BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU’s 2003 recruiting class is rated No. 6 in the nation in a Collegiate Baseball magazine poll released this week. The ranking marks the fourth straight year LSU has finished among the top 10 in the annual recruiting survey.
LSU was ranked No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball recruiting survey in 2000 and 2001, and the Tigers were rated No. 3 in 2002.
North Carolina and South Carolina are tied for No. 1 in the 2003 recruiting poll, followed by Florida, Arizona, Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Oklahoma and Ole Miss.
Other SEC teams appearing in the Top 30 are No. 21 Alabama, No. 24 Vanderbilt and No. 30 (tie) Mississippi State and Arkansas.
LSU’s recruiting class includes five players that have been selected in the major league draft. Right-handed pitcher Kyle Perry of Ball High School in Galveston, Texas (28th round, Atlanta Braves); infielder Lance Zawadzki of St. John’s High School in Ashland, Mass. (48th round, Montreal Expos); and infielder Jordan Mayer of Alexandria (La.) High School (49th round, Cincinnati Reds) were chosen in the 2003 draft.
Right-handed pitcher Pat Clayton, a transfer from Clemson (7th round, Atlanta Braves), and catcher Nick Stavinoha of San Jacinto (Texas) College (39th round, Houston Astros) were selected in the 2002 draft.
The Tigers’ class includes several other talented prospects, including infielder Bryan Harris of Santa Ana (Calif.) College; infielder Derek Hebert of El Camino (Calif.) College; outfielder Steven Broschofsky of Jesuit High in New Orleans; and pitcher Michael Bonura of St. Charles Catholic High in LaPlace, La.
LSU assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Turtle Thomas continues to enhance his reputation as one of the nation’s best recruiters. Thomas, who served as the recruiting coordinator at Miami (Fla.) from 1989-99, has produced nine classes ranked among the top six in the country.
Thomas assembled at Miami No. 1 classes in 1989, 1992 and 1994, and No. 2 classes in 1991 and 1999. His LSU classes have earned the No. 2 ranking twice (2000, 2001), the No. 3 ranking last year, and the No. 6 ranking this year.
2003 Collegiate Baseball Recruiting Class Rankings
1. (tie) North Carolina
1. (tie) South Carolina
3. Florida
4. Arizona
5. Texas
6. LSU
7. Oklahoma State
8. Stanford
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Georgia Tech
12. Arizona State
13. Southern California
14. Florida State
15. Miami (Fla.)
16. Fresno State
17. Rice
18. Cal State Fullerton
19. Baylor
20. Stetson
21. Alabama
22. UC-Irvine
23. Clemson
24. Vanderbilt
25. Santa Clara
26. South Alabama
27. Wake Forest
28. California
29. Notre Dame
30. (tie) Long Beach State
30. (tie) Mississippi State
30. (tie) Arkansas
30. (tie) Nebraska