FORT MYERS, Fla. – Returning plenty of experience from the 2015 season, the FGCU softball team begins 2016 in Southwest Florida with the FGCU Kickoff Classic Sponsored by Four Points by Sheraton. The Eagles welcome Middle Tennessee, Michigan State, Memphis, Illinois-Chicago and Kent State to the FGCU Softball Complex for the three-day tournament beginning Friday. While action officially begins Friday at 9 a.m., the Green and Blue make their debut at 6 p.m. against Middle Tennessee.

In addition to the season-opener against Middle Tennessee, the Eagles are hosting a Whiteout against Big Ten foe Michigan State following the conclusion of the 2016 opener. The Eagles will then face Memphis Saturday at 11:15 a.m. and Illinois-Chicago at 3:45 that afternoon. In the final contest of the weekend, FGCU plays host to Kent State at 1:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for youth. Season tickets meanwhile are $39 for adults and $29 for youth. For those interested in purchasing single-game or season tickets, contact the FGCU ticket office at 239-590-7145 or visit FGCUTickets.com.

Play will begin daily at 9 a.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex and will feature six game on both Friday and Saturday. Each team will play two games on Friday and Saturday, before wrapping up play with one final game Sunday.

THE GREEN AND BLUE
In 2016, FGCU will once again feature a young team with 12 total sophomores. The Green and Blue run out three seniors for the 2016 season in Louie Ross (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker HS), Makensie McAvoy (Plant City, Fla./Plant City HS) and Ashley Dobson (Wheatfield, Ind./Tallahassee Community College/Kankakee Valley HS). Along with the trio of seniors, head coach David Deiros can also rely on 11 returning sophomores, eight of which earned significant playing time last season.

Coach Deiros returns four of his top batters from last season including 2015 All-Freshmen Team selection Kelsey Huff (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Dwyer HS). With a .331 average, Huff finished third on the team, just behind Ross at .333 and the departing Kelsey Carpenter at .355. In addition to her performances at the plate, Huff led the team with 22 stolen bases.

Natalie Lopez (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian HS) and McAvoy round out the top performers at the plate. Lopez recorded a .328 average as a freshman while McAvoy hit .296, a career-best.

Chandler Middlebrook (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) hit five home runs during her freshman campaign, tying for the team lead with Carpenter. Brittany McGuire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra HS) drove in 26 runs on four home runs and four doubles, while Ross ended the year third on the team with 25 RBIs. 

In the circle, the Eagles return both Dobson and Gabbee Draney (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep HS) and add Riley Randolph (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast HS) to the rotation. Along with the aforementioned returners, Courtney Noonan (Palm City, Fla./Stuart Martin County HS), who did not play last season, also enters her second year for the Green and Blue. Dobson led the team with 10 wins and 80 strikeouts in her first season in Fort Myers after transferring from Tallahassee Community College. In limited action, Draney picked up a pair of wins in 55 innings.

SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee lost seven players from its 2015 season which saw the Blue Raiders finish 22-29 overall and 5-10 in Conference USA action. Despite the losses in the lineup, head coach Jeff Breeden returns three of his top batters from last season. Led by Carlie Jenkins' .383 average, the Blue Raiders hit .297 as a team in 2015. Jenkins also led the team with 12 doubles and 39 RBIs while swiping six bases.

Precious Birdsong poses the biggest threat on the bases after stealing 40 bases during her freshman season. Along with her speed, Birdsong hit .359 last season with 22 RBIs on seven doubles and six triples. Morgan Harris provides the power in the MT lineup, collecting six homers and 34 RBIs.

The Blue Raider pitching staff is centered on Kelci Cheney who finished last year with a 12-14 record while tossing 134.2 innings. Cheney is supported by Megan Chocallo and Pattie Taylor.

Friday marks the first-ever meeting between the Blue Raiders and the Eagles.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State is hoping to bounce back from a 19-36 finish in 2015. While the Spartans will have to fill the void left by Alyssa McBride, Michigan State welcomes back three batters that finished the season hitting .300 or better. Among those retuning, Lea Foerster finished second on the team with a .339 average and also led the team with 12 doubles and five triples. Kassidy Kujawa slugged 11 homers while driving in 34 runs along with her .281 average.

The Spartans return every pitcher from 2015 including Kristina Zalewski who paced the staff with a 12-14 record while pitching 172.2 innings. Bridgette Rainey and Valerie Kaff also accumulated 70 or more innings last season, each tallying two wins.

The Eagles have had the better of the Spartans since the two programs met in 2009. FGCU came away with an 11-7 victory in Miami, and later a 6-5 win at home. Since then, FGCU has tallied two more victories against Michigan State, shutting out the Spartans in both 2013 (6-0) and 2014 (8-0). MSU's lone win came in 2011, a 12-3 win for the visiting Spartans.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
After a 19-34 season, Memphis' roster is comprised of no seniors as the Tigers attempt to reach the 20-win mark after missing the mark for the first time in program history. Offensively, the Tigers were paced by Lindsay Crowdus' .309 average and six triples. Crowdus fell just shy of a three-way tie for the team lead in stolen bases, finishing the year with nine. Meanwhile, both Kyler Trosclair and Hannah Harrell ended the campaign with 10 stolen bases and a better than .300 batting average.

Katie Brignac not only led the Tigers with five home runs and 26 RBIs, but is also the most experienced returning pitcher. Brignac compiled five wins in 2015, the most of any returner.

FGCU and Memphis have only met once prior to this weekend. In 2008, the Eagles and Tigers met in Tampa, with Memphis claiming a 7-4 win.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
After sharing the Horizon League title in 2015, Illinois-Chicago is once again favored to finish atop the league in 2016. UIC returns Tiana Mac-Miller who led the team with a .371 average along with 15 doubles, four home runs and 30 RBIs. Just behind her, Laura Swan ended 2015 with a .331 average, 10 doubles and 29 RBIs as well as four homers.

The Flames need to replace three of their top hitters from 2015, however. The trio combined to drive in 45 runs with each hitting better than .290.

In the circle, UIC returns every starter from its Horizon League championship team. Led by Elaine Heflin, the UIC staff struck out 214 batters last season. Heflin led the team with 134 strikeouts and 12 wins. Bridget Boyle collected seven wins in the circle for UIC.

Saturday's meeting will be the first meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State won the MAC last season but fell short in the MAC tournament, concluding a 41-13 season. The Golden Flashes return seven starters from the 2015 team, including Maddy Grimm, who led the team with a .373 average, 54 RBIs and 19 home runs. In addition to Grimm, Kent State also welcomes back Holly Speers, who started 50 games as a freshman, hitting .328 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.

Along with an offense that scored 257 runs last season, Kent State maintains its core from a strong pitching staff despite the loss of Emma Johnson, who finished 2015 with an ERA of 0.95 while winning 23 ballgames. Ronnie Ladines will attempt to fill in for Johnson following a 12-6 sophomore season. Ladines ended the season with a 2.35 ERA while working 110 innings. Janel Hayes and Alyssa Frankenfield bring a combined six wins from their 2015 seasons.

FGCU and Kent State have split their previous two meetings. The Eagles took the first meeting in 2011 by a 4-3 final, but Kent State claimed the second 3-1 two years later. Both previous contests were at neutral locations.

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information on the FGCU softball program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_Softball and Instagram at fgcusoftball and stay tuned at FGCUAthletics.com.
 
COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros enters his 14th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to 11 seasons with a winning record, eight campaigns with 35+ wins and a win percentage of .680 (512-242-3). The 2015 Eagles finished with a 23-30 record and wins over Atlantic 10, Southland, AAC and ACC opponents. 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.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.