The Florida Atlantic University softball team, ranked No. 23 nationally, will participate in the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational this week. The event, hosted by ESPN, features some of the top teams in collegiate softball and takes place over multiple days.
Florida Atlantic (5-0) is scheduled to play five games in three days at the tournament. Their opening game will be against Texas Tech, currently the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, on Friday, February 13 at 4 p.m., followed by a matchup with No. 5 Florida State at 7 p.m. On Saturday, February 14, FAU faces No. 2 Tennessee at noon and Missouri at 3 p.m. The final game will be against James Madison on Sunday, February 15 at 1 p.m. All of FAU’s games are available for viewing on ESPN+.
In their most recent competition during the Paradise Classic held at home, the Owls remained undefeated and defeated three Big Ten opponents: Indiana (8-0), Ohio State (10-6), and Wisconsin (4-3). They also recorded victories over Stonehill (10-0) and Delaware (4-2).
Head Coach Jordan Clark is now in her fourth season leading the program. She holds a record of 126 wins and 48 losses and ranks thirteenth among current coaches with multiple years based on winning percentage. Over the past two seasons, Clark has guided her team to a combined record of nine wins and three losses against opponents from major conferences such as the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC. She and her coaching staff have been named American Conference Coaching Staff of the Year for both 2024 and 2025.
Florida Atlantic enters this season ranked first in the American Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Senior pitcher Autumn Courtney was recognized as an All-American after being unanimously selected as American Conference Pitcher of the Year last season. In this year’s opening weekend she earned American Pitcher of the Week honors with two wins and a save across three games against Big Ten teams while striking out sixteen batters.
Sophomore Lily Holtje had a strong debut weekend with five hits—including three doubles—a home run, six runs batted in (RBI), and six walks; she was named American Player of the Week.
Returning senior catcher Chloe Yeatts set a single-season program RBI record last year with fifty-four runs batted in.
Redshirt junior outfielder Kylie Hammonds has reached base safely in thirty-one consecutive games dating back to last season.
Senior third baseman Jesiana Mora was honored as American Defensive Player of the Year and made All-Conference second team.
Pitcher Ainsley Lambert returns after leading all players nationally with eleven saves last year; she is also FAU’s all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Bella Foran was recognized by D1Softball as a Freshman All-American after leading her conference with a .419 batting average last season.
As a team, FAU finished second nationally in fielding percentage (.983) for the previous season.
Following their Clearwater appearance, Florida Atlantic will travel to Fort Myers to play Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday, February 17 before hosting their own Joan Joyce Classic from February 19 through February 22.
For ticket information regarding upcoming events visit HERE.
