Jameis Winston still wants to be the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, and college baseball experts aren’t ruling it out.
Baseball America named the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who quarterbacked Florida State to a national championship in January, to their third team All-American preseason team on Monday.
Winston was named to the third team as a utility player. He played in the outfield and was the Seminoles closer in 2013. One of the reasons he chose Florida State was the chance to play both sports. Last season, Winston pitched 27 innings, striking out 21, notching a 3.00 ERA and giving up 12 hits. Opposing batters hit .176 against him. He batted .235 with three triples and nine RBIs as the Seminoles reached the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament.
“He could be a first-round draft choice,” Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin Sr. previously said.
Winston was taken in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Rangers out of Hueytown (Ala.) High School. Winston, the 22nd-ranked high school prospect in the nation at the time according to Perfect Game, didn’t sign.
Some have compared him to Bo Jackson, who shares a hometown — Bessemer, Ala. — and a Heisman with Winston. Winston hasn’t backed down from such lofty praise.
“I want to be better than Bo Jackson, hopefully,” he said during Heisman weekend in New York. “Of course I want to keep doing both. That’s my dream.”