NJCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL PRESEASON RANKINGS
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Fresh off a Region 8 State Title and a third place finish at the 2017 NJCAA National Tournament in the program's second season, FSW softball enters the 2018 campaign ranked No. 3 in the NJCAA Division I Softball Preseason Rankings that were released on Wednesday night (Jan. 24).
The NJCAA Division I softball preseason rankings are compiled by the NJCAA National Office in accordance with district predictions submitted by member softball programs. The first rankings of the regular season will be released Tuesday, March 6.
Taking the top spot in the preseason poll was Butler, the two-time defending NJCAA National Champs. 2017 National Runner-Up Salt Lake sits at No. 2. Rounding out the top five was Central Arizona and Chipola at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
FSW is one of six teams from the state of Florida ranked in the Top 20 and is the lone Suncoast Conference team represented in the rankings.
Under the direction of the 2017 NFCA NJCAA Division I South Region Coaching Staff of the Year, which includes Coach Iamurri and his assistants Karla Powell and Kellie Quarles, the Buccaneers finished the 2017 season with a 66-7 overall record (18-2 Suncoast Conference). The Bucs captured their second straight Suncoast Conference title, the District G Championship and won the program’s first FCSAA/Region 8 State title. FSW won three elimination games on May 19, 2017 at the NJCAA Division I Championship, before falling to national runner-up Salt Lake (3-1) on Championship Saturday to take third place. Coach Iamurri and his staff led the Buccaneers to win streaks of 10, 14 and 33 games in 2017 en route to earning South Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
In just two years of existence, the FSW softball program has won 119 games, two Suncoast Conference Championships, a FCSAA/Region 8 State Title and made back-to-back appearances at the NJCAA National Tournament.
The Bucs, who finished the 2016 season with 274 stolen bases and led the nation at every level (NCAA DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII, NJCAA, NAIA), finished the 2017 campaign with 336 stolen bases to rank second in the country behind Chipola (403). The Buccaneers led the NJCAA in wins (66) and shutouts (33), but they also ranked in the top 20 nationally in multiple categories, including and hits (2nd; 927), opponent batting average (3rd; .200), ERA (8th; 1.45), runs (12th; 588), walks (13th; 235), triples (18th; 23), total bases (16th; 1,155) and batting average (16th; .378).
The 2018 campaign begins at the JUCO Kickoff Classic (Jan. 26-27) in Clearwater, Fla., where the Bucs will battle Pensacola State, Daytona State, Northwest Florida State, Palm Beach State and FSCJ. The 2018 home opener is set for Tuesday, Jan 30, when FSW hosts Palm Beach State in doubleheader action (5 p.m. and 7 p.m.). The Purple and Aqua, for the third straight year, will call City of Palms Park in downtown Fort Myers their home stadium. City of Palms Park, originally built by the City of Fort Myers, was the spring training site of the Boston Red Sox from 1993 until 2011, when the team moved for spring training in 2012 to JetBlue Stadium.
The Buccaneers open the season with 15 of their first 21 games away from Fort Myers, followed by four consecutive doubleheaders against Indian River State (Feb. 23), College of Central Florida (Mar. 3), St. Petersburg (Mar. 6) and South Florida State (Mar. 8) at City of Palms Park.
The 2018 schedule will also feature 20 Suncoast Conference games (10 home, 10 away). The Suncoast Conference is made up of six schools, including FSW, Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.
Postseason play begins May 3-6 with the NJCAA District VIII/FCSAA State Softball Tournament at Soldier’s Creek Park in Longwood, Fla. The NJCAA softball season culminates May 16-19 at the NJCAA Division I Softball Championship in St. George, Utah (Canyons Complex).
FOLLOW THE BUCS
For the latest news on FSW Athletics, log on to FSWBucs.com or stay connected to the Bucs on social media. Follow the Buccaneers on Twitter @FSWBucs, on Instagram @FSWBucs, on Facebook at Facebook.com/FSWBucs and on Snapchat at BucsSnaps.
WATCH THE BUCS ONLINE
All of FSW’s home games will be available online through FSW Livestream (FSW.edu/livestream), and can be viewed on smartphones, tablets and laptop or desktop computers.
SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION ARENA
The Buccaneers compete in the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Suncoast Credit Union Arena is approximately 75,000 square feet and is home to the FSW basketball teams and a student athletic center. The arena seats approximately 3,300 fans and includes six skyboxes, a hospitality event center, competition courts that convert into recreational courts, athletic office space, student, faculty and staff wellness, and an athletic center with a fitness pavilion, men's and women's locker rooms and a weight training area. The arena has two Daktronics displays, on the north and south walls, that each measure 10 feet high by 20 feet wide. Both displays incorporate variable content zoning to each show one large image or they can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages. One-hundred feet of ribbon displays have been installed on the east and west walls of the arena. The ribbons provide the opportunity to supplement the content on the main displays as well as highlight sponsors throughout events.
FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball).
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers is the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (completed in fall 2016), where FSW’s men’s and women’s basketball teams compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8 & THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota. The women’s basketball program is also in the Suncoast Conference, but with only three other teams (Hillsborough Community College, St. Petersburg College and Eastern Florida State College).
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.