National Champion Florida State Soccer setting transfer portal on fire with recent signees

Florida State soccer (16-2-4) won its fifth national title last year, avenging a previous home defeat to the Stanford Cardinals in a 1-0 battle. It was the second national title under Brian Pensky after winning one in his first season, but some may view that one as one with Mark Krikorian’s players.

One downside of a program like Florida State is the loss of elite players every year, and this past year was no different. That was something Mark Krikorian did well: recruit excellent players every year, and some detractors were not sure Brian Pensky could maintain that level of consistency.

Of course, the game has changed since Krikorian was the head coach with the introduction of the transfer portal. Pensky has some great young talent on the roster, but took to the transfer portal to help compensate for the level of talent lost from last year’s team:

Florida State has reloaded with talent and experience from the transfer portal.

Florida State returns just 11 players from last year's championship squad. The accolades for each new signee resemble something like an All-Star team. Everywhere you look, it’s a former All-American or All-Conference player with great experience and production. It’s almost like Florida State Soccer is like an elite team in college football, where the best transfers go because they want a chance to compete for a national championship.  

I'm sure it'll take some time for all of these new faces to gel and figure out their roles, but the experience and production they bring should keep Florida State near the top of the upper-echelon of women's college soccer.

Brian Pensky is 70-7-12 since becoming the head coach at Florida State in 2022. Mark Krikorian was a legendary coach in Tallahassee and built the Noles into a monster with three national titles in a decade, and removing North Carolina's grip on the ACC. However, Pensky has done just fine maintaining that elite level of consistency to compete at the highest level.

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