FORT MYERS, Fla. – As the countdown to the 2016 campaign continues, FGCU women's soccer's Tabby Tindell earned more high praise from a national outlet. Tindell, who was named a Top 10 Forward by TopDrawerSoccer earlier in the summer, was named to TopDrawer's Third Team Preseason Best XI Tuesday.

"Tabby has been a fantastic player since she stepped foot on campus," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "This is a well-deserved honor for both her and our program. Not only is she a great player, but a great person as well. This group is focused on the season-opener Friday and determined to return to the NCAAs in November."

Tindell (Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic HS), the only Atlantic Sun student-athlete among the Best XI Teams, joins just three fellow Floridians, six other mid-major representatives, and is one of only two forwards from non-BCS schools on a list of 33 total student-athletes from across the country. Among those 33 named to TopDrawer's First, Second, or Third Team are 22 of the 36 players named to the 2016 Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List, soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. The award is given annually to the best male and female soccer player in college soccer.

The senior has also positioned herself atop the FGCU record books in both goals scored (52) and points (126) and is closing in on FGCU's all-time assists record following a career-high 10 helpers as a junior. Tindell is just six assists away from tying the record of 28, held by 2013 graduate Ashley Ciesielczyk.

The Ocala-native is also closing in on multiple long-standing Atlantic Sun records as she hopes to guide the Eagles to a seventh-straight ASUN regular season title. Tindell is nine goals shy of tying the ASUN record of 61 goals recorded by Centenary's Shelley Marusak from 1993-1995. She is also 22 points away from tying Jacksonville's Marit Foss' record of 148 points during her career from 1997-2000.

Last season, Tindell missed three matches early in the season but came back to score 17 goals and add 10 assists. Of her 17 goals seven proved to be the decisive goal, bringing her career total to 22 match-winners, both an FGCU and ASUN record. She would go on to win her second-straight ASUN Player of the Year award and was named the ASUN Tournament MVP.

Her production on the field yielded top-10 national rankings in multiple categories. The forward finished fourth in both total points and game-winning goals. Her goal production placed her seventh in the nation in total goals and eighth in goals per game (0.85). While falling outside the top 10, Tindell's .50 assists per game placed her 17th nationally.

In total, Tindell is a two-time ASUN Player of the Year, three-time ASUN First Team honoree, two-time ASUN Tournament MVP, an ASUN-best 10-time Player of the Week, a two-time NSCAA Southeast Region Second Team selection, and a three-time TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week selection.
 

TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XIs
First Team
F: Savannah Jordan (Florida), Rachel Hill (Connecticut), McKenzie Meehan (Boston College)
M: Rose Lavelle (Wisconsin), Andi Sullivan (Stanford), Morgan Andrews (USC), Ashley Lawrence (West Virginia)
D: Kadeisha Buchanan (West Virginia), Christina Gibbons (Duke), Kayla Mills (USC)
GK: Jane Campbell (Stanford)

Second Team
F: Tyler Lussi (Princeton), Arielle Ship (California), Murielle Tiernan (Virginia Tech)
M: Casie Ramsier (Auburn), Rachel Corboz (Georgetown), Mikaela Harvey (Texas A&M), Megan Connolly (Florida State)
D: Kirsten Crowley (Florida State), Maddie Bauer (Stanford), Mandy Freeman (USC)
GK: Kailen Sheridan (Clemson)

Third Team
F: Simone Kolander (Minnesota), Tabby Tindell (FGCU), Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina)
M: Gabriela Stoian (Arizona), Serina Kashimoto (Butler), Mimi Rangel (Long Beach State), Elena Medeiros (BYU)
D: Rebecca Quinn (Duke), Alana Cook (Stanford), Kristen McNabb (Virginia)
GK: Cassie Miller (Florida State)

Freshman Team
F: Anika Rodriguez (UCLA), Heidi Kollanen (Florida State), Jennifer Westendorf (Notre Dame)
M: Jessie Fleming (UCLA), Tierna Davidson (Stanford), Ella Stevens (Duke), Grace Bahr (Wisconsin)
D: Chloe Froment (Long Beach State), Julia Ekholm (UCF), D Zoe Morse (Virginia)
GK: Evangeline Soucie (Kentucky)

COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and now 2015, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the Atlantic Sun Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just nine seasons. Blankenship, who was ranked the no. 6 collegiate coach nationally by AllWhiteKit.com to begin the year, started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to nine double-digit win seasons, culminating with Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN tournament championships and became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to win the 2014 ASUN tournament and host the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015, while finishing 24th in the nation. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 115-42-19 (70.7 W%) overall record through the first nine seasons of the program's existence, including a 60-9-10 (76.2 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 355-113-30 (74.3 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the women's soccer team on Twitter @FGCU_WSoccer, on Instagram @FGCU_WSoccer or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUWSoccer. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
 
#FEEDFGCU
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.