased online at www.bluewahoos.com or at the box office. Gates will open at noon on Oct. 18 for the event.

Just as last year, the Blue Wahoos gave their season-ticket holders a two-week window to purchase seats – equal to the number of season tickets for each holder – prior to the general public sale.

Miller said there were 1,500 or so tickets purchased by the Blue Wahoos’ 1,700-plus season-ticket holders.

“People were used to what we had done, remembering it from last year,” he said. “We had a lot of season ticket members who missed out on getting seats last year and we’re able to do it this time.”

When Pensacola mayor D.C. Reeves, a Florida State graduate, recently announced the game and matchup at a news conference, he spoke of the attraction of having Mississippi State, which has not played at Blue Wahoos Stadium, as the opponent.

The two teams met in June at the NCAA first-round regional tournament in Tallahassee. The Seminoles won a contentious, deciding third game to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals, where they lost a deciding game against Oregon State.

“These are two power programs,” Reeves said. “And (Mississippi State Bulldogs) reputation speaks for themselves within baseball. They had another great year last year, a new coach coming in, so I’m sure there’s a lot of excitement.

“Anytime there is a new coach, you kinda want to see what the brand of baseball is going to be. I think you will have enthused crowds on both sides.”

Mississippi State’s new coach Brian O’Connor, who spent 22 seasons as the Virginia Cavaliers head coach and won the 2015 Men’s College World Series, is familiar with Blue Wahoos Stadium.

In late February 2020, the Cavaliers faced Oklahoma in a weekend series in Pensacola that featured several players who went on to play Major League Baseball.

Those games became the last sporting event that year at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Weeks later, the first onslaught of the coronavirus struck. It forced cancellation of the entire college and Minor League Baseball season across all levels. The Blue Wahoos didn’t play again until May 2021.

The FSU-Auburn games in Oct. 2024 featured a combined 18 players who were drafted last month in the 2025 MLB Draft. Three FSU players, pitcher Joey Volini, infielder Drew Faurot and outfielder Max Williams, were all drafted by the Miami Marlins and currently playing for the Marlins’ Class A affiliate, the Jupiter Hammerheads.

All three could eventually make their way to the Blue Wahoos roster in 2026.

Reeves began working on persuading FSU to play in Pensacola when Link Jarrett returned to be the Seminoles head coach in 2023. Jarrett, a Tallahassee native, helped lead the Seminoles to three College World Series appearances during his playing days as infielder under legendary coach Mike Martin Sr.

“I know this is an exciting time for FSU baseball, the way the program has really bounced back,” Reeves said. “During Coach Jarrett’s first year, it was a struggle when he took over the program in year one and that’s when we started having this conversation (about playing in Pensacola).

“Certainly I hope in the future we could talk about mini-tournaments within the (regular) season, I think that would be exciting to explore and you are seeing that more and more because how things work in college baseball. To play valuable games over one weekend before conference play begins.”