FORT MYERS, Fla. – With four weeks remaining until first pitch, the FGCU softball schedule was finalized and announced by head coach David Deiros this week.
 
The 2015 slate boasts teams from a strong list of 18 conferences that features the SEC, Big Ten, Sun Belt, American, Colonial and Conference USA. The competitive schedule includes 11 nonconference foes in the top-100 of last season's final RPI. That group includes two teams in the top-15 in Alabama and Tennessee as well as six others among the top-50 with McNeese State, Houston and USF.
 
The Eagles will face 34 different opponents in 56 contests in 2015. Of those 33 foes, nine made the NCAA Tournament in 2014 with Alabama and Tennessee both advancing to Super Regionals and Alabama reaching the Women's College World Series Championship and finishing the season as the national runner-up. Others seeing postseason action last season include Houston, Fordham, Boston University, SIU-Edwardsville and the Atlantic Sun's representatives in USC Upstate, Lipscomb and Stetson.
 
The schedule includes 28 games played in the friendly confines of the FGCU Softball Complex with two full tournaments and a complete A-Sun schedule as well as a handful of single games and midweek double headers.  2015 will also see 20 other contests scheduled in the state of Florida. To conclude the season, the Eagles will host the 2015 A-Sun Championship May 6-9 at the FGCU Softball Complex.
 
"This is as challenging a schedule that we've had since we've been here," said Deiros of the schedule ahead for his 13th season. "We have a strong nonconference schedule with 11 nonconference teams among the top-100. We have a grueling conference schedule with the strength of the Atlantic Sun and we expect the season to prepare well us for the postseason."
 
FGCU will open the season at the Sand Dollar Classic. The Eagles will begin the three-day event with McNeese State on Friday, Feb. 6. In addition to Alabama, the Green and Blue will also face Houston Baptist, Houston and Southern Mississippi at the Gulf Shores, Ala.-based event.  2015 will mark the second time in three seasons that the Eagles matchup with the perennial powerhouse as the Crimson Tide visited the FGCU Softball Complex in 2013. In that matchup, the Eagles fell just 2-1 to the SEC juggernaut.  The opening weekend will include three top-50 teams as Alabama, McNeese State and Houston all convene in the coastal town.
 
The following weekend, the Eagles will travel north up I-75 to take part in the USF Tournament. The team will open competition against Tennessee Friday, Feb. 13, and will face Detroit, St. John's, Fordham and USF in a three-day span. The mid-month challenge includes two NCAA Tournament teams in the Volunteers and the Rams with three top-60 teams in Tennessee, USF and Fordham.
 
"In both cases, it should be a good tournament," explained Deiros of the season's start. "It's always a challenge to start the season on the road but it will be a nice setup for the rest of the season for us. There are high-caliber teams at both events; across the board, we're looking at some very good schools, teams that have made the tournament. It will be a challenge right away for our players and one we're looking forward to."
 
By playing 10 games in the first two weekends, the 2015 slate begins with the most games played on the road to start the year since the 2009 season.
 
With 10 games completed, the Eagles will open the home portion of the season with the 2015 FGCU/Four Points by Sheraton Invitational at the FGCU Softball Complex Friday, Feb. 20 to Sunday, Feb. 22. FGCU will face Purdue, Bethune-Cookman, Stony Brook and Oakland in games Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
 
"We are fortunate enough to have the facilities and the climate to attract teams from across the country," said Deiros of the program's two home tournaments on the slate. "We are proud to put on two quality tournaments with good teams and good softball for the locals to see."
 
Oakland will stay in town for a midweek double header Tuesday, Feb. 24.
 
FGCU will return to a USF-hosted event Feb. 27 to Mar. 1 with the USF Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater. The Eagles will take on Georgia State, Villanova, Eastern Michigan, Maine and Illinois in the five-game event which is co-hosted by the city of Clearwater and played at the Eddie C. Moore Sports Complex.
 
The Eagles will begin the month of Mar. with their final preseason tournament of the year in the FGCU/Four Points by Sheraton Spring Break Classic Mar. 6-8. FGCU will welcome four teams from the Northeast to the FGCU Softball Complex with games scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The team will take on LIU Brooklyn and Boston University Friday afternoon and will face Quinnipiac and Pitt Saturday. A final game Sunday will be determined based on tournament results.
 
Following the Spring Break tournament, Pitt will stay in Fort Myers for a three-game series between the Eagles and SIU Edwardsville Tuesday, Mar. 10. Pitt and SIU-Edwardsville will face off at 2:30 p.m. before FGCU takes on each of the two teams in later contests as the final test before the A-Sun slate begins. All three games will take place at the FGCU Softball Complex.
 
"We are so fortunate in that in our seven previous seasons in Division I we've been able to attract some really good teams to play good softball at our facility," Deiros added. "The goal is to be prepared for our very challenging conference schedule. That's the reason we play so many good teams in the nonconference schedule and that's why we go where we go. It's all preparation for the gauntlet that is Atlantic Sun softball."
 
The highly-anticipated A-Sun season will begin the second full weekend of Mar. This year's conference field includes eight teams with six squads near or above the top-100 in the nation. As a unit, the league ranks seventh among the nation's 32 conferences. With USC Upstate, Lipscomb and Stetson all in the top 35, UNF (86), FGCU (90) and Jacksonville (101) all follow not far behind, based on last year's final RPI ranking.
 
The Eagles will open the A-Sun slate at North Florida on Saturday, Mar. 14 with a double header in Jacksonville. The three-game series will wrap up Sunday afternoon before FGCU breaks from conference action to host Towson Wednesday, Mar. 18. The mid-week matchup will serve as the team's Think Pink game as the Eagles raise money for Breast Cancer awareness.
 
The A-Sun slate will continue Saturday, Mar. 21 as the team hosts Northern Kentucky at the FGCU Softball Complex. The three-game series with a double header Saturday and a single-game Sunday will stay true to the league's norm.
 
FGCU will wrap up the month of Mar. with a three-game swing in DeLand, Fla. as the Eagles take on Stetson Mar. 28-29. The Green and Blue will host USC Upstate and Jacksonville in back-to-back weekends in the month of Apr. with a single-game against USF at the FGCU Softball Complex scheduled for Wednesday, Apr. 8 at 6 p.m. Prior to the Sunday afternoon matchup with JU, the program will honor its graduating class with a Senior Day ceremony.
 
After the seven-game home stand, the Eagles will hit the road again for their final away swing of the season. FGCU will play three games in Kennesaw, Ga., against the Owls of Kennesaw State before rounding out nonconference play with double headers at FAU and FIU on Apr. 22 and Apr. 25, respectively.
 
The team will make its return to Fort Myers Thursday, Apr. 30 for a double header against Lipscomb beginning at 5 p.m. and will round out the regular season with a single game against the Bisons Friday, May 1 at 1 p.m.
 
Following the 56-game slate, the team will host the A-Sun Championship at the FGCU Softball Complex. The six-team tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6 to Saturday, May 9, and will feature a double-elimination bracket with the winner advancing to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
 
The 2015 squad features just seven returners and a group of 15 players who will compete in a spring schedule for the first time. Despite last year's loss of leadership, the Eagles return four of last season's top-six hitters with the two strongest ERAs from a year ago and the deepest roster the Eagles have seen in recent history.
 
Backed by now senior Kelsey Carpenter (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty High School), the Eagles' returners accounted for 47.6 percent of the team's hits from last season, 45 percent of extra-base hits and 43 percent of last year's runs batted in. Carpenter led the team and the league last season with an average of .432 in 60 games. The outfielder hit 10 doubles with a triple and 10 home runs last season with a slugging percentage of .670. Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City High School), Alexis Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker High School) and Jeanie Verderese (Jacksonville, Fla./Creekside High School) all return to the lineup having batted at least .237 a season ago, while now sophomore Taylor Wade (Pace, Fla./Pace High School) contributed to the team's success in the circle and at the plate last season.
 
With Shelby Morgan (High Springs, Fla./Sante Fe High School) and Wade returning to the circle, the Eagles' veterans hold a combined ERA of 2.74 and struck out 66 batters last season.
 
Season and individual tickets for the 2015 softball season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets via FGCUAthletics.com/tickets, on the phone by calling 239-590-7145 or by visiting the box office at Alico Arena.
 
For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_Softball and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.
 
David Deiros is the first and only softball coach in FGCU history.  With a record of 456-185-2 in eleven seasons, Deiros holds a win percentage of .712.  Deiros coached the Eagles to a record of 200-100 in their first six seasons of Division I competition and led the team to the 2008 and 2012 regular season Atlantic Sun championships.  The team also won the conference tournament in 2012 before picking up its first NCAA Regional win over No. 5 Florida in the first round.  In six years as a Division I competitor, the team has never finished below third place in conference and has been ranked as high as ninth in the NCAA Top 30 poll (2009).  Deiros is a former head coach at the 1998 Florida State Runner-up Lely High School in Naples and is the founding head coach of the 1999 District Champion/2001 Regional Runner-up Gulf Coast High School in Naples.