Previous Suncoast Credit Union Student-Athletes of the Month
 
FORT MYERS, Fla. –  The Suncoast Credit Union FGCU Athletics Scholar-Athletes of the Month for March 2023 have been announced, with graduate baseball outfielder Brian Ellis (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) and graduate softball infielder Tayli Filla (Fort Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot/USF) earning the honor.
 
One male and female Eagle are chosen each month as the FGCU Athletics scholar-athlete throughout the academic year. Factors in the selection for the honor include a combination of significant athletic and overall academic success. Women's golfer Anna Claire Bridge and baseball player Alejandro Figueredo earned the February 2023 honor.
 
The award is the fourth for Ellis and the first for Filla. It is the 29th Scholar-Athlete of the Month award for FGCU baseball, and the 12th for softball.
 
Ellis is re-writing the FGCU baseball record books, as well as adding his name to the national one, during his tenure in Green & Blue. He smashed the unofficial NCAA record for consecutive games reaching base in April 2023 by reaching in his 102^nd straight game – and has extended it to 110 games entering this weekend's play at Austin Peay.
 
Ellis is also on the verge of breaking the FGCU career on-base percentage record (Ellis is tied with Chris Brown at .493), and needs to be hit by a pitch just two more times to break the school record of 58 (Chris Perry). He enters the weekend hitting .303 this season with seven doubles, five homers and 35 RBIs. For his career, Ellis is hitting .344 with 45 doubles, 14 homers and 116 RBIs.
 
A graduate with a degree in exercise science, Ellis is pursuing his master's degree in health science with a 3.89 cumulative GPA. He was an ASUN All-academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District choice in 2022. He was a 2021-22 E.A.G.L.E. Leadership Institute Cohort, and a was a three-year representative on the FGCU Eagles Council student-athlete advisory committee.
 
"Brian is so well-deserving of this award," said FGCU head baseball coach Dave Tollett. "He is our team captain for the last two years, and my only captain in 37 years of coaching. The captain represents FGCU in the finest way, on and off the field."
 
Filla currently leads or co-leads the Eagles in 10 offensive categories – batting average, at-bats, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, walks, on-base percentage. Her team-leading 27 RBIs rank in the top 10 in the ASUN Conference, and she is one of five Eagles to steal at least 10 bases this year to help the team to rank among the top 10 nationally in that category.
 
In her two seasons in Green & Blue, Filla is hitting .311 with 15 doubles, four triples, eight homers and 40 RBIs.
 
Filla received her BA in communications, and is pursuing an MBA with concentration in communication studies with a 3.89 cumulative GPA. She was named ASUN All-Academic in 2021, and is a representative on the Eagles Council student-athlete advisory committee.
 
"Tayli has been consistently our best player all season long," said FGCU head softball coach David Deiros. "We can count on her to be a difference maker at the plate, on defense, and in the dugout. She is an exemplary student as well."
 
For complete coverage of FGCU athletics, follow the Eagles on Twitter (@FGCUEagles), Instagram (@FGCUAthletics) and Facebook (@FGCUAthletics) and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU athletics and all 15 sport programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
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 98 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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 3.67 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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