FORT MYERS, Fla. – Head FGCU softball coach David Deiros has finalized the 2021 slate as the Eagles open up the season at home Feb. 13-14 versus No. 21 UCF.

"It's a great feeling to know we are getting closer to the season," stated Deiros. "The non-conference portion will challenge us per usual, especially with UCF coming here right out of the gates. We'll have a good idea of where we stand heading into conference, but for now, we'll continue to prepare so we can be ready to go next week."  

The opening weekend series against the 21st-ranked Knights will feature a doubleheader each day. This will be the first meeting since 2017 between the two programs. One week later, the Eagles host Northern Illinois, UConn, and FIU from Feb. 19-21. FGCU will face NIU and UConn twice, while only squaring off against FIU once.

Following the nine-game homestand, the Green and Blue travel north to the state capitol for the FSU Tournament (Feb. 26-28), hosted by the 12th-ranked Seminoles. FGCU will see FSU and FAMU twice during the three-day stretch, while also facing Southeastern Louisiana Sunday morning in its second to last contest.

Heading into March, the Eagles head to Leesburg, Fla., for The SPRING Games tournament (Mar. 5-7). The opponents and times are TBA.

FGCU opens up ASUN action at home hosting Stetson Mar. 13-14, with the first day serving as the doubleheader before the Sunday finale. The following weekend (Mar. 20-21), UNF rolls into town as this time one game will be played Saturday night and Sunday serving as the doubleheader. Back-to-back weekends will see the Green and Blue in the River City taking on Jacksonville (Mar. 27-28) and UNF (Apr.2-3) for the second time to close out Easter weekend.

Three neutral site games will be played in Kennesaw, Ga., as the Eagles will see ASUN newcomer Bellarmine twice, and Lipscomb, KSU once (Apr. 9-10). Not home yet, FGCU takes a break from ASUN play, traveling to Tampa (Apr. 17-18) to face USF for a three-game series before returning to the friendly confines hosting Florida for a game on Apr. 21. The Gators enter the season ranked No. 7 and will make their first-ever visit to the FGCU Softball Complex.

Three days later, Jacksonville comes in for a doubleheader Saturday as Sunday will serve as the Eagles' "Senior Day". FGCU closes out the regular season in DeLand, Fla., taking on Stetson (Apr. 30-May 1).

As of now, the South Division Semifinals will take place at the higher seed location from May 7-8, with the ASUN Tournament finals culminating in Kennesaw the following weekend.

 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.

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COACH DEIROS
The founding father of FGCU softball, David Deiros is in his 19th season as head coach. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to a 661-345-3 (.657), going 147-90 (.620) 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.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 82 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 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring 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.