James Tibbs III had some time to think, and that was dangerous for any future opponents.

His Florida State Seminoles had swept their Tallahassee regional to begin the NCAA postseason, beating Stetson and UCF (twice) by a combined score of 24-8 over three games. But Tibbs had gone 0-for-9 in that stretch, with a four-walk opener against Stetson a saving grace.

A self-proclaimed “complete feel guy,” Tibbs could sense something was off beyond the results -- and with days to plan before UConn arrived for the Super Regional, he got to work on adjusting his swing.

“[I was] making sure I was getting back to the simplicity of my swing and what works for me,” Tibbs said. “Making sure I was getting my hands back and loading in the right direction and staying in my legs. Those two things -- when they work well, they really work well. When they don’t, then it’s hard.”

On June 8, with a spot in Omaha on the line, Tibbs put together arguably the best individual performance of this year’s NCAA postseason. The FSU star went 5-for-6 with three homers, six RBIs and a walk. His third dinger -- a two-run shot -- came in the top of the 12th and gave the Seminoles a 10-8 lead they never relinquished.

Selected No. 13 overall by the Giants in the 2024 Draft, the left-handed slugger was named this year’s ACC Player of the Year after hitting .363/.488/.777 over 66 games. His 28 homers were tied with North Carolina's Vance Honeycutt for the most in the loaded conference, and he flexed that power while maintaining a stellar 37/58 K/BB ratio.

The seeds of those results were planted as early as the previous summer far up the Atlantic coast in the Cape Cod League.

While the Cape is known as a summer showcase for some of baseball’s best amateurs, Tibbs treated it like a hitting lab. Away from the pressures of Tallahassee and a rabid fanbase, he could experiment with hitting tweaks. Among them: moving his hands from an upright position to one more parallel with the rest of his body. Not only was the alteration more comfortable, but it allowed for improved timing and rhythm, an important result for a player who tends to sit fastball first.

Playing with a wood bat in his hands, Tibbs hit .303/.390/.472 with six homers in 40 games for Brewster, earning All-Star and team MVP honors.

“My whole thought process last summer was go out there, just play, figure out what works for me and hopefully walk away with a better idea of how I approach the game,” he said. “I was able to do that. I felt like I did it well, and I felt comfortable with where I was and was able to take it and run with through the fall and into the season.”

While working on his improved mechanics during the offseason, Tibbs continued to refine his approach by focusing on pitches away from the black and more center of the plate. He did this by sitting “blue to blue” -- an FSU technique where a batter takes two inches (i.e. the width of a piece of blue tape) off the edges of the plate and works on swinging at pitches in the middle.

Tibbs’ K/BB ratio was a pretty clear indication of how that approach paid off, but it goes deeper than that stat. His overall strikeout rate was cut from 20 percent in 2023 to 11.6 percent this spring. His year-to-year breaking-ball whiff rate, in particular, fell from a worrisome 40.2 percent to a much more palatable 27.6 percent. It wasn’t that he became better at making contact against breakers. It’s that he became better at swinging at the right breakers.

“Being OK with taking a strike was one thing that I worked really hard on this year,” he said. “If we’re not looking for it, we’re going to take it. We’re going to move onto the next one. Just be patient, understanding more of what I’m looking forward to and being really locked in on that and allowing my game to play through that.”

Tibbs’ trajectory has helped him earn plus hit-tool and above-average power grades heading into the Draft.

While there are some concerns about his overall profile (namely the possibility he might need to move from a corner-outfield spot to first base long-term), Tibbs has one asset many his age don’t -- he was a three-year starter at FSU. Three years of hands-on education in the field.

Three years to learn. Three years to adjust. Three years to get better. Three years to become Florida State’s first player drafted in the top half of the first round since Buster Posey went fifth overall in 2008.

“You don't get better without experience,” Tibbs said. “Experience is everything. You learn how to play the cat-and-mouse game. You learn how to fight against what pitchers are trying to do, what coaches are trying to do and you understand as you get farther in your career, how people are trying to pitch you ... When you understand that, you're able to make adjustments a lot more quickly.”