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Happy Sunday, Seminole!

Here’s what’s inside today’s edition:

🏀🛣️ Noles Keep Rolling with Fourth Straight Road Win 🛣️🏀
Men’s hoops climbs back to .500 in ACC play behind McCray’s scoring and Bassong’s double-double — and the road swagger is real.

⚾🏠 Baseball Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader 🏠⚾
A six-run response in Game 1 and a 10th-inning walk-off in Game 2 push FSU to 7–2 with bullpen depth showing up big.

🥎🔥 Softball Closes Invitational with Two More Wins 🔥🥎
Beachum’s walk-off blast, Hinde’s power surge, and a 47-game streak that just won’t end.

🏖️⚔️ Beach Volleyball Splits vs. Top-10 Test ⚔️🏖️
A dominant sweep followed by a razor-thin loss to No. 7 TCU — margins getting smaller as competition rises.

🏈🧠 Norvell on Culture in the Portal Era 🧠🏈
Nearly 50 newcomers. One season. One shot. How FSU is trying to compress chemistry into months, not years.

🏈🔒 CJ Richard Jr. Believes He Belongs 🔒🏈
From FCS breakout to ACC opportunity — and a defensive back who says he can do it all.

Momentum. Depth. Belief.

Let’s dive in. 👇

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Florida State continued its late-season surge Saturday, knocking off Georgia Tech 80–71 in Atlanta for its fourth straight road win and fifth in the last six away from the Tucker Center.

🔥 Star Performances
Robert McCray V poured in 20 points, while freshman Thomas Bassong delivered a statement game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Chauncey Wiggins added 12 as FSU improved to 15–14 overall and 8–8 in ACC play.

💪 Board Control
The Seminoles dominated the glass 44–34, including 18 offensive rebounds that turned into 18 second-chance points. Alex Steen (8 rebounds) and Lajae Jones (7 rebounds) helped fuel the effort despite an off night from deep (27% from three).

⚡ Surviving the Run
FSU led 40–24 late in the first half before Georgia Tech closed on a 14–1 run stretching into the second half. But once the Jackets cut it close, the Seminole defense tightened up and held GT to just 35% shooting, regaining control down the stretch.

Why It Matters:
Road wins in the ACC are never automatic. Florida State is quietly stacking them at the right time and has climbed back to .500 in league play heading into Wednesday’s trip to Pitt.

👉 Read more for full game breakdown and postgame notes.

No. 21 Florida State took both ends of a Saturday doubleheader against The Citadel at Dick Howser Stadium, improving to 7–2 on the season while the Bulldogs dropped to 4–4.

After four scoreless innings, The Citadel capitalized on a pair of errors to grab a 2–0 lead in the fifth. FSU answered immediately.

🔄 Sixth-Inning Surge
The Seminoles plated four in the sixth to flip the game, highlighted by Gabe Fraser’s two-RBI single and timely production from Kelvyn Paulino Jr. and Eli Putnam. A late insurance run in the eighth sealed it.

🎯 On the Mound
Wes Mendes went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) to move to 3–0 on the year. John Abraham was flawless in relief, tossing three perfect innings with three strikeouts to secure his first save.

The nightcap turned into a grind.

FSU struck first in the second inning, but The Citadel tied it after a throwing error allowed a run to score. From there, pitching dominated.

🧱 Pitching Battle
Transfer Trey Beard impressed in his first start, going five innings with six strikeouts and just one unearned run allowed. Kevin Mebil handled the final three innings, striking out four and earning the win.

🚨 Extra-Inning Chaos
In the 10th, FSU loaded the bases after a single from Nathan Cmeyla and aggressive base running. The winning run scored on a misplay at the plate following a hard grounder from Myles Bailey, giving the Seminoles a walk-off victory.

One game required a momentum swing. The other required patience and bullpen depth. Florida State showed both.

Up next: Series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. at Howser.

👉 Read more for full box scores and pitching breakdowns.

Florida State wrapped up the Unconquered Invitational with a pair of wins over Rutgers (2–0, 5–1), improving to 17–4 on the season and extending its dominance over unranked non-conference opponents.

Across the doubleheader, the Seminoles tallied 15 hits, seven RBI, and 10 walks.

It was a pitcher’s duel until the final swing.

🧊 In the Circle
Jazzy Francik tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Makenna Reid entered and calmly secured two outs — including a strikeout looking — to keep the game scoreless.

💥 Walk-Off Moment
In the bottom of the seventh, Marin Heller drew a leadoff walk before Jaysoni Beachum launched a two-run walk-off homer — her 31st career home run — to seal it.

After falling behind 1–0 early, the Noles responded immediately.

⚡ First-Inning Response
Anna Hinde tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Kennedy Harp delivered an RBI single to give FSU a 2–1 lead.

🚀 Insurance Blast
In the fifth, Ashtyn Danley doubled home Beachum, and Hinde followed with a two-run homer to stretch the lead to 5–1.

Bella Dimitrijevic earned the win with five scoreless innings and a season-high six strikeouts.

Clutch relief pitching. Timely power. Historic streaks still intact.

The depth in the circle and the middle-of-the-order production continue to make The Plex a problem.

Up next: Jacksonville at home on Wednesday (4 p.m.).

👉 Read more for full box scores and player notes.

A lot of people think frozen seafood is the backup plan — something you buy when you can’t get it fresh. But here’s the truth: when it comes to quality, frozen can actually be fresher than what’s behind the grocery store counter.
Most “fresh” fish has already been frozen for transport, and is then thawed for display (sometimes even thawed and refrozen many times!). By the time you see it on ice at the seafood counter, it may have been sitting there for days. Not exactly what you pictured when you thought “fresh,” right?
For fish that’s truly fresh, “frozen” should be your go-to choice. Wild Alaskan Company freezes wild-caught seafood from Alaska just hours after harvest, locking in peak flavor, texture, and nutrients — perfectly preserved until you’re ready to cook.
It’s not a shortcut. It’s the smart way to enjoy top-quality seafood at its best.

Florida State closed the 2026 Seminole Beach Bash with a 5–0 sweep of UNC Wilmington before falling in a tight 3–2 battle to No. 7 TCU — the Seminoles’ first top-10 test of the season.

FSU handled business efficiently, winning every court in straight sets.

🔥 Court Five Dominance
Bailey Higgins and Maddie Trusty were emphatic, rolling 21–11, 21–8 to secure one of the day’s most decisive dual points.

Across the lineup, the Seminoles needed just two sets per court to complete the sweep and add another 5–0 result to their résumé.

The nightcap delivered drama.

💪 Court One Statement
Audrey Koenig and Alexis Durish powered through in straight sets (21–14, 21–19) to give FSU an early edge.

🎢 Three-Set Thriller
Audrey Rothman and Jordan Boulware battled back after dropping the first set, closing with a 15–9 third-set win to even the match.

But TCU claimed courts three and five in straight sets and edged out court four in three sets to secure the dual.

A dominant sweep. A razor-thin loss to a top-10 opponent.

Florida State proved it can control lower-ranked competition and compete tightly with national contenders. The margins against elite teams are small — and that’s exactly where postseason matches are decided.

Up next: Road trip to Stetson to face No. 15 Hatters and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi (March 11).

👉Full details and stats on both games on Seminoles.com

Florida State brought nearly 50 newcomers into the program this spring — 32 freshmen (28 mid-year enrollees) and 20 transfers — and Mike Norvell knows that kind of turnover changes everything.

Speaking at the Orlando Coach of the Year Clinic, Norvell addressed the reality of modern roster movement with humor before pivoting to a bigger point. “There’s a Transfer Portal in college, but there’s a Transfer Portal in high school, too,” he said, with some laughs coming from the coaches in attendance.

🏗️ One Year. One Team. One Shot. With FSU 7–17 over the past two seasons, Norvell acknowledged recent disappointments while emphasizing that modern college football isn’t about stockpiling jerseys — it’s about accelerating connection. “I’m not looking to rent a team,” he said. “It’s about building a family… You’re really only going to get one year and one chance for this football team.” In an era defined by turnover, the one-year window is now reality.

🤝 Creative Culture-Building. To help fast-track chemistry, Norvell has introduced youth flag football games at FSU’s practice fields, coached by mid-year enrollees and transfers. The idea is simple: service, shared experience, and intentional relationship-building inside a compressed timeline. It’s a secondary piece of the offseason puzzle — but a purposeful one.

⏳ The Real Test Is Coming. Tour of Duty and winter workouts are wrapping up, and spring practice begins in 10 days. That’s when integrating nearly 50 new players shifts from message to measurable progress.

Why It Matters: In the Portal/NIL era, acquisition is only step one. The separator is how quickly a roster becomes a team. Spring will offer the first real glimpse.

👉 Read more for Norvell’s full comments and offseason philosophy.

CJ Richard Jr. always believed he would end up at a place like Florida State. Even when he wasn’t heavily recruited out of Houston. Even when he redshirted his first year at Illinois State. In his mind, it was never a question of if — only when.

“Since I was little… I always used to tell my mom that I’m going to make it to the league,” Richard said in his first interview with FSU media. “It was just a matter of time.”

📈 From FCS Standout to ACC Opportunity. After not seeing the field in 2024, Richard broke out in 2025 with 60 tackles and three interceptions, including two during Illinois State’s playoff run to the FCS national championship game. That surge put him on the radar — and into the Transfer Portal.

🌴 Why Florida State. Tradition mattered. But so did the staff. Richard pointed directly to safeties coach Evan Cooper and defensive coordinator Tony White, citing their track records of development and NFL placement. “The standard,” he said. “Absolutely the standard.”

🧩 Versatility Is the Calling Card. Richard isn’t arriving to fit into one box. He believes he can play all three safety spots in White’s defense — deep middle, in the box, blitzing, covering. “In my eyes, I can do anything,” he said. And with Earl Little’s departure opening a vacancy, the opportunity is real.

Why It Matters: Confidence isn’t new for Richard — the stage is. Now the question is how quickly belief translates from the FCS level to Saturdays in the ACC.

👉 Read more for full quotes and insight into FSU’s newest defensive back.

Winning on the road in the ACC.
Winning in extra innings.
Winning with walk-offs.

There’s a theme right now — resilience.

Not everything is perfect.
Not everything is dominant.

But multiple programs are finding ways to close.

And in college sports, that’s usually the first sign something real is building.

Appreciate you being here, Chief.

— The Chief Brief