The
2025 ACC softball tournament begins on May 7, and ninth-ranked
Florida State softball is peaking at the right time. FSU (44-8, 18-3 ACC) enters the conference tournament as the top seed with a first-round bye. The Seminoles will play the winner of the Cal-Georgia Tech game in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 11 a.m. FSU is coming off a series win over No. 15 Virginia Tech and securing its ACC regular-season title for the 15th time in school history. The Seminoles will be looking to win their first postseason title since 2023.
FSU softball has depth in pitching
Last year, pitching was a question heading into the postseason, and head coach Lonni Alameda barely had enough to make a run to the
College World Series. This time, FSU's pitching rotation has been stellar all year. Credit to Alameda for rotating her set of arms, and the staff had answered the bell in the circle. FSU's pitching staff leads the conference in ERA (2.32), record (44-8), and saves (13) in 332 innings. The Seminoles also allow the fewest hits in the league. Leading the staff come from its young pitchers in Ashtyn Danley and Jazzy Francik. Both pitchers have the lowest ERA in the ACC. Danley, a sophomore has 1.90 and Francik has 1.70. Danley has stepped forward from her freshman to her sophomore year. She started 13 games and carried an 11-1 record. Francik has been a starter and closer for most of the year. The true freshman is the strikeout leader with 71 and with 13 saves. She threw a no-hitter on Saturday against Virginia Tech in her last start. Julia Apsel and Annabelle Widra have also been solid after transferring from their last schools.
FSU softball has heavy hitters in the batting lineup
The Seminoles have a .360 batting average, which is second in the conference, with seven of the starters batting over .300 and three reaching .400 individually. Shortstop Isa Torres has the highest batting average with .439. Katie Dack has been FSU's home run hitter with 12, while Jaysoni Beachum, despite a down year, is still batting .336, with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. The bad news for the Seminoles is that they lost one of their sluggers and centerfielder Kennedy Harp for the rest of the year after suffering an injury during the Louisville game. She had the highest slugging percentage with .765 and led the ACC in triples. Despite the loss of their sophomore speedster, FSU still has enough batters like Jahni Kerr, Angelee Bueno, and Amaya Ross to fill that void.
Which team could FSU softball see in the ACC Championship
The tournament can go either way with five ranked teams in the ACC. The Seminoles will enter the tournament as the favorites, followed by either Duke or Stanford, whom FSU may see in the semifinals. However, the question will be who will meet them in the championship round. It is plausible that FSU will see Virginia Tech again in the final round, a week after beating the Hokies in the series finale. The one team to keep an eye on is Clemson. The Tigers hold the second seed in the tournament and are ranked No. 16 in the
USA Softball poll, one spot behind the Hokies. FSU has not faced Clemson this season, which would make the potential matchup more intriguing. At the same time, the Hokies would love to get another at the Seminoles again after losing to them two of the last three in the final season.
How to watch ACC tournament
2025 ACC Softball Championship Schedule (All times Eastern)
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on X @_Da_pistol.
