FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 2023 FGCU baseball season is now 56 games strong, beginning with a four-game weekend series against Hofstra at Swanson Stadium on Feb. 17-19, FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett announced Monday.

The Eagles have 56 games on their 2023 schedule, with nine games against 2022 NCAA Regional participants, and 13 against teams that finished in the RPI Top 100.

"We are excited to begin the 2023 season, and this schedule is another tough one for our program," Tollett said. "Our non-conference schedule is definitely going to be challenging, but it will help us get prepared for a very strong ASUN. I believe playing this level of opposition will pay off for us in the end."

Starting its 21^st season, FGCU begins its 27-game home slate with a Feb. 17 game against Hofstra at Swanson Stadium, with first pitch scheduled at 6:30 p.m. The Eagles will play four games against the Pride, take on Indiana State on Feb. 21 in Port Charlotte, and host UMass Lowell for a three-game series Feb. 24-26.

One of the toughest tests for the Eagles comes immediately after, as the Green & Blue travel to Tallahassee for a weekend series against Florida State March 3-5. The Seminoles are under the direction of new coach Link Jarrett, who was a two-time national coach of the year at Notre Dame and led the Fighting Irish to the 2022 College World Series.

FGCU will play 42 games in the state of Florida, not including the ASUN Tournament which begins May 23 in DeLand. The Eagles play four games against both FAU and FIU (two each at Swanson Stadium), and have ASUN home series with Liberty (March 17-19), Jacksonville (March 21-April 2), Jacksonville State (April 21-23), Stetson (May 5-7) and Kennesaw State (May 18-20).

The Eagles will be led by senior infielder Alejandro Figueredo (Sucre, Venezuela/West Oaks HS/Seminole State) and senior first baseman Joe Kinker (North Port, Fla./Venice HS), who both earned ASUN First-Team All-Conference honors. Also returning for FGCU is redshirt senior outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS), an ASUN Second-Team All-Conference award winner, as well as ASUN All-Freshman Team pitcher/outfielder and Freshman All-American Harrison Povey (Indian Rocks Beach, Fla./Largo HS).

FGCU finished 2022 with a 35-23 record, which included a 22-13 mark at Swanson Stadium, and was 76^th in the final 2022 RPI rankings.

For complete coverage of FGCU baseball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_Baseball and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU baseball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE  
Tickets for the 2023 FGCU Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTix.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.  
 
COACH TOLLETT
FGCU coach Dave Tollett currently owns a 671-408-3 overall record (.620) and a 228-118 (.659) record in the ASUN. He is the only head coach in the program's history and led the program to its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. He is a five-time ASUN Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to five ASUN Regular Season Championships and one ASUN Tournament Championship. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions, including as high as No. 9 in the country in 2017, and has coached 63 all-conference selections, 33 draft picks, three current major leaguers, 13 current minor leaguers, four ASUN Pitchers of the Year, four All-Americans, three ASUN Players of the Year, two National Freshman All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one seven-time MLB All-Star.
 
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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.
 
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