Freshman Marin Heller powers FSU softball through the ACC gauntlet

Florida State softball’s freshman class is driving the team’s success this season, and freshman first baseman Marin Heller is no exception. Heller makes her presence known in the infield and at the plate, notching a batting average over .360 and a .970 fielding percentage. While these numbers have cemented her as a cornerstone for the No. 12 Seminoles, this success blossomed long before she stepped onto JoAnne Graf Field.

Heller quickly solidified her role in the FSU roster, starting every game of the 2026 season. She consistently produces in high-leverage moments, highlighted by her first career home run against the University of California, Berkley, to secure a 17-game winning streak and a three-hit performance during the series at Stanford University.

“I skipped the tee-ball phase … so we went straight to [Little League] coach pitch, and they had a team there — the West Des Moines Tigers — and [I] started right with … 8-and-under and 10-and-under,” Heller said in an interview with the FSView.

Big League blueprints with MLB mirrors

Although Heller started softball at an early age, her path to the plate was unconventional. Her biggest influences did not come from the softball diamond; instead, they stemmed from her father and the Major League Baseball stars she studied at home. This foundation allowed her to skip the traditional learning curve, finding her power swing early.

“My dad was a big contributor. He was a big baseball guy, so I didn’t watch a whole lot of softball growing up,” Heller said. “I watched a lot of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner and Justin Turner … I just fell in love with those guys … and trying to mimic my swing with them.”

More: MLB The Show 26 announces its inclusion of FSU in Road to the Show

That power swing started to show itself at West Des Moines Valley High School. There, Heller became one of Iowa’s top 5A players, leading Class 5A in runs batted in to earn first-team All-State honors in 2024. While Heller’s team fell short of the 5A state championship title that year, she recorded first-team all-conference and all-tournament team honors. That authority followed into her senior year when she clinched Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American honors in 2025.