Sadly, they lost a very controversial game to Miami in the first round, but made history with the men's basketball team as the first time both the men's and women's teams secured a spot in the national tournament.
The team is led by Karl Smesko, who is entering his 15th season as head coach.
Smesko is so far the only coach that has coached FGCU women's basketball since it started as an NAIA school in 1997.
Prior to coaching for FGCU, Smesko began as a head coach at NCAA D2 Walsh University of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). There, he led the Cavaliers to the 1998 NAIA Division II National Championship with a 29-5 mark in which he was named the Mid-Ohio Conference and NAIA National Coach of the Year.
After his tenure with Walsh, Smesko landed a position with Maryland as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach for Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) of the Summit League and turned the program around.
After his two-year tenure with the Mastadons, Smesko landed the job as head coach for FGCU.
In his first season, Smesko led the Eagles to a 30-1 record when the Eagles were just transitioning to being an independent team in NCAA D2.
In his third season, Smesko led the Eagles to the NCAA tournament and a 29-2 record in 2005-06.
In his fourth season as head coach, Smesko's Eagles finished the regular season undefeated and ranked number one in the nation. The team won the South Region championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game where they were National Runner up and finished with a 34-1 record.
After the Eagles' transition to D1 during the 2006-07 year, Smesko led the women’s basketball team to a second place finish in the A-SUN with a 13-3 record. They were the fifth best offensive team in the A-SUN as well as the second best defense. They were second in free throw percentage and third in field goal percentage.
In 2008-09, Smesko, who was voted A-SUN Coach of the Year, led the Eagles to a Regular Season A-SUN Championship with a 17-3 record. FGCU led the A-SUN in scoring, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, and three-point field goals made during the 2008-09 season. The Eagles also cemented a place in the All-Time A-SUN record books by winning 17 conference games. The Eagles lost to eventual champion USF in the second round of the WNIT and finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 26-5.
During the 2009-10 season, the Eagles posted 24 wins to secure the program’s seventh 21-plus win season in the eight-year program history, along with a second place finish in the A-SUN Conference. FGCU received the program’s first invitation to play in the WNIT, where they advanced to the second round with a win over UTEP before falling to New Mexico and Georgia Tech, and also secured their third consecutive postseason WNIT automatic bid. By participating in the 2010 postseason WNIT, FGCU became the first A-SUN school to make three consecutive WNIT appearances. In addition, the Blue and Green also extended its home winning streak to 24 games, which ranks as the fourth longest home winning streak in Division I women’s basketball heading into the 2010-11 campaign.
Smesko saw the program nearly earn its first-ever top-25 national ranking as they earned the No. 26 spot in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Eagles would finish the 2011-12 season at No. 37 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, while also finishing ranked No. 4 in the final version of the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. FGCU concluded its season with an RPI of 59, 67 spots ahead of the next closest A-SUN member. During the course of the record setting 2011-12 season, Smesko won his 300th career game on Dec. 19 against USC Upstate. The victory was one of 17 games that the Eagles won by 20+ points during the campaign. For his efforts, Smesko was named the A-SUN Coach of the Year for the third time. FGCU finished with a 29-3 overall record and went undefeated through the A-SUN regular season en route to becoming the first A-SUN school to post an 18-0 record in conference play. He was also named Kay Yow National Coach of the Year, CollegeSportsMadness.com Mid-Major and A-SUN Coach of the Year.
During the 2012-13 season, Smesko finished with another A-SUN Coach of the Year award and another College Sports Madness A-SUN Coach of the year, while also earning CSM's Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. FGCU became the first school to go undefeated in A-Sun play in back-to-back seasons, finishing the season with the most victories (27) of the 13 Division I institutions in the state of Florida and capturing the program’s third consecutive A-SUN Regular Season crown. FGCU also secured the ninth-straight 21+ win in program history and participated in their sixth consecutive Division I postseason tournament (WNIT). Leading the nation and the ASUN in three-point field goals per game (9.4), for the second year in a row, the Green and Blue ranked in the top 40 in the country in 13 different statistical categories in the final NCAA rankings.
Under his direction, the team completed the 2013-14 season with a record of 26-8 including a 17-1 mark in conference action. The Eagles won their fourth-consecutive regular season championship and went undefeated in the A-SUN Conference tournament to win their second Tournament Championship in three seasons. With the A-SUN Championship, the Green and Blue earned another NCAA Tournament appearance, where they fell to eventual Sweet 16 team and no. 5 seed Oklahoma State in overtime. The 2013-14 season marked the 10th-consecutive season in which a Smesko coached team won at least 20 games.
The 2014-15 campaign saw historic breakthroughs for the FGCU women's basketball team. Smesko's squad finished the season with a record of 31-3 for the program's third 30-win season. The team compiled a win streak of 26 games to rank third in the nation and went undefeated in A-SUN Conference play for the third time, winning all 14 regular season games. With the team's success, the program earned its first-ever Division I national ranking, checking in at high as the No. 20 team and finishing the season at No. 21. With Smesko's leadership, the team also earned its first DI NCAA Tournament win with a 75-67 win over 10th-seeded Oklahoma State.
The 2015-16 season stands as one of the program’s most historic years. The squad finished with a record of 33-6 to set a new Division I win record. The win total stood just one shy of the all-time record and included a 14-0 record in A-SUN action. The team produced an unblemished league record for the fourth time in five seasons and won its sixth-straight regular season title with the performance. The Eagles were upset by Jacksonville University in the A-SUN Championship Final but took the league’s automatic bid to the WNIT Tournament where they made the most of the opportunity. The Eagles hosted Bethune-Cookman, Wake Forest, Tulane, Hofstra and Michigan in the opening rounds of the tournament and earned five-straight wins by a margin of over 15 points per game. The Michigan semifinal matchup drew a program-record crowd that sold out Alico Arena for the first time in women’s basketball history.
In 2016-17, Smesko rallied the Eagles from a 2-5 start to their seventh-straight 25-win campaign, which culminated in the team's fourth NCAA tournament appearance in six seasons of eligibility. The unit finished with a 26-9 record, while reinforcing it's "Raining Threes" mantra with 338 triples, third-most in the country. After finishing second in the conference in regular season play, FGCU downed North Florida and Jacksonville en route to the ASUN Championship game against first-seeded Stetson where the Eagles overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Following the come-from-behind victory, FGCU received a 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they faced 4th-seeded Miami in the First Round in a controversial loss
Smesko, to me, is still considered the godfather of FGCU women's basketball and "Raining 3s",and with the help of his assistant coaches, Chelsea Banbury, Chelsea Lyles, Jenna Cobb and video coordinator Stephanie Haas, there is no stopping him.
The team did lose six players: Jordin Alexander, Mikala McGhee, Haley Laughter, Sydnei McCaskill, Morgan Mecham and Tayler Goodall.
Alexander used her last year of eligibility after transferring from Brown as a grad student.
McGhee was unable to join due to eligibility issues after transferring from Missouri State and George Mason.
Mecham transferred to Oklahoma State, but it is not clear if she is playing or not.
Laughter and McCaskill have graduated and Goodall quit.
Currently on the team are five seniors, four transfers, four sophomores and four freshman.
The five seniors have been the backbones for Raining 3's since day one: Jessica Cattani (G), Erica Nelson (G), China Dow (G), Rosemarie Julien (F) and Taylor Grandijan (G)
The first of five seniors is Jessica Cattani. The 5-7 redshirt senior guard from Muskego, Wisconsin came in with slashing ability to outlast John Wall.
In her freshman year, Cattani was a walk-on for the team and utilized a redshirt to maintain all four years.
In her redshirt freshman year, Cattani was off to a slow start. She appeared in 20 where she shot 1.1 points per game (20 points) with 0.6 rebounds per game (12 rebounds) and 0.6 assists per game (11 assists).
In her redshirt sophomore year, Cattani got more playing time and got better. In 27 games, she averaged 2.2 ppg (59 points), 1.1 rpg (29 rebounds) and 0.4 apg (11 assists). She added 11 steals and one block as well
It was Cattani's redshirt junior year that made her time to shine. Cattani became a strong asset as a starter and as a role player off the bench. Starting 11 of her 33 games played, Cattani averaged 6.7 ppg (220 points) including a career-high 21 points against Lipscomb, 1.8 rpg (59 rebounds) and 1.2 apg (39 assists). Cattani also added 18 steals and one more block to her regime.
With her slashing ability, Cattani will give everything she's got for this season.
Next up is Erica Nelson. The 5-8 guard from Kansas City, Missouri came to make a statement with FGCU.
Prior to FGCU, Nelson spent her first two years at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) of the Kansas Jayhawk Conference in NJCAA DII Region VI.
In her freshman year at JCCC, starting 31 of her 36 games played, Nelson averaged 8.7 ppg (314 points), 4.8 rpg (173 rebounds) and 4.5 apg (163 assists). She helped guide the Cavaliers to win the NJCAA DII national basketball championship.
By sophomore year, Nelson scored 16.6 points per game and led Johnson County to the NJCAA Division II National Championship to a runner-up finish.
During her time with JCCC, Nelson earned All-Conference and All-Region honors, was tabbed as a NJCAA Division II All-American and picked up WBCA First Team All-American accolades for her time with JCCC.
Nelson transferred to FGCU after her tenure with JCCC and was on fire. Starting 26 of her 31 games played, she averaged 9.2 ppg (286 points), 2.2 rpg (70 rebounds) and 2.4 apg (75 assists). She also added 20 steals and nine blocks to the mix and earned A-SUN Player of the Week too.
With her ability as a stronger passer, Nelson will make sure she's ready to go.
If you want a player who is strong as Ray Lewis, chance are it's China Dow.
The 5-8 guard from Louisville, Kentucky will make you wish you did not step up to her.
Prior to FGCU, Dow played her first two years at Middle Tennessee State University of Conference USA (C-USA).
In her freshman year at MTSU, Dow started 16 of the all 34 games she played averaging 4.1 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game.
By sophomore year, she was even more dominant. Dow started six of all 34 games she played in and averaged 16.4 points per game as a top reserve.
She then transferred to FGCU, but was ineligible to play due to the NCAA transfer rules, so she sat out the whole season.
By her redshirt junior year, Dow was eligible to play and came in with force. In 35 games, Dow averaged 8.7 ppg (303 points), 4.5 rpg (158 rebounds) and 2.3 apg (80 assists). She also added 11 blocks and 50 steals.
During the A-SUN Conference Tournament Championship, Dow lead the way offensively with a double-double (31 points and 10 rebounds), one block and three steals. As a result of the her big game, Dow was not only on the A-SUN Conference All-Tournament Team, but was also named the All-Tournament Team MVP.
With her power, Dow is no doubt a force no one should reckon with.
If you look for a player who has height like Whitney Knight, then you're looking at Rosemarie Julien.
The 5-11 junior guard from Port St. Lucie, Florida has an edge that can make anyone quiver.
Prior to FGCU, Julien played her first two years for Chipola College of the FCSAA/NJCAA DI Region 8 Panhandle Conference.
In her freshman year at Chipola, she started all 35 games and scored 11.9 points per game, had 4 rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game. Julien helped lead them to the NJCAA DI National Basketball Tournament for their first championship.
In her sophomore year, Julien repeated the process again. Although she scored 9.6 points per game, she had 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, she went to the NJCAA DI National Basketball Tournament yet again and won for the second straight time.
After her tenure with Chipola, Julien transferred to FGCU with her two remaining years of eligibility and came in clutch for her junior year. Julien averaged 11 ppg (386 points), 2.9 rpg (102 rebounds) and 1.3 apg (47 assists). Julien also had four blocks and 37 steals to the mix. Because of her hard work, Julien was named A-SUN Newcomer of the Year and a member of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team along with being named A-SUN Player of the Week and a three-time A-SUN Newcomer of the Week.
With her hard work, Julien will make her competition know she's ready.
The last senior and my personal favorite on the team is Talyor Grandijan.
The 5-9 guard and redshirt senior from Cudahy, Wisconsin has supposedly been at FGCU for "forever". Grandijan, although listed as a grad student academically, is listed as a rare sixth year senior.
In her freshman year, Gradinjan was off to a slow start. She played in five games with one start, scoring 24 points with 4.8 points per game, 11 rebounds, one assist and two steals. Gradinjan was unable to play the rest of the season due to a knee injury, however, she still managed to maintain her 4 years of eligibility.
In her first redshirt freshman year, Grandijan sat out the next whole season due to a ACL injury, but in her second redshirt freshman year she went on a rampage. Starting in 16 of the 33 games she played, Gradinjan averaged 6.1 ppg (202 points), 2.6 rpg (85 rebounds), 0.9 apg (28 assists) and 15 steals. As a result of her dynamic performance, she was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team. She also made history for FGCU. After the Eagles won the conference tournament against former A-SUN member Northern Kentucky, the team, who was the No. 7 seed played in the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and beat No. 10 Oklahoma State before falling to No. 2 Florida State. Gradinjan scored six points, one steal and one assist in the game against Oklahoma State and 12 points, four rebounds and two assists against FSU.
Her redshirt sophomore year is what really set the toll. Grandijan started all 39 of her games she played scoring 374 points with an average of 9.1 points a game, 161 rebounds, 31 assists, three blocks and 19 steals. Grandijan was named to the A-SUN All-Academic Team and started all three games in the A-SUN Conference Tournament and led the team to a runner-up finish in the finals against Jacksonville, but what really set her bar was in the WNIT Tournament. She scored 10 points against Bethune-Cookman, nine against Wake Forest, 10 against Tulane and six against Hofstra in the opening rounds. In the semifinals against Michigan, she had three points and three rebounds in the victory to the WNIT finals. Although they lost in the finals to South Dakota, Grandijan had 12 points, six rebounds and one assist in the games.
In her redshirt junior year, Grandijan started all 35 games with eight ppg (279 points), 3.4 rpg and 1.5 apg (52 assists). Because her hard work, Grandijan was once again named to the A-SUN All-Academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 Team.
With her experience as the rare sixth year senior, Grandijan will make her last year worthwhile.
No returning juniors are on the team, but FGCU managed to ink four transfers to join the team: Davion Wingate (G: Stony Brook), Keri Jewett-Giles (G: Southern Miss), Kerstie Phills (G: Wagner) and Lisa Zderadicka (G: Houston Baptist)
The first of four transfers is Davion Wingate.
The 5-6 guard from Atlanta, Georgia came to make her mark with her new team.
Prior to FGCU, Wingate played her first two years at Stony Brook University of the America East Conference (AEC).
In her freshman year at Stony Brook, Wingate started 14 of her 32 games played averaging 8.7 ppg. She was a two-time America East Rookie of the Week and the second leading scorer in the conference among all freshmen and as a result, she was named on the AEC All-Rookie team.
In her sophomore year, Wingate started 22 of her 30 games played and tied for the team lead in scoring at 11.8 points per game and recorded double-figures in scoring 19 times on the year, including four 20-point performances. During the season, Wingate was named to the Florida Sunshine Classic All-Tournament Team and earned America East Player of the Week honors for her efforts against the Rattlers and Hoosiers.
Wingate will be listed as a redshirt junior and have two years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.
For Wingate next season, she will make her presence known that she'll be ready.
Next coming to FGCU as a local is Keri Jewett-Giles.
The 5-6 guard from Ft. Myers is ready to come back to her home where she started.
Prior to FGCU, Jewett-Giles spent her first two seasons at Southern Miss of Conference USA (C-USA).
As a freshman at Southern Miss, Jewett-Giles knocked down 7.1 points per contest while shooting .453 from the floor - the second-best shooting percentage on the team and led the Golden Eagle's with a .391 shooting percentage from the arc.
In her sophomore year, Jewett-Giles finished top-three on the team in points per game (9.0), assists (100), steals (63) and three-points (22) where she notched 10 double-figure scoring performances and logged four or more steals on seven occasions.
Jewett-Giles will be listed as a redshirt junior next season and have two years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.
for Jewett-Giles, she will show what this local girl is all about.
Someone I see that can give a lot of energy happens to be Kerstie Phills.
The 5-9 guard from guard from Charlotte, North Carolina came with one goal: winning.
Prior to FGCU, Phills played her freshman year at Wagner College of the Northeast Conference (NEC). There she led the Seahawks with 13.1 ppg, including a mark of 16.9 in conference play, which ranked fourth among all NEC players.
In addition, Phills led the team and ranked eighth in the conference with 6.9 rebounds per game, ranked second in the conference in NEC games with a .481 shooting percentage ranked second in the conference and ranked ninth with a .429 overall shooting percentage.
Phills ended the season on a 19-game double-figure scoring streak, reached double-figure scores in 22 of her last 23 games of the season and tallied five double-doubles on the year. As a result of her hard, Phills, in addition to being named NEC Rookie of the Week for a program record eight time, was named NEC Rookie of the Year and earned NEC All-Conference Second Team honors.
Phills will be listed as a redshirt sophomore next season and have three years of eligibility remaining, but will be ineligible to play this season in compliance with the NCAA transfer rule.
The last of the four transfers is Lisa Zderadicka (STARE-uh-dich-kuh).
The 5-6 guard from Vienna, Austria makes her mark with plenty of experience.
Prior to FGCU, Zderadicka started her basketball career in the states at Houston Baptist University of the Southland Conference.
In her freshman year, she was sidelined with a knee injury after three games into the season and utilized a medical redshirt.
As a redshirt freshman, Zderadicka started 15 of 29 games played where she scored 7.7 points per game and pulled down 2.4 rebounds. She ranked second on the team with 73 assists (2.5 per game) where tallied nine double-figures performances including five of the last eight games of the season.
In her redshirt sophomore year, Zderadicka started 14 of her 25 games played and led the Huskies squad with 11.0 ppg and topped the team in assists (71) and steals (29). She tallied 13 double-figure scoring performances, including a career-high 26 points going 10-of-20 from the floor vs. Abilene Christian and had four double-doubles on the season before graduating early.
In addition, prior to Houston Baptist and FGCU, Zderadicka has also played club ball for BC Vienna 87 and a six-time MVP of the league, 12-time Austrian champion, and an eight-time Vienna champion while leading her team to one second place finish and three third place finishes in the Austrian Women's National Basketball League. She also competed in four European Championships, playing U16 in the 2009 championship held in Estonia, U20 in 2010 held in Macedonia, and for both the U18 and U20 national teams who competed in Hungary and Macedonia, respectively, in 2011. Zderadicka also competed in the 3v3 U18 World Championship in Italy in 2011.
Zderadicka is listed as a graduate student and a redshirt junior, so as a result, she is immediately eligible to play and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
With her skills, Zderadicka will show the world that she is one of Austria's greatest players.
Next group to talk about is in the sophomore class: Chandler Ryan (G), Samantha Kisiel (F), Nasrin Ulel (F) and Tytionia Adderly (F).
The first of four sophomores is Chandler Ryan.
The 5-7 guard from Groveland, Illinois is listed as a redshirt freshman, but nonetheless is here to make her mark.
She did not play her freshman year due to injury, but you bet she'll make her mark stronger than ever.
Next up is Samantha Kisiel.
The 5-11 forward from Evergreen, Colorado started as a walk-on, but made the message clear she was ready.
In her freshman year, Kisiel played in nine games and averaged 0.6 ppg (5 points) and 0.2 rpg (2 rebounds). She also had one steal and one block to the mix.
Although Kisiel did not get into many games, you can be sure it will be different this season.
If you want a player that has a wild side, chances are you're looking at Nasrin Ulel.
The 5-9 forward from Murrieta, California makes the Tasmanian Devil quiver.
In her freshman year, Ulel appeared in 27 games and averaged 3.8 ppg (99 points), 1.4 rpg (36 rebounds) and 0.3 apg (seven assists). She also added a block and 10 steals to her mix.
For Ulel, she'll prove the world what she is made of.
The last sophomore who I dubbed as the "Rebound Queen" is Tytionia Adderly.
The 5-10 forward from Jupiter, Florida is known for her strength to get the ball offensively and defensively and every time she gets so many rebounds, I say to her after the games "What's with all those rebounds?"
In her freshman year, Adderly started 24 of her 33 games played. She averaged 4.8 ppg (159 points) including a game high 22 points against Northern Colorado, 7.7 rpg (255 rebounds) including a game high 16 rebounds and 1.3 apg (46 assists). Adderly also added six blocks and 43 steals. She did so well that she was named on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team and the A-SUN All-Tournament Team during the conference tournament.
With her strong rebounding, Adderly will make sure to defend her reign as the Rebounding Queen.
Now that the upper classmen are talked about, how about those freshman. FGCU managed to ink three freshman: Alyssa Blair (G), Sheahen Dowling (G) and Liberty Brown (G/F)
The first of three freshman is Alyssa Blair.
The 5-11 guard from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin came with a purpose.
Prior to FGCU, Blair played for Sun Prairie High School under head coach John Olson. There, Blair was a four-year letterwinner. As a senior, Blair recorded 11.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg while shooting .400 from beyond the arc as a senior and received All-Conference and All-Area honors while helping her team to a conference championship for the first time in 21 years.
With her new role at FGCU, Blair will show that she's ready to roll.
Next is a fellow native I can relate to and that's Sheahen Dowling.
The 5-7 guard from Chicago, Illinois wants to make the magic happen for Raining 3s.
Prior to FGCU, Dowling played for Trinity High School under head coach MikeValente. There she served as team captain her junior and senior seasons and helped her team finish third in the state of Illinois for the 4A division. Dowling averaged nine ppg, three apg, two steals per game, as well as .470 from beyond the arc and .520 from the field over her high school career. She was also a two-time Sectional Champion, a three-time Regional Champion and a three-time Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Champion.
For Dowling, she will show that this Chicago knows her way around.
The last freshman on the team is Liberty Brown.
The 6-0 guard/forward from Forney, Texas comes with a passion to play.
Prior to FGCU, Brown played for Lancaster High School under Jessica Linson. There, Brown was a two-year letterwinner where, as a junior, lead the district in field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and blocked shots. As a senior, Brown helped her team to a district championship. She was ranked the 69th best wing player in the nation according to ESPNW.
With her experience nationally, Brown will show she's ready for the big leagues.
I've seen what the women's basketball team at FGCU is all about since my junior year and I have seen some of the best players make their marks to make it big, and no matter what happens, they always make it to the top.
PC: fgcuathletics.com
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