Alex Mastromanno had traveled but never to the United States. His first trip here was when he moved more than 10,000 miles from Australia to Tallahassee to come to Florida State and be a student-athlete. Adjusting to college life in a new city is a challenge for many freshmen. Mastromanno was moving a world away from his hometown of Melbourne,…
Camren McDonald isn’t just intent on setting goals, a list of what he wants to do after graduation and what he’d like to achieve in life. He’s driven to make a difference now. The Florida State junior tight end decided in 2020 to start a non-profit, the Making Change Foundation, with the intent on serving pizza and food to those…
Sue Semrau treats her players like they are her daughters. After 24 years of putting her Florida State family first, sacrificing time with her mom and dad, it was time for Semrau to return home to help care for her mom, who is battling cancer. Semrau announced in September that she would take a one-year leave of absence from coaching the women’s…
Kenneth Crawford recalls watching Lawrance Toafili play his first snaps of JV football at Pinellas Park High. It was clear the freshman would soon be on varsity. “First game he touched the ball six times — he scored six times,” said Crawford, Pinellas Park’s varsity head coach. “He’s faster than people think. You double that with his vision. But probably…
Some of Jaelin Howell’s earliest memories are of playing soccer. And, looking back, Howell can laugh about how she didn’t love the sport. “I played a lot of sports,” Howell said. “First couple of years I didn’t love it. I wasn’t that good at it and I continued to pursue it just because of the teams I was on. By…
Amari Gainer grew up in Tallahassee, in a football family, the son of a Florida State player. Many of his fall Saturdays included trips to Doak Campbell Stadium, and one of his good friends was Trey Fisher, Jimbo’s son. When the time came to make a decision on where the Chiles High star would attend college, Gainer was torn. He…
Seminole Boosters, Inc. and the Florida State University Athletics Department have received a leadership commitment from Beth and Lawton Langford in support of Seminole athletics. The Langfords have been involved with Seminole Boosters for decades. Lawton became involved soon after earning his MBA and law degree in 1982, while Beth was part of the committee of 30 that helped raise…
Derrick Gibson knew even during his five-year NFL career with the Oakland Raiders that his future would be in coaching. In the offseason, Gibson began working out with high school players in his hometown, Miami, and he eventually was helping out as the defensive backs coach at Miami Central under head coach Telly Lockette. Gibson gained experience as a defensive backs…
Florida State fans knew white numerals would return on garnet jerseys for the 2020 football season, an announcement that was made last August. But that didn’t mean it was an easy process. Or one that was complete last summer. The conversation kicked into gear in May 2019 with a collaborative effort between FSU athletics and boosters administrators, Nike representatives, licensing…
Florida State has announced a number of returning 2020 seniors for the 2021 athletics season. On Tuesday, men’s golfers Jamie Li and Greyson Porter officially announced their return. Last year, Li shot a career-low -0.78 vs. par and totaled three Top-10 finishes. In every year, the Bath, England, native has improved his scoring average, setting up what could be a…
