FORT MYERS, Fla.- Three years ago, Florida SouthWestern Head Baseball Coach Ben Bizier gave local prep right-hander Robert Wegielnik a chance.  He didn't have a scholarship available at the time, but he had a jersey, and Wegielnik made the most of it, parlaying a walk on spot in 2019 to a Division I scholarship in 2021 as last week he officially signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Florida Atlantic next season.

Wegielnik put together a spectacular career with the Bucs, pitching in a school record 47 contests over the past three seasons.  He did a little bit of everything for the Bucs, finishing with a 10-2 record and six saves.  He posted a 3.44 career ERA in 117 2/3 innings pitched, striking out 103 along the way.  As a sophomore this season he came up huge for the Suncoast Conference Champion Bucs, pitching in 22 games and drawing six spot starts, going 4-1 with three saves while logging 68 innings which ranked second on the team. He finished his FSW career with a start in the FCSAA State Tournament where he went 5 2/3 solid frames and struck out a career high eight to earn a win over Seminole State in the quarterfinals. 

He will team back up with former Bucs reliever Thomas Haggerty on the Owls staff, joining an FAU squad that was 32-35 overall and 18-14 in a loaded Conference USA this season. FAU has reached the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three seasons. 

Wegielnik is the sixth NCAA Division I signee on the Bucs roster from 2021 joining Luis Tuero (Arizona), Carter Cunningham (East Carolina), Antonio Knowles (Florida), Marc Davis (South Florida), and Warnner Rincones (Louisiana-Lafayette).