Interview with FGCU Men's Soccer's Albert Ruiz

(Courtesy of Captive Photons)

Last Friday morning I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down for an interview with FGCU men's soccer's own Albert Ruiz. Ruiz is a freshman forward that stands 6'2", 180 pounds, and has started all seven of the games for the Eagles so far. Albert hails from Barcelona, Spain, putting him about 4,730 miles away from his home.

Admittedly, I am not the world's biggest soccer fan, in fact the only time I watch is every four years when the World Cup rolls around. I'm sure that my definition of "football" is extremely different from what he knows as "fútbol." Despite that, getting to talk to Ruiz one on one was extraordinary to me.

I asked him why he came to America, a country that is not rich in soccer tradition, to continue his playing career. He explained to me that the economic situation in Spain is "difficult," and that there "is not much money in the soccer world." He went on to tell me how Bob Butehorn, head coach of the Eagles, came to see him play at his home, and how he visited FGCU in April where he cited the school, the players, and the climate as reasons he decided to attend. 

Like most athletes, Ruiz grew up playing his respective sport. As soon as he was walking, he was playing soccer. He talked about how his grandfather use to be a goalkeeper, and that he learned play forward by trying to score on him as a child. 

Considering that it is rarely easy for any new college student, athlete or not, to adjust immediately to a new setting, I asked Ruiz how he is adapting to life at FGCU. 

"It's not easy because I have always lived in Barcelona with my friends, family, my girlfriend. I have everything there, and suddenly I am here alone with myself. And you know it's not easy to do everything by yourself, you have to cook, you have to wash your clothes, you have to make payments, you have to do everything by yourself. It's not easy, but it's going well. Everyday is better than the other one."

Ruiz said that so far the decision to come to FGCU has been a good one. 

The Eagle soccer team currently has a record of 1-3-3, but was ranked #24 in the country before last weekend. Before Saturday's tie against Brown they had suffered three gut wrenching one goal losses in a row to San Francisco, St. Mary's, and #8 Washington. Despite the tough stretch, Ruiz is still confident in the team's ability to bounce back.

Courtesy of Captive Photons

"I think that the most important period will be November with the big games," said Ruiz, "we have to learn and grow to be there as good as we can. This is a process, we are still working. That is all. Big moments and big games will be in November. We are just learning how to win those games."

Although the past week has not gone as planned for the FGCU men's soccer team, coaches across the country have obviously seen something out of them that prompted them to vote the Eagles in the top 25. This is a very talented team that has yet to find its footing. They have scored a total of only 3 goals in 7 games, yet they average over 14.5 shots per game. Once they start finding the back of the net, wins will follow. When I asked him what his expectations were for the team going forward, Ruiz gave an inspired response. 

"Why not? We can go to the NCAA tournament, and when we get there let's see what happens." 

Funny he should answer like that. It reminds me of the attitude of another FGCU athletic team that made it to the NCAA tournament. 

Use the audio player below to listen to the entire interview. Special thanks to Albert Ruiz for making this possible!

By: Cameron J. Kaiser

Read more ...

Gameday: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, NE (Capacity 15,000)

Time: 9:00 p.m ET

TV: Big Ten Network (Tom Hamilton, Jim Jackson)
Live Stream: BTN2Go
Audio/Radio: Husker Sports Network
Live Updates: @FGCUEaglesNest on Twitter

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 
Head Coach: Joe Dooley
Record: 0-0 (0-0)
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Roster | Schedule

Nebraska Cornhuskers 
Head Coach: Tim Miles
Record: 0-0 (0-0)
Conference: Big Ten
Roster | Schedule

Odds: Nebraska -3 | O/U 130

Keep Up With The Eagles
If you've been busy during the week, be sure to check out all the FGCU Eagles Nest posts leading up to FGCU's opener against the Huskers.

New Era For Head Coach Joe Dooley
Eagles To Be Shorthanded In Opener
Know Your Opponent: Q & A With Corn Nation

History / Streaks / Stats
•FGCU is 0-6 all time against Big Ten teams.
•In the Eagles' lone game against Nebraska (12/7/12), they fell 51-50 in a nail-biter. Brett Comer, Chase Fieler, Bernard Thompson, and Filip Cvjeticanin are the only current FGCU players who competed in that game.
•The Eagles are 6-5 all time in season openers.
•While at Kansas, Dooley was 15-1 against Nebraska (still Big-12 at that time).
•Joe Dooley, in his four years as head coach at East Carolina, had a 57-52 record. He was 1-3 in season openers.
•Dooley was 1-1 against Big Ten schools while assistant at South Carolina. As a player (at George Washington), he was 1-3 against Big Ten schools.
•Although Eric McKnight is suspended, while at Iowa State he faced off against Nebraska twice in 2010-11; he saw no action in either game.
•Nebraska is 8-0 all time against Atlantic Sun teams.
•Nebraska head coach Tim Miles went 15-18 last year in his first season at the helm in Lincoln.
•Pinnacle Bank Arena was built over the last few years and the cost was estimated at $170 million. Alico Arena cost $16 million.
•The Arena will host its first Huskers Hoops games on Nov. 8 with the Lady Huskers at noon against UCLA and then the men's basketball team will obviously battle FGCU at 8:00 p.m local time.

Read more ...

Sherwood Brown Cut By Maccabi Haifa

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Sherwood Brown, after signing with Maccabi Haifa in July, was cut by the defending Israeli Winner League Champions. This came after Haifa choose not to register Brown for the Winner League and benched him for their Euro Cup games.

As outlined in this previous article, his non registration and now release was the culmination of many factors. These include roster restrictions that put foreign players at a disadvantage.

It was rumored back in September that Haifa coach Danny Franco wanted to cut Brown but nothing came of it until now. After Brown's senior season at FGCU, in which he led the team in rebounding and scoring, he worked out with many NBA teams including the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies.

In Haifa's NBA tour, Brown scored eight points against the Suns, was benched against the Pistons, and ended with two points against the Grizzlies and familiar foe Jamaal Franklin.

For more on FGCU make sure to follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEaglesNest)

Read more ...

FGCU Volleyball Tops Mercer In Five Sets

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

FGCU started off a three games in four day stretch off right with hard fought five set victory over Mercer. The Eagles captured the first set 25-21 before slowing down in the second set and dropping it 25-14. After they split the third and fourth sets with the Bears (25-16, 25-18), FGCU won the fifth set 15-7.

Senior and Ft. Myers native Kaitlin Holm led the Eagles in kills with 21 while fellow senior Karina Mambuca led the squad in digs (17). On the night, FGCU record 57 kills and 10 blocks. Excluding the second set, they recorded 10 or more kills in every set. The hitting percentage ended at .214.

That was the Eagles fourth win in five set matches this season, the others coming against FAU, USC Upstate, FIU, and UNK. They are now undefeated on the season when it comes to these grueling contests.

With this win, the Blue and Green now own a 7-3 record (4th) in Atlantic Sun play and move only one game under .500 for the season. FGCU stays on the road as they take on Kennesaw State tomorrow (Oct. 26) at 3:00 p.m. After battling UNF on Monday (Oct. 28), the Eagles will return home to Alico.

For more on FGCU make sure to follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEaglesNest)

Read more ...

Eagles In The Classroom: NCAA Release GSR

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Today the NCAA released its annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) reports. This is the class that began college in 2006 and is calculated by students who graduated within six years. Headlining FGCU sports are Women's Soccer and Women's Tennis, both of whom had a 100% GSR rate. Here is FGCU's full list.

Men's Sports
Basketball: 53%
Baseball: 60%
Cross Country: 38%
Golf: 80%
Tennis: 73%

Women's Sports
Basketball: 40%
Cross Country: 56%
Golf: 83%
Soccer: 100%
Softball: 72%
Swim & Dive: 67%
Tennis: 100%
Volleyball: 89%

Overall, the Atlantic Sun conference had 26 perfect scores, including every Women's Tennis team (for the 2nd year in a row). Fifty-one A-Sun schools posted a score equal to or higher than the national average.

For more on FGCU make sure to follow us on Twitter (@FGCUEaglesNest)

Read more ...

Offseason Guide: Baseball

Photo courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

The Eagles began the season well, beating St. Johns twice and sweeping Florida in Gainesville. Then during a 10 game home stand, FGCU only lost twice (Manhattan and Ave Maria). After going 7-10 in April, FGCU picked it up and lost only two games in the month of May. Between April and May, FGCU, led by Coach Tollett, went on a 10 game winning streak. However the season came to a rainy end in DeLand where the Eagles fell to Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.
The A-Sun Championship was believed to be their only chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles were not selected for a regional and will have to look ahead to next year. Many FGCU players are projected to be selected in the upcoming MLB Draft (June 6th-8th) including Dwyer, Cooney, Bednar, Knapp, Reeves, Bixler, Beisner, and Brown. Great article about FGCU's great ability to produce draft ready players.

While FGCU might be losing players to the draft, they are also bringing a talented 2013 recruiting class including pitchers Jake Hansen and Mario Leon. Blake Berger, Kalam Daniel, both catchers, are future Eagles as well. Infielders Chase Turner and Sterling Koerner are committed. Rounding out the class is outfielder Gage Morey.

Read more ...

Dooley Brings In Rice Transfer Julian DeBose

Just over a month into his time here at FGCU, Joe Dooley has brought in two transfers, Marc Eddy-Norelia (Tulane) and now Julian DeBose (Rice). DeBose is a versatile guard from Washington D.C who was All Metropolitan his senior year while averaging 17.5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks at St. John High. His first year at Rice he averaged 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds and improved next year to 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. With his athleticism and length, DeBose has the ability to pull down boards and block some shots. At 6'4", FGCU adds another guard who has the ability to get up high and thrown down some intense dunks. He will have two years of eligibility here in Dunk City after sitting out next year.

Read more ...

Jamail Jones Interview

Photo Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

I had the opportunity to interview Jamail Jones, Marquette transfer, who will finally step out on the court next year for FGCU. He is a 6'6" F/G with great athleticism and talent; Jones played senior year at Montverde Academy and was #53 on ESPN 150. Be sure to thank Jamail Jones for stopping by and enjoy.

 Liam Jones: You obviously have practiced with new coach Joe Dooley, how do you think it compares to practices with Coach Enfield?

Jamail Jones: "Coach Enfield was a little more relaxed, Dooley is relaxed but a little bit more intense and more disciplined and expects us to do these things when Coach Enfield really gave us a more free lance type of deal."

LJ: You transferred to FGCU and now have gone through a coaching change, how do you stay focused on improving your game while going through these changes?

Photo Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

JJ: "I'm not gonna lie, when I first hear Coach Enfield was leaving, it was kind of a shock but not really a shock because me and him discussed it if like a opportunity were to come, he would obviously take it if it was a better situation than what he was in but as far as, I don't really let which coach dictate how I play. I always give a 110% percent and listen to coaches so I just have been working extremely hard to prepare my game and help my teammates."

LJ: When you transferred, what was attractive about FGCU, the university and the basketball program, and do you think that is still there today with Enfield leaving?

JJ: "He was a pretty big reason why I came but when I initially enrolled in school, change isn't always bad, obviously the change for me was good, the program, the coaching staff that we have, the student body, the campus, everything is so FGCU, and I'm happy to be here even with Enfield is gone because I developed that relationship with my assistant coaches, with the students, with my teammates so it was really about him [Enfield] before I got there but once I got there it became much bigger than just the relationship I had with him."

Photo Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

LJ: Coach Dooley just added Tulane transfer Marc Eddy-Norelia, what is your advice for him and other transfers to stay motivated even with a year of sitting out?

JJ: "I know I could tell them that a year sitting out, its no fun but you just have to approach it as if you were playing. What helped me get through my year was coaches not taking it easy on my just because I had a year sitting out, they treated me as if I was suiting up for each and every game and you just have to take that. That year will go by fast and treating like that will help expedite the process.

LJ: Sitting out, you can still practice but how do you stay on top of your game without that fast paced in game action?

JJ: That aspect is pretty tough but you just have to stay on your conditioning, that is the most vital things but it is also one of the hardest things to do because you feel 'I have a long year ahead of me, I don't really have to work on my conditioning' well before you know it, the year will be over. So that extra conditioning will always keep you in tip top shape cause practicing with the team will help you but once they go on road trips, you don't have practice everyday. They leave on a Wednesday and don't get back until Sunday, you have to take it upon yourself to get to the gym and the treadmill, ride the bike or whatever. It is a tough process but also helps you develop into a young man."

LJ: What is the part of your game that you think will most benefit the teams overall performance?

JJ: "Main thing, is leadership. There were some times during the season where we had some rough patches, we lost 2 or 3 game losing streak and I feel that during those tough times we didn't really have one leader to step up and hold people accountable and hold themselves accountable and pull the team together when there are tough times in a game. I feel that I get along with my teammates and it is one of the vital aspects of a team. Me, I'm all about the team, whether I score 20 points, it doesn't really matter, as long as we win.

LJ: None of you want to be a one and done team, how do you guys continue to stay focused for next year and strive to be even better?

JJ: "Not being complacent, we have to remember what got us there and continue to build on top of that. Now we know what it takes and people know that our school is not a push over, we are a legitimate Division I team, now we have to continue to live up to that. Teams will now look at us 'We can't take these guys lightly, NCAA tournament, they got the nickname Dunk City'. We have to come into every game like we have a target. We can get complacent or we can get hungrier but not too greedy."

(All photos were taken by Linwood Ferguson during FGCU scrimmage in 2012)

Read more ...

Sherwood Brown Interview Extended

I was able to ask Sherwood Brown some other questions, along with the Road To the NBA. Here are his responses. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments/suggestions.

"Coach Enfield is a really good shooter, one thing he definitely helped me with was my shooting form, he took my shooting form to another level, made me a more consistent shooter. Also he helped me work on 1 on 1 moves to help become a better all around scorer. He gave me confidence. You can't do much in this type of business unless you have a lot of confidence."

"The pace of the game, its definitely a lot faster pace than in college but even though, our team we played at a very fast pace anyways so I don't think it will be too hard for me to adjust to. But its a long season, one thing I definitely have to be able to do is take care of my body the whole season, stay durable."

"One thing I have always been good at is rebounding the ball, for my size. No matter what level. My coach always said 'If you're a good rebounder in high school, you're going to be a good rebounder in college, you're going to be a good rebounder in the next level, wherever you end up. That is definitely something I can take to the next level."

"When I started going to FGCU, one thing I definitely wanted to do is be the beginning of something new, so it just feels that much better when you set out do to something and you accomplish that goal."

"We had a pretty good season, we lost some games that we felt we should have won but we also won some games that were total confidence boosters, we beat University of Miami, that was a huge confidence booster for us. We played Duke, we played them tough, that was also a big confidence booster. After we went into the tournament, we knew he had a really good team we just had to keep everyone on the same page at the right time and that's what we did, we just got on a good little winning streak and carried it on."

"We beat Georgetown. A lot of teams, after the win the first game, then they just satisfy, but we were always hungry and that helped lead us to more victories."

"Its definitely a dream come true. Everyone has a dream, every basketball player has a dream of playing in the NBA and so to actually get a chance to make my dream become a reality is just really special to me"

"Yeah, coming out of high school I was always the underdog and it helped me, its just gave me that motivation to play hard and get better. Me being the underdog, something that I'm used to so I just gotta take that hunger and continue to do what I do best and stay motivated"

Read more ...

Road To the NBA: With Sherwood Brown (Episode 1)

I was able to sit down with Sherwood Brown and bring you the first episode of the Road To the NBA. Here is the overall timeline of the process so far, he will be checking in again to do the next episode in a couple of weeks. I asked other questions as well, let me know if you want me to post the full interview. Please Enjoy.

"It all started with, I had to get an agent right after the tournament ended because there was kind of a lot of stuff that I was missing out on just because I hadn't had an agent yet. I got an agent about a week and half after the tournament was over. Seth Cohen is my agent (Verus NBA Management). My AAU coach, she hooked me up with my agent right now."

"And ever since then, I came up here [Chicago] about two weeks and I started working out with tech. You know it has been a lot of gruesome workouts but I'm here for the intense workouts. I have been doing three a days, three times a week and every other day has been 2 a days. I am just here working hard."

"I am going to continue to work out and get better at some skills that I need to possess at the next level. In the next couple of weeks I will be having some workouts with some NBA teams so I'm going to continue to stay conditioned and get ready for those."

"I'm gonna have a sit down with my agent tomorrow and he has a couple of teams lined up for me to go work out with so after I talk to him tomorrow I will find out about my schedule for the next couple of months."

Idea: Only Gators

Read more ...

Off-Season Guide 1: Women's Soccer

The Eagles, led by Shannen Wacker, ended the season with a 14-4-3 record and a lone conference loss to UNF (7-1-1 conference record) to earn a A-Sun Regular Season Championship for the 3rd year in a row. After earning the #1 seed in the A-Sun Tournament, FGCU beat #5 Jacksonville en route to scraping by #2 Mercer in the finals, 1-0 (OT). The Eagles had to travel to Gainesville to take on the Gators in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. UF scored in the 22nd minute and then again in 77th to capture a 2-0 victory.

Photo Courtesy of Jim Dostie

FGCU will be losing seniors Jessica Swartzentruber, Danielle Faller, Jennifer Crittenberger, Julia Martin, and Ashely Ciesielczyk. They all certainly left their mark on FGCU soccer. Crittenberger is fifth all time in minutes (5853) and games started (64) in FGCU history. Faller has a constant motor that led her to start all 78 games in her career. Ciesielczyk is first on the all time FGCU list for assists with 28. Swartzentruber returned from an injury to play her last game at FGCU in the NCAA tournament against UF. Martin had a key assist in the A-Sun semi-finals to lead their team to victory. 

Post-Season accolades are not a rare occurrence for FGCU. This year, Jim Blankenship was named A-Sun Coach of the Year and Ashely Ciesielczyk earned the A-Sun defensive player of the year. Shannen Wacker, Ally Kasun joined Ciesielczyk on the All Conference First Team and Danielle Faller, Jennifer Crittenberger, Emma Blackwell, and Shea Rhoney earned A-Sun Second Team honors.

It will be hard to replace all the great talent and personalities these seniors had but Jim Blankenship did a phenomenal job bringing in great young talent. Lauren Knight, Ashely Parks, Paulina Speckmaler (transfer), Tabitha Tindell, and Yazmin Velez all signed NLIs to FGCU. 

FGCU Soccer contributed to the Eagles being named A-Sun Women's All Sport Champions.

Read more ...

Eddie Keith II Interview

Today I was able to interview Eddie Keith II, small forward for Edgewater High School in Orlando and Florida Elite (AAU). He currently has offers from Florida Atlantic, FGCU, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Charleston, Gardner Webb and has interest from multiple other schools. It was over the phone and the call was breaking up so please excuse and breaks or pauses. Please Enjoy!

Liam Jones: So you are playing Florida Elite, tell me what that is like?

Eddie Keith: Florida Elite, at any given time anyone on the team could take over at the game. I love those guys, it’s a very good environment. I love the coaching staff

LJ: Wherever you end up playing, what do your pride yourself on, what is the biggest asset you will bring to the team?

EK: My competitiveness basically, score the basketball, play defense, whatever my team needs me to do.

LJ: So what affect did the Sweet Sixteen run have on your view of Florida Gulf Coast?

EK: I’ve kept up with them since they offered. Coach Enfield, the head coach, came to my high school to watch me work out and stuff, kept in contact pretty well, gave me a couple pointers on my shot and consistency. The run didn’t really surprise me at all, I always thought they could.

LJ: You talked about Coach Enfield but what do you know about their new Coach Dooley?

EK: I haven’t even talked to him yet; I only really know he came from Kansas.

LJ: Do you think you would fit into the system there?

EK: When Coach Enfield was there, I loved the system, they played up and down. I don’t really know what the new coach is going to do yet so.

Read more ...

Why "Dunk City" Is So Much More

Before the Sweet Sixteen run, many people had never even heard of Florida Gulf Coast University. CBS broadcasted a screen graphic that said "Florida Golf Coast University". San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher referred to FGCU as Florida State in the post game press conference. It was apparent that FGCU, or Florida GC according to CBS, was not getting the respect it deserved.

Just over a month later, thanks to the men's basketball team, FGCU is on the NCAA athletic map and the future is looking as bright as ever. There is talk of a football team sometime in the future and other FGCU teams are feeling the love from Fort Myers as well.

"We played Florida about a week ago and there were a ton of people there" said Nick Rivera, FGCU infielder "Our fan base is improving daily because of what they did and what we are continuing to do."
 
The campus book store sold out of FGCU gear in a matter of hours and the athletics website crashed as everyone went crazy for Dunk City but the Eagles don't want to be a one and done team.

"Everybody expects us to win next year. We’re going to have the X on our back" said Ken Kavanagh, FGCU athletic director.

"The role has changed a little bit. We’ve got to prepare that way" said Joe Dooley

Check Out the Entire Nick Rivera Interview Here

Read more ...

Nick Rivera Interview

Today I got the chance to interview freshman infielder Nick Rivera who is hitting .272 with four home runs so far this season. He is from Bishop Verot High School, very close to FGCU. Please enjoy.

Courtesy of Linwood Ferguson

Liam Jones: What was it like growing up near FGCU and now playing for them?

Nick Rivera: Growing up, you really didn’t hear much about them [FGCU] until recently because you had Florida, FSU, and Miami. I mean USF and all those types of schools, FGCU just exploded onto the scene. I think the first time I heard about them baseball wise was sophomore year of high school and to see how much they’ve grown in the past 3-4 years it is just crazy. The baseball team has always been successful. The softball team has always been successful and the basketball team had the awesome run in the NCAA tournament and its great to see how much it has grown the last couple years.

LJ: When you came in, what did you pride yourself on and what do you think the staff at FGCU could help you improve on?

NR: I could always hit, that was my biggest tool coming into FGCU but they helped me with fielding. I wasn’t very good defensively coming in but we’ve put a lot of work and they’ve helped me a lot.

LJ: What was it like on campus and in Fort Myers in general during March Madness?

NR: Wow, it was crazy, everywhere you’d go someone would mention something about Dunk City or FGCU Athletics. I was wearing an FGCU athletics shirt and people would come up to me and give me a high five. The basketball team was just doing great. It was just funny to see how many bandwagoners and all that stuff jumped on FGCU because of what they did. Its great to see, for our whole community, for every sport. I mean it will help with admissions, financial aid, and all that type of stuff.

LJ: Did you guys feed on the energy and school spirit that the basketball team brought for FGCU?

NR: Yea, most definitely, coming to our baseball games, we played Florida about a week ago and there were a ton of people there. I mean I don’t really think before Dunk City, maybe we don’t have as many fans as Florida did but our fan base is improving daily because of what they did and what we are continuing to do.

Read more ...

FGCU Basketball Looking Forward

FGCU basketball should maintain a similar style of play as last year, as many fans are hoping for. Yes Joe Dooley is not Andy Enfield but the Eagles bring back many of the same smiling faces that were laughing during practices and games.

"I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel," Dooley said.

FGCU still has national spotlight stars, Brett Comer and Chase Fieler, and A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year Bernard Thompson whose contributions are often overlooked.

Seniors Eddie Murray and Sherwood Brown will be leaving along with junior Christoph Varidel who will be transferring. The Eagles will bring back 68% of minutes, 65% of points, 68% of rebounding, 84% of assists, and 74% of steals.

Those players will be sorely missed but there is plenty of fresh talent arriving that adds to the depth of the Eagle roster. Georgia Tech transfer, Nate Hicks, sat out the 2012-2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will be out on the court next year. Also sitting out this year was Marquette transfer Jamail Jones, the #52 recruit on ESPN Top 100 (2010). Along with that, Jordan Neff (#86 PF) and Logan Hovey (#100 SF) are both incoming recruits that are familiar to high flying dunks and alley oops.

There will be a lot more pressure on FGCU next year after their Sweet Sixteen run that brought national attention.

"Our team has to understand now we’re the hunted, not the hunter," Dooley said.

Read more ...

Weekend Recap

Photo by Linwood Ferguson

         It was another great couple of days for FGCU sports. Baseball had an exciting weekend with back to back walk offs Friday and Saturday to win the series despite losing on Sunday. Through multiple rain delays softball took both games of the double header on Saturday and similar to baseball dropped the 3rd game of the series on Sunday. Sand Volleyball beat Mercer (3-2) before falling to UNF (4-1) at the A-Sun Championship. Men's Tennis beat USC Upstate 4-2 and then lost UNF 4-0. Women's Tennis lost to Stetson 4-3 in the A-Sun Quarterfinals. In the first round of the A-Sun Championship, Men's Golf shot a 313(+25) with sophomore Jack Hernadez at +2 tied for 7th. Paintball beat Cal State Long Beach to win the NCPA National Championship. A lot going on and another great weekend to be an Eagle.

Read more ...

Eagles in the Pros Update (MLB)

Chris Sale
      Sale is currently pitching for the Chicago White Sox, with 4.50 season ERA. He started the season off right on Opening Day with 7.2 innings of shut out ball and seven strikeouts. Since then he has given up 13 earned runs with a 0-2 record and one no decision. His next projected start is on Wednesday April 24th against the Indians.

Richard Bleier
     At the Triple A Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers), Bleier has a 1.50 ERA over six innings in relief and one save.

Jacob Barnes
      Over three games, Barnes has two saves and a 1.50 ERA. He has 12 innings pitched with the Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee Brewers).

Stephen Wickens
      If you want to see a former Eagle, go see Stephen Wickens play for the Fort Myers Miracles (Minnesota Twins) at Hammond Stadium. He is hitting .219 with a .599 OPS and one triple.

Read more ...

Everything You Need To Know About Joe Dooley

FGCU recently hired Joe Dooley as the new men's basketball head coach. Here is everything you need to know about him:

1. Set school record for most career points, 1,140, at St. Benedict's High School.

2. Graduate of 1988 from George Washington University, 2 year starter and captain during senior year.

3. In his first college head coaching job, he went 57-52 (at East Carolina)

4. Has been a part of four Elite Eights, five Sweet Sixteens.

5. Assistant coach at Kansas when they won the 2007-2008 National Championship.

6. Number one ranked assistant coach in 2010, according to Fox Sports.

7. Ranked 4th best recruiter in 2007 (Mario Chalmers, Cole Aldrich).

Read more ...

FGCU Basketball Off-season Timeline

After being the first 15 seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and then losing to the Florida Gators on March 29th,  FGCU Men's Basketball has experienced some major changes.
Here they are:

April 1st: USC signs former FGCU Head Coach Andy Enfield.
April 2nd: FGCU names Marty Richter interim Head Coach.
April 4th: Christoph Varidel is reported to transfer (Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com).
April 9th: USA Today coaches' poll ranks FGCU 25th in the country (1st time ever).
April 17th: FGCU names former Kansas assistant Joe Dooley as new head coach.


Other Notes: Jordan Neff (#86 PF) and Logan Hovey (#100 SF) are the only 2013 FGCU commits.

Read more ...