FORT MYERS, Fla. – Head FGCU softball coach David Deiros has announced the 2022 schedule as the Eagles are set to kick off their 20th season on February 10 for the FGCU Kickoff Classic.

The Eagles will play 52 games which includes games against 2021 NCAA Tournament participants Texas, Missouri, Clemson, Florida, and South Florida as well as 24 ASUN contests.

"I am excited about our 2022 schedule," said Deiros. "We will be challenged early and often which will get us ready for the rigors of our ASUN schedule."

The Eagles will open the season with two straight weekends at the FGCU Softball Complex. The Green and Blue begin the season with the FGCU Kickoff Classic where they will welcome Texas, Clemson, Boston College, LIU, and Kent State to Fort Myers. After hosting a midweek game against Missouri, the Eagles stay home for the weekend as Boston College returns in addition to Belmont, Austin Peay, and Memphis for the FGCU Invitational.

FGCU will hit the road for the first time the following weekend as they head to Leesburg for THE Spring Games where they will go up against two Big Ten teams in Iowa and Rutgers and two Ivy League squads in Cornell and Princeton as well as MAAC foe Siena.

The Eagles will return home for a doubleheader against South Florida on March 2 before heading back on the road to participate in the UCF Tournament from March 4-6, playing three games against the Knights as well as two games against South Carolina.

The Green and Blue will kick off conference play on March 12 against North Florida in Fort Myers. As every ASUN series will be, they will play a doubleheader against the Ospreys before playing a single game the following day. The Eagles will stay home for their second ASUN series as well as they go up against ASUN newcomer Central Arkansas for the first time.

The Eagles will alternate road and home series over the next four weekends, playing Lipscomb and Stetson on the road while hosting Jacksonville State and Liberty.

FGCU closes out conference play with two series on the road, first traveling to Atlanta to play Kennesaw State before heading to Jacksonville to take on the Dolphins.

Before the ASUN Tournament on May 10-14, the Eagles will have one more non-conference weekend as they head to Gainesville for the UF Tournament where they will play both the Gators and Mercer twice.
 
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 is in his 20th season as head coach entering the fall of 2021. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 689-364-3 (.654), going 162-93 (.632) in the ASUN, having 14 seasons with a winning record, and nine campaigns with 35 wins. 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.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM—