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ESTERO — Before the first official pitch of this initial Division I season, Florida Gulf Coast University baseball coach Dave Tollett believed he had amassed enough talent to be a Division II national contender.

With a 37-13 record after defeating Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night and having clinched the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title with a 24-6 record, the Eagles can’t help but imagine how far they could have advanced in the Division I tournament.

The baseball program — which along with volleyball is designated as “Fast-Track” with the NCAA — will not be eligible for postseason play until after next season. The rest of FGCU’s programs must wait three more seasons before having a chance to play in A-Sun or NCAA tournaments.

This season, FGCU took top-ranked Miami to 11 innings before losing 4-2 on the road in a game in which Tollett saved his starting pitchers for an upcoming conference series. The Eagles lost 2-1 at Florida. They knocked off No. 24 Central Florida and formerly ranked FAU in an earlier game in Boca Raton.

“We definitely talk about it, especially the older guys,” said senior first baseman Jason Peacock, who was hitting a torrid .433 heading into Tuesday night’s game and drove in two runs in FGCU’s 5-1 win over the Owls. “FAU was in the Top 25 at one time, so was Central Florida. We have probably one of the best pitching staffs in the country. I’d take them anywhere, even in a three-game set against Miami.”

Peacock also pointed out that Jacksonville beat No. 3 Florida State 7-6 a week ago, “and we punished JU.”

First-year Florida International coach Henry “Turtle” Thomas has been to nine College World Series as an assistant at Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami, LSU and Arizona State.

He recently talked to Tollett about what FGCU could do if it made a regional.

“I tell you what, you’re probably the third-best team in Florida,” Thomas told Tollett.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: FGCU’s baseball team is the third to win the A-Sun title in its initial season, following Troy (1998) and Jacksonville State (1996).

At 24-6, the Eagles already have the most conference wins by any rookie A-Sun team, and the .800 percentage is the best-ever for a first-year program. Jacksonville went 22-8 (.733) in its first season. Only a sweep by USC Upstate in Spartanburg on Thursday and Friday can deny the Eagles from the best-ever first-year conference winning percentage.

Should the Eagles sweep the Spartans, they would tie FIU’s record for most conference wins in a single season. In 1995, the Panthers went 27-3 in the A-Sun.

“That’s another goal to shoot for,” Tollett said.

CLEAN SWEEP: FGCU swept the A-Sun’s weekly award after sweeping East Tennessee State.

Sophomore Pete Woodworth earned the Pitcher of the Week award for the second consecutive week by throwing a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Bucs in Saturday’s 6-2 win in the second game of a doubleheader that clinched the A-Sun title.

Senior left fielder Vinnie Scarduzio was named the conference Player of the Week. While the Eagles went 5-0, Scarduzio had four multiple-hit games, drove in nine runs and scored eight while hitting .545 with a slugging percentage of 1.091.

RBI GIRL: Naples High grad Cheynne Jenks finished her junior season with 73 RBIs, which set an A-Sun record and gave her the Division I lead, though she likely will be passed during postseason play.

“That’s pretty cool,” the third baseman said. “RBIs is one of the most important stats, so it’s cool to have set that (conference) record.”

FGCU coach David Deiros said Jenks benefitted from A-Sun teams pitching around No. 3 hitter Carmen Paez, who slugged 22 home runs by April but drew 84 walks.

Jenks nodded.

“I attribute a lot of my good hitting to pitch selection, a lot of confidence and to my two- and -three-hole hitters getting on base,” Jenks said. “I give them a lot of credit for giving me the opportunities by getting on base so much.”

In 22 conference games, Jenks led the A-Sun in batting (.471), home runs (10), RBIs (36), hits (33) and total bases (66).

FOUR-GONE CONCLUSIONS: Four Eagles underclassmen — junior outfielder LeeAnne McDowell, sophomore second baseman Paige Raulerson, sophomore first baseman Jessica Corbin and freshman second baseman Amanda Leiter — will not return for next season, Deiros said.

Leiter, a Naples High grad, played in 33 games, starting nine. She hit .226 with six RBIs. McDowell played in 28 games, starting six, and hit .147 with a homer and nine RBIs. Raulerson played in just 13 games this season, going 1-for-2, and Corbin made six appearances, also going 1-for-2.

“In a lot of cases it’s opportunities to go pursue other things,” Deiros said. “In the case of (Raulerson), she’s been injured all three years. She hasn’t had an opportunity to play, and she decided it’s time to go ahead and hang it up.

“It is what it is and we wish them luck.”