Florida Atlantic softball is participating in the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, along with 15 other programs, as announced in a schedule released on Wednesday afternoon; the team received its initial invitation on February 17. 

The Clearwater Invitational starts on February 12 next year at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, FL. The complex has up to nine separate fields, with fields one, three, eight & nine hosting the Invitational.

The other programs invited are Duke, Florida State, Georgia, James Madison University, Louisiana State University, Missouri, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, University of Central Florida, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

FAU is set to play against Texas Tech and Florida State on day two of the Invitational, Tennessee and Missouri on day three, and James Madison on day four.

Texas Tech finished last season 54-14 and fell to Texas in the third game of the Women’s College World Series. The Red Raiders won their first-ever Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles in program history.

Florida State went 49-12 last season, falling to Texas Tech in the Super Regionals of the Women’s College World Series. 

Tennessee fell in the semifinals to Texas in the Women’s College World Series following a 47-17 record. Texas would go on to win the Women’s College World Series.

Missouri went 25-31 last season, an off-year from the 2024 season when they finished 48-18, losing to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Softball Tournament.

James Madison finished 28-26 last season, losing to Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Championship.

Last season, FAU finished 45-12, 23-4 in the American Conference under second-year head coach Jordan Clark. 

The Owls lost to the University of North Texas as the No. 1 seed in the semifinals of the American Championship Tournament. Then they fell to the University of Florida and Mercer University in the Gainesville Regional in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Last season was the Owls’ second-straight appearance in the Tournament, falling in the Gainesville Regional both times.

Maddox Greenberg is a Contributing Writer at the University Press. Email him at greenbergm2022@fau.edu or DM him through Instagram @maddoxblade04 or Twitter (X) @MaddoxGreenberg for more information regarding this or other stories.