Noles News: FSU athletics posts best Directors Cup finish since 2019 (2024)

All Sports

It was a banner year for the Florida State Seminoles athletic program, with the combined success of its teams equaling out to its best finish in the Directors Cup — 12th — since the 2018-19 academic year:

“This was a great year for Florida State athletics,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford said. “We have a commitment to comprehensive excellence and supporting our student-athletes at the highest level, and that is reflected in the results. Our women’s soccer team claimed another national championship to highlight seven top-10 national finishes throughout our department and 18 programs that competed in the postseason. I’m so proud of all the hard work from our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and I’m thankful for the support and alignment from President McCullough and the Board of Trustees led by Chairman Peter Collins. We are continuing to build a bright future for Florida State.”

The Seminoles scored 998.88 points, their most since scoring 1,046.25 in 2018-19, led by a national championship in women’s soccer and a runner-up finish in men’s golf. FSU’s baseball team earned third-place points for its run to the Men’s College World Series semifinal, beach volleyball placed fifth after playing into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, and football contributed a sixth-place national finish following a campaign that featured an undefeated regular season and appearance in the Orange Bowl.

Softball and men’s tennis each scored ninth-place points by advancing to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament, while women’s golf earned an 11th-place finish and women’s tennis scored in 17th place after winning its first-round NCAA Tournament match. The men’s track and field team placed 15th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 19th at the outdoor national championship meet.

Men’s swimming earned a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Championships, and men’s cross country placed 27th at the national meet. Women’s basketball and volleyball both scored in 33rd place after being selected for their respective NCAA Tournaments. Women’s swimming and women’s indoor track and field placed 38th at the NCAA Championship meets, and women’s outdoor track and field added points with a 54th-place finish nationally.

Florida State claimed five conference championships, with women’s soccer and football both steamrolling to ACC titles behind an undefeated record. Volleyball won its first ACC title since 2012, beach volleyball won its seventh CCSA championship in the last eight years, and men’s tennis earned its first ACC crown by becoming the first team in ACC Tournament history to win four matches in four days and the first to defeat the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the same tournament.

Overall, 19 sports per school are counted in the final LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings, four of which must be women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and baseball. The next 15 highest-scoring sports, regardless of gender, are used in the standings.

The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in the NCAA Championships.

For the first time ever, two Florida State Seminoles soccer players will be representing the United States at the Olympics, as former players Casey Krueger and Jenna Nighswonger both have been selected to the 18-person roster for the United States Women’s National Team in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics:

Krueger played four seasons at Florida State with 81 appearances and 70 starts, scoring seven goals with 18 assists for 32 career points as a defender. She was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2008, second team All-ACC in 2010 and 2012, and played in the 2012 College Cup.

Krueger was drafted fifth overall in the 2013 NWSL Draft and has made nearly 150 club appearances across a decade-long career in the NWSL. She currently plays for the Washington Spirit. Krueger has been selected for a second straight Olympic Games to represent the four-time gold medalists and has 49 caps for her country dating back to 2016.

See Also

FSU Baseball Roster Tracker: Full 2025 outlook, transfer portal additions/departures, & MLB Draft thoughtsFlorida State earns win in legal battle vs. the ACC, hearing set to continue via paperFlorida’s $116.5 billion budget includes millions for FAMU, FSU, TCC. Here’s what they got

Nighswonger played four seasons at Florida State with 86 appearances and 56 starts, scoring 19 goals and 34 assists for 74 points as a midfielder. The 2021 national champion earned six All-ACC honors, was named the 2022 ACC Tournament MVP, 2022 United States Coaches All-American, and a 2022 MAC Hermann and Honda Award finalist.

Nighswonger was drafted fourth overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft to NJ/NY Gotham FC and made 22 starts in her rookie season. She was named Rookie of the Month twice and was promptly named the 2023 NWSL Rookie of the Year en route to Gotham’s first-ever NWSL Championship. Nighswonger has been selected for her first Olympics and her first major international competition after just nine caps.

The United States will begin its Olympic journey on July 25 against Zambia at 3 p.m. ET.

FSU women’s volleyball junior Alexis Durish and senior Audrey Koenig, as well as the recently graduated Maddie Anderson and Raelyn White, were named to the 2024 Academic All-District Women’s At-Large Team:

In 2024, Anderson finished her final season with a 23-8 overall record. She finished 17-7 on court one and 6-1 on court two. She earned many awards, including CCSA Preseason Player of the Year, CCSA Pair of the Week with Skyler Germann (March 6, 2024), CCSA Pair of the Tournament with Durish, CCSA All-Academic Team honors, and AVCA All-American Second Team honors. To pair with her athletic achievements, Anderson maintained a 3.67 GPA whilst pursuing her master’s degree in Sports Management.

In her final season, White completed 2024 with a 31-7 record, going 6-1 on court one, 11-2 on court two, 9-4 on court three, and 5-0 on court four. White earned multiple awards throughout 2024, including CCSA Pair of the Week with Koenig (April 27, 2024), CCSA All-Conference Team honors, CCSA All-Academic Team honors, and CCSA All-Tournament Team honors. She maintained a 3.94 GPA while pursuing a master’s degree in Athletic Coaching.

Durish completed her sophom*ore season with a 29-7 record, accumulating a 10-5 record on court one, 2-2 record on court two, 6-0 record on court three, and 11-5 record on court four. Durish and her partner, Anna Long, opened the season with a 20-0 winning streak, the longest winning streak for the Seminoles in 2024. She was awarded CCSA Preseason All-Conference Team honors, CCSA Pair of the Week honors with Long (March 20, 2024), CCSA All-Conference Team honors, CCSA All-Academic Team honors, and CCSA Pair of the Tournament honors with Anderson. While pursuing a degree in Management Information Systems, Durish has maintained a 3.52 GPA and has made the Dean’s List once in her college career.

Koenig completed the 2024 season with a 30-8 record, as she went 8-1 on court one, 8-3 on court two, 9-4 on court three, and 5-0 on court four. She racked up many accolades and awards in 2024, being named CCSA Pair of the Week with White (April 27, 2024), CCSA All-Conference Team, CCSA All-Academic Team, and CCSA All-Tournament team in her junior year. Koenig is a two-sport athlete, as she also plays indoor volleyball where she was named ACC Co-Player of the Year in 2023. Balancing two sports with academics is no easy task, but Koenig makes it look easy as she maintained a 3.97 GPA while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology.

On top of making the All-District Women’s At-Large Team, the four Seminoles have advanced to the national ballot as CSC Academic All-America Team Finalists.

James Tibbs and Jamie Arnold became Florida State baseball’s first pair of teammates to earn first-team All-American honors since 2012 this past week, with Cam Smith also earning nods on second and third teams:

Tibbs became the first unanimous first-team All-American from FSU since Matheu Nelson in 2021, a well-deserved honor after a standout season that played a major part in the Seminoles’ run to the College World Series. He logged 28 home runs, 95 RBI, a .777 slugging percentage and 58 walks in 2024, Those 95 RBI are seventh all-time in a single season at FSU, with those 28 home runs the most since Marshall McDougall in 1999 and fifth-highest in school history.

It’s just the latest honor for Tibbs this year — the Marietta, Georgia native was also named the Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the ACC Player of the Year, earned a spot on the CSC Academic All-District Team and won the ACC’s Postgraduate Scholarship Award.

Arnold earned first-team honors from the NCBWA, ABCA/Rawlings, D1Baseball and Perfect Game and second-team honors from Baseball America after a sophom*ore season that saw him post an 11-3 record with one save and a 2.98 ERA with 159 strikeouts and 26 walks in 105.2 innings of action. One of the highlights of the postseason was his showing against UCF, where he went seven innings and threw for 12 Ks, 3 H, 2 BB and allowed just two runs on 104 pitches — and most impressively, logging an immaculate inning in the second.

Smith was a second-team selection on the Baseball America, Perfect Game lists, while D1Baseball tapped him as a third-team pick. In 2024, he hit for .387 this season, with 104 hits, 57 RBIs, 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 82 runs scored total in 269 at-bats.

Florida State softball has officially added Annabelle Widra to its roster:

During her 49 total appearances, she was a true utility player, seeing time at third base, second base, shortstop, pitcher and designated player. Widra held a .259 BA with 18 R, 33 H, 5 HR, 10 BB for her two years on the Plains. In the circle as a right handed pitcher, she had a 2.77 ERA, 14-8 W/L, 121.1 IP, 121 H, 66 R, 20 BB, 113 SO and a .249 B/AVG over two seasons.

Recruiting

Florida State Recruiting Class of 2025

• QUARTERBACK: 4 star Tramell Jones Jr (FL)
• WIDE RECEIVER: 4 star CJ Wiley (GA)
• OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: 5 star Solomon Thomas (FL)
• DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: 4 star Javion Hilson (FL)
• DEFENSIVE TACKLE: 4 star Kevin Wynn (GA)
• LINEBACKER: 4 star Ethan Pritchard (FL)

Football