FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast softball head coach Lindsay Fico announced Mikie Lieving as the eighth signee out of the 2026 transfer portal on Tuesday.

"From the moment we connected with Mikie, it was clear that she was someone who loves the game, competed with purpose, and has a genuine desire to be great," Fico said. "We look forward to her leadership in the circle and couldn't have asked for a better person to help us as we enter year two."

Mikie Lieving | 5'9 | Sr. | P/UTL | L/R | Wahama HS | Ohio | West Columbia, W. Va.
Lieving brings a career 3.53 ERA and 126 strikeouts over 238.0 innings pitched to Fort Myers. She emerged as a two-way player for the Bobcats in 2026, starting 25 games at DP and slashing .245/.351/.469 with three home runs and 13 runs scored. Her best season in the circle came in 2024, when she recorded a 2.76 ERA over 124.1 innings with a 71-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That campaign registered a selection to the All-MAC Freshman Team and the Second-Team All-MAC. She earned back-to-back Academic All-MAC awards in 2025 and 2026.

In high school, she won three straight West Virginia state championships for Wahama HS, including the school's first softball state championship in 2021. During that run, she was a three-time First Team All-State selection, conference Player of the Year, and All-Tournament Team selection. She was named a First Team All-State captain in 2022 and 2023, and was named the West Virginia Player of the Year as a senior in 2023. A member of the National Honors Society, Lieving was in the top 10% of her graduating class.

The daughter of Wes and Amanda Lieving, Mikie has one sister, Abbie. Her great-great-grandfather, Harry Layne, played professional baseball from 1922-1934, winning the 1926 Three-I League batting crown. For his career, he hit .316 with 311 stolen bases. His twin brother, Herman, also played professional baseball, boasting a career .327 average with 2,097 hits and 315 stolen bases in 1,696 games across 13 seasons, per Baseball Reference. He hit over .300 for 11 consecutive years and played on five pennant winners. Herman also played for the 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates.

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