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J. Posey: ‘It’s a little hectic’ at FSU as ACC tourney opens

• Ex-Trojan baseball star Jack Posey says he and older brother Buster are trying not to think about Buster’s likely No. 1 overall selection in the upcoming draft, and instead are focusing on beating the team that gave the Seminoles their first ACC loss in today’s tourney opener: Wake Forest.

Danny Aller

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida State’s Jack Posey doesn’t consider himself a bodyguard for his older brother Buster — the likely No. 1 overall pick in the upcomingMajor League Baseball Draft who is being hounded by hoards of media right now.

Just an admirer like all the rest.

The younger Posey, a former Lee County baseball star turned standout freshman for the No. 4 Seminoles, said Tuesday — the eve of FSU’s Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship opener against Wake Forest today at 5 p.m. — that the only thing on either sibling’s mind is not what number Buster will be called June 5, but rather getting a bit of revenge on the team that handed FSU (46-9, 24-6) their first ACC loss of the season back on March 29: Wake Forest (24-29, 13-16).

“It’s a little hectic around here right now, that’s for sure,” Jack told The Herald on Tuesday. “But (all the attention on Buster) is nothing he can’t handle. We’re just trying to focus on Wake Forest and nothing else right now.”

The freshman Jack, while unsure of how much playing time he’llsee in the tournament that ends Sunday, has played a major role in helping FSU get to this point, batting .267 with 16 hits, including two home runs — and doing it all coming off the bench.

Of course, with the goal of the reaching the College World Series for the first time since 2000 for FSU still firmly in the back of the team’s mind, Jack is the first to admit that if the Seminoles don’t want to be left sitting on that proverbial bench when the CWS begins in Omaha, Neb., they have to first handle business in Jacksonville.

“Well, this team is special, and we’ve said that from the start, so I don’t think anyone is worry about us making it. All we have to do is keep playing like we have,” said Jack, whose Seminoles likely are already guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Regionals just based on their outstanding season, though they still must advance past the regional tournament and into super regionals — the spot where the program has faltered time and time again. “We started out with a goal to win the ACC and then get back to Omaha, and I think anything less than making it, then playing in that final game and bringing home the (the national championship) would be a huge disappointment.”

Buster, meanwhile, likely won’t know the meaning of the word “disappointment” after June 5, though Jack asserts that big bro continues to take everything in stride while still sharing the same goals as Jack and the team.

“We’re just going with it right now, and whatever happens, happens,” Jack said. “Either way, things should turn out good for Buster, but for right now, winning out is all we care about.”

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