No. 4 Florida State opens the regular season Thursday night with a trip to DeLand, where the reigning national champions will face Stetson at the Athletic Training Center at 7 p.m.
The match will be carried on ESPN+, and FSU (0-0, 0-0 ACC) comes in with a perfect all-time mark against the Hatters. The Seminoles have won all five previous meetings, including a 7-0 rout in Tallahassee on Sept. 4, 2025.
Florida State is coming off a 16-2-4 season and a 6-2-2 mark in ACC play. The roster has been reworked with 16 new players, but three familiar names - Wrianna Hudson, Janey Okeke and Nyanya Touray - were selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
In the Seminoles’ recent exhibition, Lara Dantas was out with an injury, Sammy Kaczmar had recently arrived, and Grace Hoytink was not yet here. Florida State was picked fourth in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Notre Dame, Stanford and Duke.
Stetson enters at 0-0, 0-0 ASUN after going 5-14 overall and 2-8 in conference play last season. The Hatters were picked seventh in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and return 15 players, including Stella Comana, who earned a spot on the Preseason All-ASUN Team earlier this week. Payton Quinones and Bianca Mazzaferro are also back, along with a core of players who logged major minutes a year ago.
Stetson’s goalkeeper group is intact as well, with all three keepers from last season returning. Clare Boesel is the headliner there after going 3-2 in goal last year. The Hatters also added 13 newcomers, six of them transfers, as they try to mix experience and fresh faces for the new season.
In Other News...
FSU Has A Freak Athlete Fans May Soon See Very Differently
Florida State has spent a good chunk of camp trying to sort out what its offense will look like as Ashton Daniels keeps settling in at quarterback, and Mike Norvell said after the second scrimmage that the progress is there even if the whole operation still needs more consistency. Around him, the program has had a little bit of everything lately, from Eric Luallen being named the new public address voice for FSU football to recruiting activity that included 2028 defensive lineman Prince Che visiting Tallahassee, all while the soccer team gets ready to open against Stetson.
One of the more intriguing subplots, though, is Micahi Danzy, whose development keeps turning heads for reasons that go well beyond the football field. He has added notable physical growth and paired it with a standout track resume, including an ACC and Florida State record in the 400-meter run, and his athletic profile is drawing real national attention as a player who may soon be viewed in a much different way by Seminoles fans. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Just Landed Two Huge Chances In A Key Recruiting Battle
Florida State has picked up a pair of important chances in the race for one of the nations most coveted young defenders. Prince Che, a highly regarded defensive lineman out of Thomasville, Georgia, is set to hit campus twice this fall, giving the Seminoles multiple opportunities to make their case to a recruit who already has 38 offers and plenty of attention from major programs.
For Florida State, the calendar matters almost as much as the player. The staff sees those visits as key moments in its push for the 2028 class, and Ches return trip later in the fall should only add to the intrigue surrounding a recruitment that is still very much taking shape. With so many programs in the mix, every visit counts, and the Seminoles have lined up two of the most meaningful ones they could ask for. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Faces A Hidden Offensive Question After Tommy Castellanos
Tommy Castellanos gave Florida State a steadier edge on passing downs than the overall record suggested, and that mattered in a 5-7 season that still had pockets of offensive competence. The Seminoles were fifth nationally in passing success rate on those snaps, a useful sign that when the playbook narrowed and the pressure rose, the passing game could still function well enough to keep drives alive.
Now the job shifts to Ashton Daniels, the Auburn transfer expected to take over, and the question is less about raw talent than fit. Daniels brings a different profile as both a passer and a runner, which makes Florida States late-down offense a moving target heading into the next chapter, especially if the Seminoles are trying to preserve the kind of efficiency they found before. [Read more 🡒]