FGCU Softball took the field for their first game of the season on Feb. 6. The Eagles look to defend their title as the reigning 2024 ASUN Conference champions.
Outfielder Avery Viancos is a senior returning to lead the team after being awarded second-team All-ASUN and All-ASUN Academic Team last year.
“To see Avery develop into the player and to the person that she is right now has been a lot of fun to go ahead and watch and be a part of,” Softball coach David Deiros said. “It’s more than just softball, but I think it’s going to contribute to how she does on the field this year.”
This will be Deiros’ final season on the coaching staff. He founded FGCU’s softball program in 2001, before their first season in 2003, and has decided to move into an administration leadership role after the 2025 season.
The 23-person roster has 12 new players, which includes several transfers and first-year players. With half the roster changed, the Eagles will have to rely on their key returners for the 2025 season.
“What got us really far last year was the belief in each other that we had,” Viancos said. “So as long as we continue to cultivate that culture. We should have another title under our belt.”
Pitcher Victoria Ash transferred this season from Stetson but is originally from Southwest Florida.
“I’m really excited for the team camaraderie and the energy that we bring to the field coming here was like my absolute dream,” Ash said. “I have wanted to be here since I was 12 years old. It’s a really surreal feeling to be able to play softball, obviously in this town where I have been my whole life.”
FGCU opened its season splitting the FGCU Kickoff Classic 3-3. They started the season losing to Boston College 2-1 on Thursday, Feb. 6, before winning three-straight against Boston College (6-4), Indiana State (3-2) and LIU (9-0, 5 Innings) from Feb. 7-8. Boston put an end to this winning streak by sweeping the last two games of the weekend, 8-0 and 6-4 respectively.
After two loses to USF on Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Eagles kicked off the FGCU Invitational with a 3-1 win against Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 14,. They ended the night with a 7-3 loss against Seton Hall. Similar to the FGCU Kickoff Classic, the Eagles won one last game against Wisconsin, 2-1, before being swept by Omaha, 8-2 and 5-0, to close out the weekend.
The Eagles will be on the road from Feb. 21 to March 1. They will travel to UCF for the SpaceU Classic tournament before returning to Gainesville, where they faced Florida in last season’s NCAA tournament.
They will remain on the road for the Dugout Club Classic, which FSU will host in Tallahassee, before hosting their last non-conference tournament, the Spring Break Classic, at the FGCU Softball Complex.
The Eagles’ first ASUN Conference games will be at home against Jacksonville. They will play a doubleheader followed by one game the next day.
This season, the teams are divided into the Graphite and Gold divisions. FGCU is in the Graphite Division with Jacksonville, Stetson, West Georgia, Queens and UNF, the conference’s southernmost teams.
“We have a healthy mix of returners and newcomers, and the returners have taken on the responsibility of trying to incorporate all the newcomers into their roles,” Deiros said. “So as a result, we’re going to be relying on those newcomers to take at-bats, take innings, and it’s going to be a big deal how quickly they can go ahead and do things the Eagle way.”
