Email coach
David Deiros
The founding father and only head coach of FGCU softball, David Deiros enters his 21st season at the helm of the Eagles in 2023. Hired in 2001 to build the program from the dirt up, Deiros has since guided the Eagles to 16 seasons with a winning record, nine campaigns with 35+ wins and a win percentage of .640 (706-397-3.)
FGCU spent its first five seasons (2003-07) at the NCAA Division II level. In their final two seasons at Division II, the Eagles amassed 120 victories, including a school record and NCAA-leading 62 wins in 2007 (Ranked 10th in the country). FGCU earned two consecutive NCAA Tournament berths in their only three years of eligibility. During the Blue and Green’s time in Division II, Deiros was a three-time Division I-II All-Independent Coach of the Year by the ICAA.
Overall, FGCU is 176-109 (.618) in the ASUN with 11 seasons of double-digit wins. The Eagles have won three regular season championships (2008, 2012, and 2016) and qualified for the ASUN Championships in eight of their ten eligible seasons. FGCU owns a 16-14 record in the ASUN Tournament with one championship in 2012, two 2nd place, and a 3rd place finish. Individual ASUN Conference accolades have also racked up in the Eagles’ fourteen years of membership, highlighted by five winners of the Conference Player of the Year award (Carmen Paez-2008, Cheyenne Jenks-2009, Courtney Platt-2011, Chelsea Zgrabik-2013, and Louie Ross-2016), two winners of the Conference Pitcher of the Year (Shelby Morgan-2012, Riley Randolph-2016), and two winners of the Conference Freshmen of the Year (Riley Randolph-2016 and Reedy Davenport-2019).
In all, Deiros has coached 17 ASUN All-Academic Team selections, 23 All-Conference First-Team choices, 19 Second-Team picks and 15 All-Freshmen Team honorees.
In 2022, Deiros earned win No. 700 on Saturday, March 2 at the FGCU Softball Complex with a 5-2 victory over ASUN foe Jacksonville State. The Eagles then capped the 2022 campaign with a 3-2 upset win over No. 10 Florida in Gainesville.
FGCU defeated the ranked Gators for just the second time in program history, the first time since 2012.
The win over No. 10 Florida marked the second top-10 win of the season for the Green and Blue and its 10th top-25 win in the Division I era. On February 8, 2022, FGCU took down No. 8 Texas 6-4 in Fort Myers.
Ally Hulme tossed a complete-game gem to lift the Eagles past Florida. Hulme held a no-hitter through five complete, finishing with only three hits allowed and struck out four in 134 total pitches. With the tying run on second and the winning run on first for the Gators, Hulme forced a final fly out to right to seal the deal.
FGCU finished the 2022 campaign 18-33 overall and 9-15 in the ASUN.
Both seniors Cana Davis and Tayli Fill earned all-conference honors. The Eagles were the only ASUN team with two all-academic recipients in 2022 as both Davis and Filla were named to the ASUN All-Academic Team. Davis was also named to the ASUN Second Team as an outfielder.
Davis led the Green and Blue in 14 offensive categories: batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.763), on-base percentage (.450), OPS (1.213), hits (52), doubles (11), triples (2), home runs (13), RBIs (44) walks (17), total bases (106), runs (25), muli hit games (12) and muti RBI games (12).
Davis ranked sixth across the conference this season for highest batting average, fifth in total home runs and seventh in RBIs. Her slugging percentage ranks 6th all-time in FGCU single season records.
In 2021, the Green and Blue upset No. 21 UCF and finished the season with an overall record of 28-19 and 15-3 in the ASUN. FGCU went 2-0 in the opening round of the ASUN Championship to advance to the ASUN Final Four.
Reedy Davenport became the first FGCU softball player to take home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2021 since the installment of the award by the ASUN back in 2014.
Joining Davenport on the First Team was Johneisha Rowe who also made the All-Freshman Team – players who were freshmen last year were eligible for this year's team. Meanwhile, Taylor Bauman and Emily Estroff were named to the Second Team. For Rowe and Estroff, the All-Conference honors are the first of their careers. Junior left fielder McKenna Batterton earned her first ASUN All-Academic honor.
Mariss Mesiemore tossed the program's fifth no-hitter in school history, the second in the D-1 era, against FAMU on February 27, 2021.
The 2020 season saw the Eagles finish 19-8 and were about to start ASUN play just days prior to the season being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles finished ranked 36th in scoring (led the state of Florida), averaging just over six runs per game and ranked 45th in attendance. A few of the milestones hit during the year include the programs' 650th win (8-0 win over UIC, Feb. 15) and the team's 1000th game, an 8-5 victory over Houston Baptist.
In 2019, the Eagles finished their season 29-22 with a 13-7 mark in conference action, good for third place in the regular season. Those wins included two against Big 10 squads in the NFCA top-25--Indiana at home and Women’s College World Series participant Minnesota in Clearwater, Fla.
Senior Kate Kelly and newcomer Reedy Davenport headlined the ASUN All-Conference awards with their First Team and Freshman of the Year honors, respectively. Seniors Riley Randolph and Racquel Fournet capped their fantastic careers at FGCU with Second Team awards.
The 2018 season saw the Eagles go 39-17 (got off to a program-record 13-0 start) as they went 13-7 in the ASUN, finishing second during the regular season. The overall wins were the most in the Division I era while the losses were the fewest. During the 2018 campaign, the Green and Blue reached as high as #33 in the RPI rankings.
Highlighting the ASUN All-Conference awards were a pair of First Teamers in Riley Randolph and Racquel Fournet. Kelsey Huff landed on the Second Team while Taylor Bauman and Farley Callaghan were both named to the All-Freshman team. Bauman capped off the season leading the country with 15 saves, tying the NCAA single-season mark.
The program's 15th season witnessed another 30-win season and a trip to the ASUN Tournament Championship game. The Eagles finished the year 30-30 producing a win over #21 Fresno State as well as wins over Power 5 programs Boston College, Rutgers, and Iowa State. FGCU turned their season around late in the year to secure the No. 4 seed in the ASUN Tournament, where FGCU earned victories over Lipscomb, UNF, and Kennesaw State to face USC Upstate in the championship for the second-straight season. FGCU earned a trio of postseason awards, highlighted by Kelsey Huff's First Team All-Conference honor. Meanwhile, Bri Innamorato and Racquel Fournet earned Second Team honors. Jeanie Verderese and Fournet also earned All-Academic Team accolades.
Projected to finish sixth in the Atlantic Sun before the season started, Deiros managed the highs and lows of a 2016 season which ultimately brought the ASUN title back to Southwest Florida for the third time. Behind the ASUN Player of the Year Louie Ross, the ASUN Freshman and Pitcher of the Year Riley Randolph, and 16 total postseason awards, Deiros was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the first time in his career, pushing FGCU to a 32-27 record while bringing the program back to the brink of its second NCAA Tournament appearance.
Deiros took down another Power 5 opponent in 2015 when the Eagles defeated Pitt 4-2 on March 8. The win was part of a 23-30 season for FGCU which saw Kelsey Huff land on the ASUN All-Freshmen team. FGCU got off to a strong start in 2015, compiling an 18-15 non-conference record. During that time, the Eagles compiled winning streaks of three, four and five games.
In addition to Huff, Kelsey Carpenter and Jeanie Verderese were selected to the ASUN Academic All-Conference team.
The 2014 Eagles finished with a 33-26-1 and wins over SEC, Big 10, Big East, and ACC opponents. FGCU finished their season with an RPI ranking in the top-100 for the 3rd consecutive season and the 5th time in their seven years at Division I. They made their third Atlantic Sun Tournament appearance in three years of eligibility and valiantly finished 3rd in the tournament. Despite falling in their opening game to eventual champion Stetson, FGCU rattled off consecutive victories against Kennesaw State and regular season champion USC Upstate 8-7. Needing one more win to make it to the championship game, the Eagles’ season came to a heartbreaking halt with a 2-1 loss to Mercer in 11 innings.
The Eagles saw three members of the squad earn all-conference distinction and two others earn conference academic awards. As a unit, the team posted a 3.51 grade point average in the fall and saw as four members of the team posted perfect 4.0 GPAs during the spring semester.
In FGCU's second season of post-season eligibility, the Eagles went 36-18, earned their highest RPI ranking (55) since 2009, and helped the Atlantic Sun Conference rank as the 7th best conference in the country. They seemed to save their best performances until the end of games as they set a school record by winning 13 games in their final at-bat (11 by walk-off). Their 16-8 record in ASUN Conference competition earned them a third place finish, just a half game out of second and one and a half games out of first. The FGCU Softball team has now finished the regular season in third place or higher in each of its six seasons in the ASUN and qualified for their second consecutive ASUN Tournament.
In 2012, FGCU's first season of post-season eligibility, the Eagles won their second ASUN regular season title. Appearing in their first conference tournament, FGCU swept all three opponents to win the title and earn the conference's NCAA Championship automatic bid. The Eagles traveled to Gainesville for their first NCAA Regional Tournament proceeded to defeat the Gators in their opening game. The upset win marked the first NCAA Tournament victory by FGCU in any sport in their Division I era.
Deiros guided FGCU through the transition into NCAA Division I and the ASUN Conference in 2008, leading the Eagles to a conference regular season championship in their first season with a 48-16 overall record and 16-6 league mark. FGCU missed pulling off a repeat in 2009 by one game to finish in second place.
FGCU has also made an impact on the national level by finishing the 2008 season with an RPI rank of No. 40 and continued its meteoric rise in 2009 by finishing the year ranked in the top 30. During his tenure, Deiros has coached four district All-Academic team members, nine (19) All-South Region players, one South Region Player of the Year, three All-Americans (Ashley Cecil-2005, Paez-2007, Jenks-2009), two top 25 Finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year (Paez-2008, Jenks-2009), and one Daktronics National Player of the Year (Paez-2007).
The 2008 ASUN Championship campaign saw the Eagles lead the ASUN race from wire-to-wire, compiling a 16-6 record. FGCU’s prodigious offense continued to impress against Division I competition by leading the conference in batting average (.310), on-base percentage (.411), home runs (71) and slugging percentage (.497). The Eagles scored more than an average of six runs per game, which shattered the previous ASUN record and ranked them in the top 10 in the country. Overall, FGCU finished the season with a record of 48-16 and a final NCAA RPI ranking of 40.
The 2009 season proved that 2008 wasn’t a fluke, as FGCU finished second in the ASUN with a 15-5 record - just one game out of first. The Eagles’ offense again led the conference in just about every major category by finishing the regular season with the highest batting average (.351) and the second-most runs scored per game in the country (7.5 - breaking their own league record by more than a run per game). FGCU played in the championship game of all six tournaments entered, winning titles in the FGCU Spring Break Invitational, the USF Under Armor Tournament and the Hawaii Mahilini Pepsi Tournament. Overall, FGCU finished the regular season in the top five in victories with a record of 47-9, No. 23 national ranking in the Ultimate College Softball Poll, No. 30 ranking in the ESPN Poll and final NCAA RPI of 26.
FGCU spent 11 consecutive weeks in the national top 25 (peaking as high as No. 5), won three of the five tournaments it entered and earned its second consecutive NCAA National Tournament invitation and finished the season with a 62-8 record in 2007. Led by a powerful offense that ranked second in the nation with 87 home runs and a stingy pitching staff that held an ERA of 1.00, the Eagles finished second in the region and garnered a No. 10 final national ranking. Then-junior Carmen Paez brought home the Daktronics National Player of the Year award after setting a Division II record with 28 home runs.
In 2006, Deiros led the Eagles to an impressive 57-7 record and their first invitation to the NCAA National Tournament in just their second year of eligibility for postseason play. The Eagles earned a fifth-place finish and a final ranking of No. 28 in the nation. Deiros was named Division I-II All-Independent Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year by the ICAA.
A 1989 graduate of the University of South Florida with a BS in Chemistry, Deiros also holds a Master's degree in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Miami (FL). Besides his head coaching duties at FGCU, Deiros has served as the Department of Athletics’ business manager and as a full-time chemistry instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences. He still teaches a General Chemistry class every fall semester. He was named FGCU’s Administrative and Professional Employee of the Year for the 2002-03 academic year.
One of the most successful high school softball coaches in Southwest Florida, Deiros was the head coach at Lely High School in Naples before starting the program at Gulf Coast High School. In those six seasons, his teams posted a 116-67 record that included one district title, one regional championship, one regional runner-up and one state finalist. He has also coached high school baseball, girls’ basketball and football in Collier County. His teaching experience includes high school chemistry and physics and adjunct chemistry instruction at Edison State College.
A member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, he and his wife Jennifer reside in Naples. Their son, Eric (22), is a graduate of Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
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