Yesterday’s Poll Results

Today’s Poll

🏹 Welcome to The Chief Brief! 🏹

Happy Tuesday, Seminole!

With spring football officially underway, Florida State is making headlines across multiple sports! From top-5 baseball dominance to women’s golf chasing history, here’s what you need to know in today’s edition:

⛳ No. 6 FSU Women’s Golf Faces Virginia After Splitting Matches
The Seminoles swept Mississippi State before falling to Wake Forest in a tight semifinal battle. Now, Mirabel Ting & Co. turn their focus to Virginia on Day 2 of the Old Barnwell Match Play Championship.

⛳ FSU Golf Legend Caroline Westrup Returns for the Florida State Match Up
The first four-time All-American in FSU history is back—this time as Missouri’s head coach! Westrup brings her Tigers to Seminole Legacy Golf Club for this weekend’s Florida State Match Up.

⚾ No. 5 FSU Baseball Wraps Up Homestand Against Mercer
Florida State (18-1) closes out its 12-game homestand against Mercer before heading into a seven-game road stretch, including a key ACC series at Miami.

⚾ FSU Holds Top-5 National Ranking After Dominant Weekend
The ‘Noles remain a top-5 team across all major polls after sweeping Boston College with elite pitching and power hitting.

🏀 FSU Men’s Basketball Adds Michael Fly to Coaching Staff
Luke Loucks makes a key addition to his new staff, bringing in Michael Fly, a former Florida Gulf Coast head coach and FSU video coordinator.

🏈 FSU Releases Updated Player Weights Ahead of Spring Practice
Key names gained or trimmed down this offseason—find out which players bulked up and who shed pounds before spring camp.

🏈 FSU Spring Practice Injury Report: Key Players Limited or Out
A few key contributors will miss all or part of spring ball due to injuries, including DL Jayson Jenkins & S Shyheim Brown.

🏈 FSU Closes Spring Practices to Media for First Time Under Norvell
For the first time under Mike Norvell, spring practices will be closed to media, except for one scrimmage.

Let’s get into it! ⬇️

⛳ No. 6 FSU Women’s Golf Splits Matches, Faces Virginia Next

Florida State continued its run at the Old Barnwell Match Play Championship, dominating Mississippi State 5-0 before falling to Wake Forest 3-1-1 in the semifinals.

🔥 Day 1 Highlights:
✅ Mirabel Ting (No. 1 college golfer) – Won both of her matches, including a 5&4 victory over Wake Forest’s Skylar Sload
✅ Lottie Woad (Jr. All-American) – Halved her match vs. Wake Forest’s Carolina Lopez-Chacarra
✅ Sophia Fullbrook (Fr.) – Secured FSU’s first point vs. Mississippi State with a dominant 6&5 win
✅ Kaylah Williams (Sr.) – Never trailed, winning her match 4Up

🏌️ Next Up:
🔹 FSU vs. Virginia – One match scheduled for Day 2
🔹 Florida State Match Up – March 21-23 at Seminole Legacy Golf Course (FSU’s only home event)

🎟️ Admission is free!

🔗 More on FSU Women’s Golf’s tournament run here.

⛳ FSU Golf Legend Caroline Westrup Returns for Florida State Match Up

Caroline Westrup, Florida State’s first four-time All-American, is back in Tallahassee—this time as the head coach of Missouri Women’s Golf, leading her Tigers into the Florida State Match Up at Seminole Legacy Golf Club.

🔥 Westrup’s FSU Legacy:
✅ 5 Individual Championships & 5 Team Titles
✅ First-Team All-American (2006, 2007)
✅ FSU Hall of Fame Inductee (2019)
✅ LPGA Tour Veteran

🏌️ Missouri’s Season So Far:
🔹 3 Top-5 Finishes, including 2 Runner-Up Results
🔹 Led by Ffion Tynan (73.26 stroke average)

📍 Tournament Schedule:
🔹 Thursday – Practice round
🔹 Friday-Sunday – Championship rounds (Tee times: 8:45 AM Fri/Sat, 8:00 AM Sun)

🎟️ Admission & parking are free!

🔗 More on Westrup’s return & the FSU Match Up here.

⚾ No. 5 FSU Baseball Closes Homestand Against Mercer

Florida State wraps up a 12-game homestand on Tuesday night with a matchup against Mercer (14-7) at 6 PM ET in Dick Howser Stadium.

🔥 Game Details:
📍 FSU vs. Mercer – Tuesday, March 18 | 6 PM ET
🎟️ Tickets: $2 GA | Free for FSU students
📺 Watch: ACC Network Extra
🎧 Listen: WFLA 100.7 FM | FSU Gameday App

💪 Projected Pitching Matchup:
🔹 FSU: LHP Payton Manca (1-0, 2.45 ERA)
🔹 Mercer: RHP Jeb Johnson (2-0, 3.77 ERA)

🔥 Noles by the Numbers:
✅ 18-1 record (16-1 at home)
✅ .344 team batting average | 32 HRs | 170 runs scored
✅ 2.39 team ERA | 227 Ks in 166 IP
✅ Alex Lodise: .456 BA, 36 H, 8 2B
✅ Drew Faurot & Max Williams: Team-high 7 HRs
✅ Wes Mendes (4-0, 0.66 ERA) & Joey Volini (5-0, 0.92 ERA) – Leading the pitching staff

📊 FSU vs. Mercer All-Time:
🔹 FSU leads series 68-10
🔹 Last Meeting: Mercer upset FSU 13-6 (April 2023)

📅 What’s Next?
🚨 7-Game Road Trip Begins
🔹 @ Miami (March 20-22, ACC Network/ACCNX)

🔗 More on FSU’s final homestand matchup here.

⚾ FSU Baseball Holds Top-5 National Ranking After Dominant Weekend

Florida State (18-1) maintains its top-5 status across major polls after a dominant ACC-opening sweep over Boston College.

🔥 Updated Top-25 Rankings:
🔹 Baseball America: No. 4 (↔️)
🔹 NCBWA: No. 4 (↔️)
🔹 USA Today Coaches Poll: No. 4 (↔️)
🔹 D1Baseball: No. 5 (↔️)
🔹 Perfect Game: No. 5 (↔️)

💪 Weekend Recap:
✅ FSU hit .341 with 11 home runs (9 vs. BC)
✅ Drew Faurot (4 HRs, switch-hitting power) & Max Williams (7 HRs, 2-HR game Sunday)
✅ FSU’s weekend rotation: 17.2 scoreless innings, 24 Ks, 0 ER allowed
✅ Pitching Staff: Held BC to 4 total runs all weekend
✅ Fielding: .980 FLD% (only 3 errors in 4 games)

📅 What’s Next?
🚨 FSU vs. Mercer – Tuesday, March 18 | 6 PM ET
📍 Dick Howser Stadium | 📺 ACCNX

🔗 More on FSU Baseball’s ranking & dominance here.

🏀 FSU Men’s Basketball Adds Michael Fly to Coaching Staff

Florida State men’s basketball head coach Luke Loucks is bringing in a familiar face to his new staff—Michael Fly is set to join the Seminoles after serving as Associate Head Coach at Jacksonville University.

🔥 Fly’s Coaching Resume:
✅ Jacksonville (2022-24) – Associate Head Coach
✅ Missouri (2022) – Director of Scouting & Analytics
✅ Florida Gulf Coast (2018-22) – Head Coach (56-60 record)
✅ Florida Gulf Coast (2011-18) – Assistant Coach (3 NCAA Tournaments)
✅ FSU (2008-11) – Video Coordinator (3 NCAA Tournaments)
✅ Charlotte Bobcats (NBA, 2011) – Video Coordinator

👀 What’s Next?
FSU has not officially announced the hire yet, but Fly’s experience in scouting, analytics, and player development makes him an intriguing addition to Loucks’ staff.

🔗 More on FSU Basketball’s coaching staff move here.

🏈 FSU Releases Updated Player Weights Ahead of Spring Practice

Florida State wrapped up its winter offseason program and is set to begin spring practice on Wednesday. As part of their Tour of Duty conditioning program, FSU released updated player weights, showing key gains and losses across the roster.

🔥 Notable Changes by Position:
🔹 Quarterbacks: Thomas Castellanos (+5 lbs), Kevin Sperry (+12 lbs)
🔹 Running Backs: Roydell Williams (+7 lbs), Kam Davis (-7 lbs)
🔹 Wide Receivers: Tae'Shaun Gelsey (+20 lbs), Lawayne McCoy (+8 lbs)
🔹 Defensive Line: Amaree Williams (+11 lbs), Darrell Jackson (+7 lbs), Kevin Wynn (+23 lbs)
🔹 Linebackers: Elijah Herring (+5 lbs), Blake Nichelson (+5 lbs)

📊 What This Means:
Winter workouts are usually for adding mass and strength, and not all gains/losses reflect muscle composition. As FSU gears up for spring ball, these changes will be worth monitoring—especially for key positions like offensive line, edge rushers, and skill players.

🔗 More on FSU’s offseason transformations here.

🏈 FSU Spring Practice Injury Report: Key Players Limited or Out

As Florida State kicks off spring practice this week, head coach Mike Norvell provided an update on the injury status of several key players.

🚑 Players Expected to Miss Spring Practice:
🔹 DL Jayson Jenkins – Out for all of spring; return expected closer to fall.
🔹 S Conrad Hussey & S Shyheim Brown – Could return late in spring but will mostly be sidelined.

⚠️ Players Limited for at Least Part of Spring:
🔹 OL Gunnar Hansen & OL Jaylen Early – Out for the first part of camp but expected to participate later.
🔹 Other players could be limited early, but Norvell emphasized FSU is in a good spot health-wise overall.

📅 What’s Next?
🔹 Spring Practice Runs: March 20 – April 17
🔹 No Spring Game This Year due to Doak Campbell Stadium renovations

🔗 More on FSU’s spring injury report here.

🏈 FSU Closes Spring Practices to Media for First Time Under Norvell

For the first time in his tenure, Mike Norvell is closing Florida State's spring practices to the media, except for one scrimmage. This marks a shift from his previous approach, as FSU had been one of the more media-accessible programs in the country.

🗣 Norvell’s Statement on the Decision:
🔹 “I appreciate and respect the media’s role, but I want to create an atmosphere free of outside perspectives during our time of preparation and development.”
🔹 “This is not a reaction to last season’s record—just what’s best for the program right now.”
🔹 Media will still have full access to post-practice interviews and individual requests.

📅 What’s Next?
🔹 Spring practice begins on March 20
🔹 Spring ball concludes on April 17
🔹 No spring game due to Doak Campbell Stadium renovations

🔗 More on Norvell’s spring practice decision here.

And that’s a wrap!

From FSU Baseball’s continued dominance to women’s golf making history and the start of spring football, there’s no shortage of action in Tallahassee. As the ‘Noles gear up for a crucial stretch in multiple sports, expect even more big moments ahead!

🔥 What’s Next?
🔹 FSU Baseball closes its homestand vs. Mercer before hitting the road.
🔹 FSU Women’s Golf looks to bounce back against Virginia.
🔹 Spring Football kicks into high gear—who will make the biggest impact?

💬 Your Turn! What are you most excited to see from the Seminoles this week? Let us know in today’s poll!

Until next time, Go Noles! 🍢