May 2, 2025, is a day forever etched in Caleb Granger’s memory.

That potential career-altering Friday marked when the Florida A&M baseball team’s standout right-handed pitcher underwent season-ending elbow surgery on his throwing arm, similar to the Tommy John procedure, in Gainesville.

It was his second time needing his elbow worked on, after he had Tommy John surgery while playing for Tallahassee’s North Florida Christian.

“It’s a struggle. But you can’t take a day off,” Granger reflected on his recovery process. “You have to be full force every single day trying to get better.”

Receiving an internal brace to stabilize his elbow, Granger’s initial expected recovery timetable was eight to 10 months, playing it close to the start of FAMU’s spring 2026 baseball season.

However, the graduate student was ready to go for the Rattlers’ February opening day and is back serving as the team’s ace pitcher.

“Just his leadership,” FAMU head coach Jamey Shouppe said of Granger. “He’s still not at Caleb Granger form. Every day, hopefully, he gets a little bit closer to that. He’s just a good competitor, a great kid, and a great pitcher. He’s going to continue to get better and get back to that form that was so good two years ago and last year before he went down with the injury.”

Before being sidelined, Granger had gone toe-to-toe with the Florida Gators in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, won the 2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, and then played in that summer’s second annual Swingman Classic, an MLB All-Star weekend showcase game for players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Those accolades landed the hometown hero a Preseason All-American nod by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Granger says he feels about 85% of the pitcher he was two seasons ago.

But his 85% is better than many’s 100%.

Granger has pitched a team-high 61 innings, has a 4.87 earned run average, and has struck out 55 hitters. As of Wednesday, April 22, his ERA is ninth in the SWAC, and his strikeouts are sixth in the league and tied for 150th in Division I.

Granger has a 5-2 record in 10 starts.

“Yeah, the numbers are decent,” Granger reacted to his statline.

“I don’t feel like I did last year, two years ago when I won Pitcher of the Year ― I don’t feel that yet,” Granger admitted. “Hopefully, when I hit that 12-month mark, we’ll start turning another page.”

FAMU baseball pitcher Caleb Granger recovers from surgery early

Granger’s road to recovery included 6 a.m. physical therapy to rehab his elbow and countless hours spent with FAMU’s trainers.

It was a grind.

“I’ve heard with Tommy John surgery and elbow surgery in general, you’ve got 12-18 months until you’re feeling 100%,” Granger said.

“Your arm doesn’t heal the same,” he added. “You have a good day, and then the next day you’re hanging, your arm is swollen, you need medicine, and you’re relying on a bunch of stuff. That’s the hardest thing to deal with, your arm not recovering as fast as it typically did pre-surgery.”

But Granger defeated the typical recovery timeline by returning to the mound to practice pitching last December, seven months following surgery.

“If you don’t know Caleb, he’s the definition of ‘optimistic,” said Jeremiah McCollum, FAMU’s third-year pitching coach.

“Coming after surgery, it’s more of a mental game. That physical part still might be aching, but it’s the mental part that gets you over the hump and back to form. So it’s been a tough road. When the injury happened, I was devastated as a coach. But I knew that he’s Caleb Granger and he’s going to come back better.”

As he looks to recapture that former glory of his 2023 and 2024 seasons, Granger received an encouraging sign that told him he’s closing in on what made him a college baseball star for the Rattlers.

He pitched seven innings at Jackson State on April 10, striking out five.

FAMU lost that game 5-4 in 11 innings, but Granger had a personal victory by pitching 90mph for the first time since his 2025 campaign abruptly ended.

“I felt good against Jackson State,” he recalled.

FAMU baseball builds reliable bullpen around Caleb Granger

The FAMU locker room calls Friday games ‘Caleb Day’ because Granger takes responsibility for setting the tone as the starter for SWAC series openers, says McCollum.

“He’s our guy. He’s just been that stable, consistent guy. That’s all you can ask for as a coach,” McCollum said. “I’m happy to be part of his journey. He’s been one of those guys that as a coach, you love on and off the field and someone that you know is a good baseball player but a better person.”

But as Granger said, there’s going to be peaks and valleys on the mound sometimes.

He didn’t have his best outing by his standards in April 17’s SWAC game against Mississippi Valley State. In a seven-inning showing, Granger had eight strikeouts but allowed all five of the Delta Devils’ runs, all earned.

“Coming out here, giving up runs, it knocks me down,” Granger explained. “But if you keep that standard high, it’ll start falling into place eventually.”

Relief pitcher Tanner Walker subbed for the final two innings, allowed no runs, and then Caden Kresak singled to right field to score Josue Figueroa to earn the walkoff 6-5 victory over the Delta Devils.

“All the faith in the world that they’re going to handle the situation. I knew that these guys were going to have my back,” Granger said after beating Mississippi Valley State. “It’s all part of what we’re doing here. And I think we’re doing a decent job right now.”

Last Friday was just a microcosm of FAMU’s pitching depth, led by Granger.

The Rattlers’ Saturday starter is the SWAC’s 2025 Freshman of the Year and Granger’s fellow NFC alum, Garrett Workman. Jesus Campa gets his turn on Sunday.

“Caleb and I grew up together. So he’s always someone I can talk to,” Workman said. “After he pitches, he’ll come to Jesus and me, give us the rundown, and give us the confidence to go into our games and how we pitch them.”

FAMU baseball's Caleb Granger to be challenged vs Bethune-Cookman

As the regular season winds down, Granger is about to face his biggest test this weekend when Bethune-Cookman visits Tallahassee for a SWAC series.

The Wildcats lead the SWAC with 439 hits, one of the few Division I teams to eclipse the 400 threshold.

SWAC Preseason Player of the Year Andrey Martinez is a star for the Wildcats, with 44 hits and seven homeruns. The senior third baseman from Barranquilla, Colombia, was named to Baseball America’s National Team of the Week on April 21.

“Preparation is everything,” Granger previewed the next matchup. “For Bethune, the biggest series of the year. Better be ready because they’re going to come out to Moore-Kittles swinging.”

Last May, Granger watched from the sidelines as FAMU lost the SWAC Championship game to the Wildcats, 9-8, in a walkoff loss in Birmingham.

The Florida rivals are tied for No. 1 in the SWAC East and have not lost a league series with four weeks left in the regular season. Bethune-Cookman has signature wins against South Florida, the defending national champions LSU, and the Florida Gators this season.

This weekend on Moore-Kittles Field may provide an outlook on whether FAMU and Bethune-Cookman are on a collision course to once again face off in the postseason as Granger looks to win another SWAC title to add to his 2023 championship ring.

“Hopefully, he can lead us to a championship in the next month or so,” McCollum said. “I know we got to do it through number nine.”

The Rattlers (20-17, 15-3 in SWAC) and the Wildcats (29-12, 15-3 in SWAC) will meet for a three-game, three-day series with games set for Friday, April 24, Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26. Friday’s first pitch is at 5 p.m., Saturday starts at 2 p.m., and Sunday starts at 1 p.m.

The free SWAC TV app will stream all of the matchups.

Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.

Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida A&M baseball's Caleb Granger thriving after elbow surgery