FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Florida Gulf Coast University softball team announced the signing of transfer right-handed pitcher and utility player Mikie Lieving on Saturday, July 25. Lieving joins the Eagles from Ohio University.

The 5-foot-8 New Haven, West Virginia, native spent three seasons with the Bobcats in the Mid-American Conference. Under the NCAA’s 5-in-5 eligibility model, the rising senior has two seasons of eligibility remaining with FGCU.

Her arrival strengthens an FGCU pitching staff revamped by head coach Lindsay Fico, where Lieving joins rising senior Victoria Ash, incoming transfer sophomores Emma Eekhoff and Julia Moore, and true freshmen Jessie Crye and Riley Huckaby.

In 2026, Lieving filled a rotational role in the circle, making 18 appearances with 10 starts. She pitched 41 1/3 innings for an Ohio program that posted a 38-20 overall record and a 17-10 mark in MAC play. Defensively, she was reliable, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 12 chances without committing an error.

She looks to recapture her early-career form, where she served as a durable workload anchor for the Bobcats. As a true freshman in 2024, she logged a career-high 124 1/3 innings, pitching her way to an 11-6 record, a 2.76 ERA, and Second Team All-MAC honors. She remained a primary starter during her 2025 sophomore campaign, throwing 72 1/3 innings across 22 appearances (11 starts) with an 8-3 record and a 3.39 ERA.

At Wahama High School, Lieving led her program to back-to-back Class A state titles in 2021 and 2022. As a junior in 2022, she hit .644 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs, while striking out 269 batters in the circle. She was a two-time conference player of the year and the 2022 West Virginia Class A All-State captain. Lieving graduated in the top 10 percent of her class as a National Honor Society member and plans to major in biochemistry at FGCU.