FORT MYERS, Fla.- Florida SouthWestern shortstop Nick April-Gath will be keeping his talents in South Florida next season after signing to play at Florida International University for the 2026-2027 campaign.

April-Gath had a big sophomore season for the Bucs, earning 1^st Team All-Citrus Conference and 2^nd Team All-FCSAA honors while also being named to the Citrus Conference All-Defensive Team and winning an FCSAA Gold Glove at shortstop. He hit .378 while clubbing 23 extra base hits with 13 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 home runs while scoring 60 runs on the year which ranked in the top 10 in the FCSAA. His work with the glove was equally as impressive as he finished with a .961 fielding percentage on the year, the best of any FCSAA player with more than 100 assists, as he made just 7 errors in 178 total chances for FSW at shortstop while being a part of 22 double plays on the season.

He joins an FIU program in transition after hiring former MLB manager Pedro Grifol as their new Head Coach last week.  The Panthers are coming off of a 19-35 campaign after a 30 win season in 2025.

April-Gath is one of 12 Division I signees off the Bucs 2026 roster, joining Robbie Demetree & Cole Greer (Tulane), Gavin Kindell (South Alabama), Greg Caban (Eastern Kentucky), Bishop Quarles (Stetson), Ryan Grzesiak (James Madison), Anthony Wilkie (Florida Atlantic), Nicholas Lorenz (East Carolina), Judd Hildreth (Murray State), Parker Burgess (College of Charleston), and Evan Taveras (Central Florida).