Good Morning, Owl Family. Florida Atlantic sophomore pitcher Trey Beard has been named to the Golden Spikes Award midseason watchlist. The Golden Spikes Award aims to identify the best amateur baseball player in the country.
 
Beard has established himself as one of the top pitchers in the country through the first seven weeks of the season. The sophomore is second in Division I in strikeouts with 62 and has recorded 10 or more Ks in five of his seven starts. He is 4-0 and sports a 2.82 ERA in 38.1 innings. Beard was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team in 2024.

What else do we have mixed into today’s Brew? Check it out below!

🏆 Jake Millan and Corin Dammeier are FAU’s Athletes of the Month
⚾️ Baseball starts a weekend series with East Carolina
🦉 And much, much more

Number of the Day: 7

We’re counting down the days to Florida Atlantic’s 2025 football spring game on Friday night, April 11, at 6:30 pm ET! In honor of the 7 days (one week!) we have left until the spring game, we take a look at our new coach, Zach Kittley. One stat from his highlight reel:

As a full-time offensive coordinator for SEVEN seasons, Kittley's teams have averaged 457.3 yards and 34.8 points per game.

Countdown to Kickoff is brought to you by Shiner Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers. We don’t just handle cases – we fight tirelessly for your rights, seeking the compensation you deserve while providing compassionate, personalized legal support every step of the way.

🔼 Standouts. FAU Athletics has named its Prestige Windows & Doors Student-Athletes of the Month for March, with baseball's Jake Millan and Corin Dammeier from the No. 21 softball team receiving the honors.

"Jake Millan is on track to graduate this spring with his Bachelor's of Business Administration in Finance has been crushing it this semester with a 4.0 GPA.” - Eric Zeaman, Assistant AD/Senior Associate Director, Student-Athlete Success Center.

"Corin Dammeier holds herself to a high standard and works incredibly hard on the field and in the classroom, which is evident by her 3.96 cumulative GPA as an accounting major.” - Jordan Pitre, Director of Student-Athlete Development/Athletic Academic Advisor. 

🔼 Free to Fly. Newly hired Florida Atlantic Head Women's Basketball Coach LeAnn Freeland was officially welcomed to "Paradise" Thursday evening by season ticket holders and friends of the program. The event was held at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, where Freeland will build her program.

"There is a great opportunity to be successful here,” Coach Freeland said. “It's going to take a lot of work, but I feel like I'm going to put a staff and roster in place immediately to make that happen."

🗣 : READ ALL THE FEEDBACK ON THIS KEY HIRE

🔼 Losing? Does Not Compute. The No. 29 Florida Atlantic women's tennis team used a 4-1 win over host Memphis on Wednesday evening to extend the program-long winning streak to 12 and remain the only team among NCAA Division I members that is still undefeated.
 
Newcomers Malwina Rowinska and Lara Smejkal ran their doubles record to 10-1 with a court one victory while veterans Millie-Mae Matthews and Victoria Gomez O'Hayon were the other half of the doubles' winning effort. That duo is 9-3 on the year.

🔼 From Paradise to Pirate Territory. The FAU baseball team starts a weekend series with East Carolina tonight in Greenville, North Carolina. First pitch between the Owls (20-9, 2-4) and the Pirates (20-10, 6-0) is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Saturday is at 4 p.m; Sunday’s finale is at 1 p.m.). This is the Owls' first trip to the 5,000-seat Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The Owls got back in the dub column with an 8-3 victory over FGCU on Tuesday. The squad finished with 11 hits. All nine position players recorded at least one hit. Zach Kilby earned his first win as an Owl with five solid innings on the mound.

🔼 Breezy With a Chance of Productivity. The FAU football team completed practice number 11 nearly 20 minutes earlier than the spring's first 10 practices, but it was not a lighter work script—it was just handled by the players in a more efficient manner. Simply put, the team that bought into learning the intricate playbook in January is on pace to be where they need to be at the conclusion of the 15 allowable spring practices.
 
Mother Nature also gave the Owls a solid cloud cover and light breeze throughout practice, a gift to make the shorts and shoulder pad day easier to manage.

🏈 : QUOTES FROM PLAYERS + COACHES

🔼 Battle of the Top Dogs. The No. 21 Florida Atlantic softball team returns home after a four-game road trip for a series against South Florida from today through Sunday, April 6, with the opening game's first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET this evening. All games are on ESPN+.
 
In a matchup between the top two teams in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls (32-6, 11-1) and the Bulls (29-10-1, 8-3-1) are on top of several league categories.

🥎 : FULL SCOUTING REPORT

🔼 Tracking Their Progress. The Florida Atlantic women's track & field team travels north to participate in the annual Pepsi Florida Relays today and tomorrow. The Owls will start with the high jump this afternoon before getting into the running events, which start at noon on day two of the relays. 

The team is coming off the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, where Kayla Groppe turned in a 2:23.64 time to record a new personal best in the 800-meter. Laura Kuhn set a career-best in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:03.86 in the second outdoor meet of her collegiate career.

🔼 Sand, Spikes, and Hopefully Sweeps. The No. 15 Florida Atlantic beach volleyball team opens up April play this weekend, competing at the Florida State Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida, today and tomorrow.
 
FAU enters the weekend at 12-8 overall, 2-1 in CUSA play. The Sandy Owls went 2-2 at the Stetson Beach Blast, earning a pair of sweeps against Palm Beach Atlantic and Erskine, but falling against No. 7 Florida State, 5-0, and No. 16 Stetson, 3-2.

🏐 : SCOUTING REPORT

🔼 Top Of Their Games. The No. 68 Florida Atlantic men's tennis team will play its final regular season match of the 2024-25 season tonight at 6 p.m. ET when the team travels to Tennessee to face the Memphis Tigers.

The Owls moved up two spots in this week's ITA National Rankings, while senior captain John Bernard climbed eight spots and is currently ranked No. 117. Bernard and the otherwise young Owls have seen a steady improvement as the season has progressed and are playing their best tennis at the most ideal time of year with the AAC Championship scheduled for April 17 through 20, which will also be played at Memphis. 

🔼 Paradise Idol. In 2023, when the MBB team made its historic run to the NCAA Final Four, FAU cheer team member Madison Ibone was alongside supporting the Owls in Houston as a member of the cheer team. She was also invited to represent the University by singing the national anthem before the Owls played San Diego State in the national semifinals in front of 74,000 fans at NRG Stadium in Houston -- something she had done, and continues to do, for FAU home games.
 
Tonight, Ibone will again be singing the national anthem on the national stage – this time before the Women's Final Four tips off at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

🎤 : GO HERE FOR MORE

⇢⇢⇢ How many other teams among NCAA Division I members besides the No. 29 Florida Atlantic women's tennis team remain undefeated?

Have a guess?

Scroll to the bottom to find out!

🦉 ONE BIG THING

Her Reputation Precedes Her. ICYMI! LeAnn Freeland—a highly respected head coach with a proven track record of building championship-caliber programs—was hired Tuesday as the head women's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University.

📹 : Check out this video of Coach Freeland getting acquainted in Paradise.

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Friday, April 4
👟 Women’s X-Country/Track & Field @ Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida
🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. South Carolina @ FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida @ 11:30 a.m. ET
🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. LSU @ FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida @ 2 p.m. ET
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ Tulane @ 2 p.m. ET
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Memphis @ 6 p.m. ET
⚾️ Baseball @ East Carolina @ 6 p.m. ET
🥎 Softball vs. USF @ 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets

Saturday, April 5
👟 Women’s X-Country/Track & Field @ Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida
🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. Texas @ FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida @ 11:30 a.m. ET
🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. Florida State @ FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida @ 2 p.m. ET
🏐 Volleyball vs. UCF @ 2 p.m. ET
🥎 Softball vs. USF @ 2 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets
⚾️ Baseball @ East Carolina @ 4 p.m. ET
🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. South Florida @ FSU Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida @ 4:30 p.m. ET
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ Tulane @ 5 p.m. ET
⚽️ Women’s Soccer @ FGCU @ 6 p.m. ET

Sunday, April 6
🥎 Softball vs. USF @ Noon ET ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets
⚾️ Baseball @ East Carolina @ 1 p.m. ET

🦉 Go here for the complete Florida Atlantic University Athletics Calendar

Paradise Trivia is brought to you by Choice Mortgage Group, the Official Mortgage Lender of Florida Atlantic Athletics.

The Answer: Zero!

The No. 29 Florida Atlantic women's tennis team used a 4-1 win over host Memphis on Wednesday evening to extend the program-long winning streak to 12 and remain the only team among NCAA Division I members that is still undefeated.

🦉 Let’s have an amazing weekend, Owl Fam!