FORT MYERS, Fla. – Following another successful season on the court, FGCU women's basketball head coach Karl Smesko announced the addition of Erica Nelson and Rosemarie Julien to the program Monday afternoon. As junior college transfers, both Nelson and Julien will join the program for the 2016-17 academic year and will be eligible to play immediately.
 
Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee Summit North High School) joins FGCU from Johnson County Community College with Julien (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Treasure Coast High School) having spent the last two years at Chipola College. Both players led their teams to their respective national championship titles a year ago and come to Southwest Florida with two years of remaining eligibility.
 
"Rose and Erica are two important additions to our program," noted Smesko of the signings. "I believe both players will be impact players for us next year. Coach Lyles has been doing a tremendous job as recruiting coordinator and her efforts really paid off this time.  Both Rose and Erica played for outstanding coaches and for two of the most successful junior college programs in the nation.  Both coaches do a great job preparing their players for Division I basketball."
 
Nelson led Johnson County to the NJCAA Division II National Championship last season and helped the team to a 31-1 season this year under the guidance of head coach Ben Conrad. With Nelson leading the team's offensive production, Johnson County won the Kansas Jayhawk Conference title and finished the year ranked third nationally.
 
"Erica is a very good guard who can play either guard spot," said Smesko of Nelson. "She has great court vision and I love her competitiveness."
 
The 5-8 guard scored 828 points with 313 assists through two seasons at the Overland Park, Kan. based junior college and led the team to a record of 65-3 in that span. Nelson averaged a team-high 16.6 points per game this season with 80 makes from 3-point range. She also topped the team with 150 assists and recorded 46 steals. Nelson scored 10 or more points in 27 games and recorded a career-high 35 points earlier this year.
 
For her efforts this year, Nelson was named All-Conference and All-Region honors. She was also tabbed as a NJCAA Division II All-American and picked up WBCA First Team All-American accolades. She ranks 42nd among all junior college prospects on the Dan Olsen Report.
 
Julien ranks ninth on the Dan Olsen Report and has been an instrumental key to Chipola College's perennial success. The team went 24-5 this season after earning the NJCAA Division I National title last season and was 51-6 through Julien's two years with the team.
 
"Rose is a very versatile player," Smesko added. "She can defend almost any position. She is also a very effective offensive player who can shoot the three and also score off the dribble. She has great leadership capabilities and I love her work ethic and toughness."
 
Led by head coach Greg Franklin, the 5-11 sophomore helped Chipola to a 24-5 record and a top-10 national ranking this season with 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She shot 48.5 percent from the floor with 45 assists and 76 steals this season. In two years at the Marianna, Fla. based school, Julien scored 683 points and averaged double figures.
 
Nelson and Julien join incoming freshmen Tytionia Adderly, Morgan Meacham and Chandler Ryan as well as graduate transfer Jordin Alexander as newcomers for the 2016-17 squad.
 
The Eagles will enter the season as the winners of six-straight Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships after compiling their fourth perfect conference season in five years.  Led by the seven-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year, the 2015-16 team finished the historic season with an overall record of 33-6 and an Atlantic Sun record of 14-0. The team earned won a program-record five games in the WNIT and finished the season with the team's best-ever Division I win total.
 
The Eagles lose eight seniors to graduation this spring but return one of the nation's best shooters in Taylor Gradinjan (Cudahy, Wisc./Cudahy High School). In addition to Gradinjan and four others who saw playing time during 2015-16, transfer China Dow (Louisville, Ky./Christian Academy of Louisville/Middle Tennessee State) becomes eligible for the start of next season and will make an immediate impact for the Green and Blue.
 
SMESKO
Head coach Karl Smesko earned his sixth-consecutive Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award with a successful 2015-16 campaign and was named the espnW Mid-Major Coach of the Year. Under his direction, the team has compiled two-straight 30-win seasons with four perfect A-Sun regular-season slates in the last five years. The team earned its first top-25 ranking and a third NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven seed last season where FGCU won its first ever DI NCAA Tournament game against No. 10 Oklahoma State. With 30 wins and counting this year, Smesko has guided the Eagles to 12-straight 20+ win seasons.  He maintains a record of 378-73 at FGCU for a win percentage of 83.8 with a mark of 145-13 (91.7 W%) in Atlantic Sun contests and has led the team to a 81-1 record in conference play in the last five seasons.  The six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year earned his 400th career win last season in just 493 career games, two games faster than UConn's Geno Auriemma, and holds a career record of 439-100 (81.5 W%).  Smesko ranks among an elite list of just four active Division I coaches with a career win percentage of .800 or higher, joining Auriemma, Baylor's Kim Mulkey and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer in the esteemed group.