🏹 May 20th - The Chief Brief 🏹

Hardware Haul, Recruiting Heat & Facilities That Stun

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The Chief
May 20, 2025

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🏹 Welcome to The Chief Brief! 🏹

Happy Tuesday, Seminole!

It’s awards season, recruiting season, postseason season — and the Noles are making noise on all fronts.

⛳ FSU Women’s Golf just delivered its best-ever NCAA stroke play finish, with Mirabel Ting tying a school record and leading the squad into match play.

🏆 Alex Lodise made history as the ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year — part of a seven-Nole All-ACC haul for Baseball.

⛳ Luke Clanton won the Ben Hogan Award, cementing his status as the top collegiate golfer in America.

📉 Baseball slipped in the rankings after dropping the UNC series, but still locked in a No. 2 seed and double-bye in the ACC Tourney.

🧱 5⭐ LB Xavier Griffin and 🛡️ Bama EDGE commit Jamarion Matthews both scheduled official visits — with FSU squarely in the mix.

🏗️ And in off-field news, Mike Norvell says the $138 million new football facility will be a game-changer — especially if NIL regulations shift.

Let’s dive into one of the biggest and most stacked editions yet. 👇

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⛳ Ting Ties School Record as FSU Reaches NCAA Match Play ⛳

The postseason push is alive and well for FSU Women’s Golf.

Led by junior All-American Mirabel Ting’s record-setting performance, the No. 4-seeded Seminoles wrapped up stroke play at the NCAA Championships in 4th place — the best finish in program history — and advanced to Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals.

🔥 Ting’s Tournament:
• Finished solo 2nd at -10 (278) — tying the best NCAA finish in FSU history
• Broke the school record for lowest score and score vs. par in NCAA stroke play
• Fired four straight rounds under par, capped by a 4-under 68 with five birdies on the back nine

📈 Teammates Shining Too:
• Lottie Woad carded a final-round 69 to finish T-8 (-5), her second career NCAA top-10
• Freshman Alexandra Gazzoli and captain Kaylah Williams rounded out the team scoring

Up next: FSU faces No. 5 USC in Tuesday’s quarterfinals at 9:50 AM ET. The semifinals will follow later in the day, with the national title match set for Wednesday.

Coach Amy Bond: “They showed a lot of grit and hit some quality golf shots… now it’s about rest, recovery, and making a run.”

🏆 Lodise Crowned ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year 🏆

It’s a double honor for FSU’s superstar shortstop.

Junior Alex Lodise has been named both the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year — becoming the first Seminole to ever sweep both awards in a single season.

⚾ The Stats:
• .422 AVG (6th NCAA) | 87 hits | 63 RBI | 17 HR
• .772 SLG | .483 OBP | 17 doubles | 6-for-6 on stolen bases
• Second in the ACC in RBI and third in homers

Lodise leads a loaded All-ACC crew:
🔥 Jamie Arnold (LHP) – First Team All-ACC | 6–2, 2.59 ERA, 90 K
🔥 Drew Faurot (2B) – First Team | .314 AVG, 14 HR, 47 RBI
🔥 Max Williams (CF) – Second Team | .318 AVG, 17 HR
🔥 Joey Volini (LHP) – Second Team | 8–4, 3.63 ERA, 91 K
🔥 Gage Harrelson (RF) – Third Team | .340 AVG, 59 R
🔥 Myles Bailey (1B, Freshman) – All-Freshman Team | .302 AVG, 12 HR

It’s the most Seminoles named to All-ACC teams since 2019 and tied for the second-most in program history.

📍 What’s Next:
FSU enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and begins play Friday, May 23 at 3 PM in Durham.

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⛳ Luke Clanton Wins Ben Hogan Award as Nation’s Top Collegiate Golfer ⛳

The best in college golf? He wears Garnet and Gold.

Florida State junior Luke Clanton was named the winner of the 2025 Ben Hogan Award on Monday night — the highest honor in collegiate golf, recognizing the top NCAA golfer across all divisions based on performance in college, amateur, and pro events over the last year.

🏆 Clanton joins John Pak (2021) as FSU’s second Hogan Award winner.

🔥 The Résumé:
• Top-ranked amateur in the world
• Earned his PGA TOUR Card via PGA TOUR U
• First amateur with back-to-back top 10 PGA TOUR finishes since 1957
• Averaging 69.11 strokes per round — best in FSU history
• Won four events in 2024–25, including the NCAA Tallahassee Regional (-15)
• Tied his career-low with a 64 at Glen Arven
• 7 top-10s, 10 top-15s in 10 starts this season

The Hialeah native has already made history — and the story’s far from over.

📍 Up Next: Clanton and the 11th-ranked Noles head to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, teeing off Friday.

⚾ Seven Noles Named All-ACC, Headlined by Lodise’s Historic Double ⚾

The honors are rolling in for FSU Baseball.

Seven Seminoles earned All-ACC recognition — the most since 2019 — as Florida State (37–13, 17–10 ACC) secured a No. 2 seed and double-bye in this week’s ACC Tournament in Durham.

🔥 Headliner:
Alex Lodise became the first player in program history to be named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year — leading the ACC in batting average (.422), slugging (.772), and hits.

🥇 All-ACC First Team
• SS Alex Lodise – 17 HR, 63 RBI, .422 AVG, .983 FLD%, 6 SB
• 2B Drew Faurot – 14 HR, 47 RBI, .314 AVG, .983 FLD%
• SP Jamie Arnold – 6–2, 2.59 ERA, 90 K, .197 OBA

🥈 All-ACC Second Team
• CF Max Williams – 17 HR, .323 AVG, .626 SLG
• SP Joey Volini – 8–4, 3.63 ERA, 91 K, 2 CGs

🥉 All-ACC Third Team
• RF Gage Harrelson – .340 AVG, .439 OBP, 13 SB, 2 3Bs

🌟 All-ACC Freshman Team
• 1B Myles Bailey – 12 HR, 41 RBI, .302 AVG, .989 FLD%

Next up: The Noles open ACC Tourney play Friday at 3 PM ET in the quarterfinals.

📉 Noles Slip in Rankings but Secure No. 2 ACC Tourney Seed 📉

Florida State Baseball wrapped up the regular season at 37–13 (17–10 ACC), clinching second place in the league and a double-bye into Friday’s ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

⚾️ Series Recap vs. No. 4 UNC:
• Outscored 19–4 in Games 1 & 2
• Rallied in the 8th inning of Game 3 to salvage the finale, 5–4
• The win locked in a top-2 seed for the ACC Tournament

📊 Updated National Rankings:
• D1Baseball: No. 6 (⬇ from No. 2)
• Baseball America: No. 9 (⬇ from No. 5)
• Perfect Game: No. 11 (⬇ from No. 6)
• RPI: No. 14 (⬇ 5 spots)
• Strength of Schedule: No. 29
• Record vs. Q1/Q2: 16–12

📍 What’s Next:
FSU will face either No. 7 Duke, No. 10 Louisville, or No. 15 Pitt in the ACC quarterfinal on Friday at 3 PM ET.

The road to Omaha heats up in Durham. 🔥

🧱 5⭐ LB Xavier Griffin Sets FSU Official for June 15 🧱

One of the biggest names in the 2025 class is headed to Tallahassee.

Xavier Griffin, the No. 1 linebacker and No. 8 overall player in the country (247Sports), will take an official visit to FSU on June 15, per 247’s Tom Loy.

🔥 Griffin’s OV schedule:
• May 30 – Ohio State
• Early June – Alabama (hometown team, growing buzz)
• June 13 – Texas
• June 15 – Florida State

The 6’3”, 200-pounder recently decommitted from USC, opening up a massive recruitment battle down the stretch. Griffin has been high on FSU from the start — and this visit will be pivotal ahead of his expected decision later this summer.

The Noles are in it. Now it’s time to close.

🛡️ Bama Commit Jamarion Matthews Sets FSU OV for June 20 🛡️

The Noles are getting a swing at a blue-chip SEC pledge.

Jamarion Matthews, a four-star EDGE and Alabama commit, is scheduled to take an official visit to Florida State on June 20, per Noles247. Ranked No. 157 nationally and No. 17 among EDGE defenders (Top247, 2026 class), Matthews previously visited FSU for Junior Day in January and camped last summer.

📍Current OV Schedule:
• May 30 – Auburn
• June 6 – Alabama
• June 13 – LSU
• June 20 – Florida State
• (Penn State could also get a visit)

The 6'2", 240-pound pass rusher put up monster junior numbers: 57 tackles, 29 TFLs, 17 sacks, and 15 QB hurries.

Matthews calls himself Alabama’s “first pledge” in this class — but the Noles are staying aggressive. No Crystal Ball flip predictions yet, but June 20 could change the tone.

🏗️ Norvell Says New $138M Football Facility Will Be “Game-Changer” 🏗️

Mike Norvell believes Florida State is about to make a major recruiting leap — not just because of NIL, but because of brick-and-mortar dominance.

💰 FSU’s new $138 million standalone football facility — a 150,000-square-foot complex surrounding the practice fields — is on track to open this fall during the bye week after the Sept. 6 East Texas A&M game. The public will get a look starting in August.

🏟️ Key Upgrades:
• Full performance-focused layout
• Best tech and designs borrowed from NFL and elite college programs
• Development-driven features built for mind, body, and soul

Norvell said the facility will rival any in the country and re-establish facilities as a key recruiting edge — especially if the NCAA-House revenue-sharing settlement places a cap on NIL offers and levels the playing field.

📈 If NIL becomes more regulated, Norvell says elite development spaces will matter even more:

“It’s going to pay huge returns… We’ve got a facility like that — it’s going to be special.”

With renovations also wrapping up at Doak Campbell Stadium, FSU is positioning itself as a top destination both in appearance and infrastructure. Recruits have seen the renderings for years — now they’ll see it in real time.

And that’s a wrap!

That’s a wrap on a jam-packed edition.
Trophies are piling up, the roster is getting stronger, and the future of Florida State football is being built — literally and figuratively.

As always, we’ll be tracking it all — from match play in Carlsbad to big-name visits in June.

Until tomorrow —
Go Noles. 🔺✋

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