After the FGCU Baseball faced several heartbreaks this season, with their 2024 ASUN Regular Season Co-Championship, among other wins revoked, and a rain delay costing them a trip to the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the Eagles can finally look back at this season with a silver lining.
On Friday morning, Evan Dempsey was named the 2025 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award winner.
The sophomore went 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA. He pitched in 15 games (10 starts), logging 68.2 innings, striking out 75 and walking 20. This was a significant increase from last season, where he pitched in six games for 5.1 innings with a 10.13 ERA.
Of the 57 hits he allowed this season, only six went for extra bases. He held opposing batters to a .225 batting average.
“I’m honored to win the John Olerud Award. He is a two-time World Series champion and was an incredible all-around player,” said Dempsey in an athletics release. “I’d like to thank my family, my coaches and my teammates for helping me to win this award. To win the same award that players like Paul Skenes and Jac Caglianone have won before me is pretty special.”
In addition to pitching, Dempsey played in all 60 games as an outfielder. He posted a .309 batting average, which tallied 71 hits, including 18 doubles and three home runs, for a .435 slugging percentage. Dempsey scored 41 runs and racked up 30 RBIs. He was also a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen bases on the season, which tied him for a team-most.
In the field, Dempsey committed one error on 99 chances, earned 86 putouts and 12 assists, with two coming from the outfield. His fielding percentage was .990.
Dempsey earned first-team ASUN Conference honors as a pitcher and second-team ASUN honors as an outfielder.
“This season I spent some time developing pitching, and it’s been paying off,” Dempsey said in a previous interview with Eagle News. “Just going out there and doing my job helps me get out there more.”
With FGCU (31-29, 16-14 ASUN) sitting at 1-7 in ASUN Conference play and several key pitchers out of the lineup due to injury, Dempsey was forced into a more prominent role for the FGCU squad. After a 5-2 win over North Florida in his first start on March 29, the Eagles went 15-7 in conference play for the No. 3 seed in the Graphite Division for the ASUN tournament.
From there, FGCU went 5-1 en route to a 2025 ASUN Co-Tournament Championship. While the 2025 ASUN Baseball Championship game was called in the Eagles’ favor due to weather, it was Stetson that got the bid to the NCAA Tournament per ASUN policy.
Dempsey earned All-Tournament Team honors after he led the Eagles to the ASUN championship game.
“He has a team-first mentality,” Coach Dave Tollett said. “When we needed him the most, he didn’t flinch. He just said, ‘Whatever you need, coach,’ and he delivered in all aspects. I truly feel he’s the best player in the country and he deserves every bit of this recognition. He has earned it with his talent, his work ethic and his loyalty. We are fortunate to have him here at FGCU. I truly believe the best is ahead of him.”
In addition to the John Olerud Award and All-ASUN honors, Dempsey earned a trio of honors from two collegiate baseball organizations. Perfect Game named him a First Team All-American and the Collegiate 2-Way Player of the Year, while the American Baseball Coaches Association selected him to the First Team All-Southeast Region as a starting pitcher.
