BATON ROUGE — LSU is ranked No. 5 in the annual Collegiate Baseball magazine poll of the nation’s top recruiting classes. South Carolina is No. 1 in the rankings, followed by Arizona State, Texas, Vanderbilt and LSU.
LSU, which was No. 1 in the recruiting poll last season, has finished among the top six in the country in each of the past six years. The Tigers’ 2005 class includes seven freshmen, three junior college transfers and one four-year college transfer.
Fourteen players who saw action for the Tigers last season have either completed their eligibility or signed professional contracts, so this recruiting class will be counted upon to make an immediate impact.
“We’re excited about having one of the top classes in the country again this year,” said LSU coach Smoke Laval, “because a lot of these players will be expected to perform this season. We hope they’re looking forward to the challenges of competing at this level right away.”
The class features four freshmen that were selected in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft — outfielder Jarred Bogany of Houston, Texas (15th round, Pittsburgh); catcher Robert Lara of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (17th round, Minnesota); right-handed pitcher Louis Coleman of Greenwood, Miss. (28th round, Atlanta); and infielder Jason Ogata of Portland, Ore. (50th round, San Diego).
Junior right-handed pitcher Derik Olvey, a transfer from Notre Dame, was the 13th round selection in 2003 of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Tigers are tentatively scheduled to begin preparing for the 2006 season in mid-October with a four-week fall practice session. LSU opens the season Feb. 10 versus North Florida in Alex Box Stadium.
Collegiate Baseball 2005 Recruiting Rankings
1. South Carolina
2. Arizona St.
3. Texas
4. Vanderbilt
5. LSU
6. Tennessee
7. Arizona
8. Mississippi
9. UCLA
10. Florida
11. Stanford
12. Alabama
13. Tulane
14. Cal. St. Fullerton
15. Miami, Fla.
16. San Diego
17. Mississippi St.
18. Virginia
19. Fresno St.
20. Oklahoma St.
21. Texas Christian
22. Texas Tech.
23. Georgia Tech.
24. Clemson
25. Florida St.
26. Wichita St.
27. Central Michigan
28. Washington
29. Rice
30. Long Beach St.
31. North Carolina
32. Georgia
33. California
34. North Carolina St.
35. Pepperdine
36. Notre Dame
37. Central Florida
38. Baylor
39. Michigan
40. Arkansas