BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team enters the 2004 season ranked No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason collegiate poll that was released Wednesday.
The No. 15 national ranking marks the sixth consecutive preseason ranking for the Tigers, but the first in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, which began midway through the 2003 season. LSU has now been ranked in all 12 of the ESPN polls since its inception on Feb. 25, 2003.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different Amateur Softball Association regions and 12 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members.
Defending national champion UCLA tops the poll, just ahead of 2003 NCAA runner-up California. Arizona ranks third, while Oklahoma is fourth and Washington comes in at fifth. Rounding out the top 10 are Alabama in sixth, Michigan in seventh, Nebraska in eighth, UL-Lafayette in ninth and Georgia at 10.
The Pac-10 leads the way with all eight of its softball playing schools ranked in the top 25, while the Big 12 is represented by five schools in the poll. The Tigers are among four SEC teams in the top 25 as Alabama ranks sixth, Georgia stands at 10th and Tennessee rounds out the poll in 25th.
LSU faces five opponents ranked in the preseason top 25 in 2004, including four teams ranked in the top 10. The Tigers will also take on four teams that are currently receiving votes in the top 25 poll.
LSU will begin the season with the Tiger Classic from Feb. 6-8 at Tiger Park. The Tigers will begin play against Centenary at 2 p.m. on Feb. 6. LSU will also take on No. 4 Oklahoma, Illinois and Southeastern Louisiana in the three-day tournament.
2004 Preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
|
Rank |
Team Name |
2003 Record |
Totals |
Rank in final 2003 Poll |
|
1. |
UCLA (18) |
54-7 |
474 |
1 |
|
2. |
California (1) |
49-20 |
442 |
2. |
|
3. |
Arizona |
56-7 |
436 |
3. |
|
4. |
Oklahoma |
47-14 |
412 |
6. |
|
5. |
Washington |
47-16-1 |
367 |
5. |
|
6. |
Alabama |
49-12 |
358 |
7. |
|
7. |
Michigan |
44-16 |
277 |
13. |
|
8. |
Nebraska |
39-17 |
276 |
16. |
|
9. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
47-11 |
268 |
8. |
|
10. |
Georgia |
57-14 |
258 |
14. |
|
11. |
Texas |
49-9 |
254 |
4. |
|
12. |
Stanford |
41-26 |
236 |
18. |
|
13. |
Oregon |
37-19 |
220 |
11. |
|
14. |
DePaul |
48-7-1 |
219 |
10. |
|
15. |
LSU |
50-18 |
199 |
17. |
|
16. |
Cal State Fullerton |
41-15 |
180 |
9. |
|
17. |
Texas A&M |
38-22 |
168 |
15. |
|
18. |
Iowa |
44-15 |
166 |
20. |
|
19. |
Arizona State |
32-25 |
145 |
22. |
|
20. |
Florida State |
46-11 |
139 |
21. |
|
21. |
Fresno State |
36-22 |
127 |
NR |
|
22. |
Oklahoma State |
39-15 |
96 |
12. |
|
23. |
Oregon State |
36-31 |
93 |
25. |
|
24. |
Michigan State |
40-19 |
62 |
19. |
|
25. |
Tennessee |
45-25 |
59 |
NR |
(First place votes are in parenthesis.)
Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina (47), Florida (37), Southern Illinois (35), Pacific (26), Northwestern (16), Massachusetts (15), Ohio State (14), Minnesota (9), Texas State (8), Baylor (8), Marshall (8), Notre Dame (4), South Florida (2), and Florida Atlantic (1).