Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Florida Gulf Coast |
Conference | ASUN |
Record | 743–452–3 |
Biographical details | |
Born | March 30, 1966 |
Alma mater | Tusculum College '88 |
Playing career | |
1985–1988 | Tusculum |
Position(s) | Third base |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1987–1996 | Charlotte HS (FL) |
1997–2001 | Edison CC (assistant) |
2002–present | Florida Gulf Coast |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 743–452–3 (college) 175–96 (high school) |
Tournaments | A-Sun: 22–21 NCAA DII: 3–4 NCAA DI: 1–2 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
| |
Awards | |
| |
David Tollett (born March 30, 1966) is an American college baseball coach who has been the head coach of Florida Gulf Coast since 2002, the program's first season. Under Tollett, the Eagles have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments and won Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) regular season championships in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2021.Tollett's 2017 season was the most successful in program history as the Green and Blue won a program record 43 games, claimed the program's first ASUN Tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time. After starting the season 24–3 and defeating then #2 and eventual National Champion Florida, then #1 FSU and Miami in the same season for the first time ever, FGCU rose to as high as #9 in the Collegiate Baseball News poll - marking the highest ranking ever achieved by any athletics program in school history. Following the hot start to the season, Tollett was named the Perfect Game Midseason Coach of the Year. The Green and Blue suffered a number of tough losses in April, but ended the regular season by sweeping its way through its final three conference series and earned the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Tournament. After falling into the loser's bracket following a loss on day two, FGCU won an improbable four elimination games in less than 30 hours and defeated top-seeded Jacksonville twice, including an extra-inning thriller in the winner-take-all championship. With the ASUN's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in hand, the Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional and defeated No. 3 Michigan, 10–6, in its first-ever NCAA tournament game. Tollett was named the A-Sun Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2019. Worst loss of career came during the 2013 season when Tollett and the Eagles lost to an NAIA school, Ave Maria. Tollett has had 47 players at FGCU drafted or signed as free agents in Major League Baseball including Chris Sale, Casey Coleman, Richard Bleier, Jacob Barnes, Jake Noll, and Kutter Crawford. [1] [2] [3]
Below is a table of Tollett's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach. [4] [5]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida Gulf Coast (Independent – NAIA)(2003) | |||||||||
2003 | Florida Gulf Coast | 35–15–2 | |||||||
Florida Gulf Coast (Division II independent)(2004–2007) | |||||||||
2004 | Florida Gulf Coast | 39–17 | |||||||
2005 | Florida Gulf Coast | 37–18 | |||||||
2006 | Florida Gulf Coast | 41–17 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
2007 | Florida Gulf Coast | 40–17 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
Florida Gulf Coast: | |||||||||
Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun Conference – DI)(2008–present) | |||||||||
2008 [lower-alpha 1] | Florida Gulf Coast | 38–15 | 25–8 | 1st | |||||
2009 [lower-alpha 1] | Florida Gulf Coast | 36–18 | 23–7 | 1st | |||||
2010 | Florida Gulf Coast | 38–20 | 25–5 | 1st | |||||
2011 | Florida Gulf Coast | 27–28 | 16–14 | 7th | |||||
2012 | Florida Gulf Coast | 26–31 | 15–12 | T-4th | |||||
2013 | Florida Gulf Coast | 37–20 | 19–8 | 2nd | |||||
2014 | Florida Gulf Coast | 39–22 | 19–8 | 1st | |||||
2015 | Florida Gulf Coast | 30–26–1 | 11–9 | 5th | |||||
2016 | Florida Gulf Coast | 27–32 | 9–12 | T-5th | |||||
2017 | Florida Gulf Coast | 43–20 | 13–8 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
2018 | Florida Gulf Coast | 32–21 | 8–13 | 7th | |||||
2019 | Florida Gulf Coast | 34–21 | 16–7 | 1st | ASUN tournament | ||||
2020 | Florida Gulf Coast | 9–7 | Season canceled on March 12 due to Coronavirus pandemic [6] | ||||||
2021 | Florida Gulf Coast | 28–20 | 12–6 | 1st (South) | ASUN tournament | ||||
2022 | Florida Gulf Coast | 35–23 | 17–13 | 3rd (East) | ASUN tournament | ||||
2023 | Florida Gulf Coast | 42–18 | 20–10 | T-2nd | ASUN tournament | ||||
2024 | Florida Gulf Coast | 30–26 | 20–10 | T-1st | ASUN tournament | ||||
Florida Gulf Coast: | 743–452–3 | 268–148 | |||||||
Total: | 743–452–3 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida near Fort Myers. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It offers 58 bachelor's degree programs, 25 master's degree programs, 6 doctoral degree programs, and 12 graduate certificates.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Florida Gulf Coast University, located in unincorporated Lee County, Florida near Fort Myers, in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis; women's-only: softball, swimming and diving, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball; and men's-only: baseball. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the ASUN Conference (ASUN). FGCU is also notable as the youngest institution competing in NCAA Division I, having been officially founded in 1991 and started classes in 1997. Their mascot is Azul the Eagle.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the ASUN Conference.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's soccer team represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida in all NCAA Division I men's soccer competitions. The Eagles compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The soccer team is one of several varsity sports teams that represent the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
Sherwood Terrell Brown is an American professional basketball player for the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2009 to 2013, he played college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. Brown was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2013 as a senior.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Karl Wade Smesko is the current head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) women's basketball team.
The 2016–17 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 15th year head coach Karl Smesko, played their home games at Alico Arena and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finish the season 26–9, 12–2 in A-Sun play to finish in second place. They defeated North Florida, Jacksonville and Stetson to become champions of the ASUN Tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they lost to Miami (FL) in the first round.
The 2016–17 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. FGCU played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida and were led by fourth-year head coach Joe Dooley as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the regular season 26–8, 12–2 in ASUN play to win the regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament, they defeated Stetson, Kennesaw State, and North Florida to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Florida State.
The 2016–17 ASUN Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began on January 24, 2017 and concluded on February 23, 2017. The season marked the 39th season of ASUN Conference basketball, and also the first under the conference's current branding with the ASUN name.
The 2017 ASUN Conference baseball tournament was held at Melching Field at Conrad Park on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, from May 24 through 27. Third seeded Florida Gulf Coast won their first championship and claimed the ASUN Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles were led by fifth-year head coach Joe Dooley and played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 12–2 in ASUN play to win the ASUN regular season championship. In the ASUN tournament, they defeated USC Upstate and North Florida to advance to the championship game where they lost to Lipscomb. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.
The 2017 ASUN women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the ASUN Conference held from October 28 through November 5, 2017. The first round of the tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The semifinals and final took place at Lipscomb Soccer Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Lipscomb Bisons, the regular season co-champions and tournament #1 seed. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles were the defending tournament champions and successfully defended their title, defeating the Lipscomb Bisons in double overtime in the final. The conference tournament title was the sixth for the Florida Gulf Coast women's soccer program, all of which came under the direction of head coach Jim Blankenship.
The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represents Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by sixteenth year head coach Karl Smesko, play their home games at Alico Arena and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finish the season 31–5, 12–1 in A-Sun play to win the Atlantic Sun regular season champions. They also won the ASUN Tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they upset Missouri in the first round before losing to Stanford in the second round.
The 2017 ASUN Conference men's soccer season was the 40th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season began on August 25, 2017 and ended on October 28, 2017. The regular season culminated with the 2017 ASUN Men's Soccer Tournament, which was held from November 3–11, 2017. The tournament determined the conference's tournament champion, and automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.
The 2017–18 ASUN Conference men's basketball season with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2018 and concluded in February 2018. The season marked the 40th season of ASUN Conference basketball.
The 2018–19 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Michael Fly and played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The 2022–23 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by first-year head coach Pat Chambers, played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They finished the season 17–15, 7–11 in ASUN play, to finish in a tie for ninth place. As the No. 10 seed in the ASUN tournament, they lost to Queens in the first round.
The 2023–24 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second-year head coach Pat Chambers, played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 8–8 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the ASUN tournament, they lost to Queens in the first round.
The 2023 ASUN women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the ASUN Conference held from October 26 through November 5, 2023. The tournament was hosted at campus sites, with the #3 and #6 seed hosting the First Round and Quarterfinals while the #1 seed hosted the Semifinals and Final. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles were the defending tournament champions. The Eagles successfully defended their tile, defeating North Alabama in a penalty-shoot out in the Final. It was Florida Gulf Coast's eighth overall title. All of the Eagle's titles have come under coach Jim Blankenship. As tournament champions, Florida Gulf Coast earned the ASUN's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.