BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team enters the 2006 season receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball and NFCA/USA Today preseason collegiate polls released this week.
The Tigers return 16 of their 17 letterwinners from last season – including all eight position starters and three pitchers – while adding three newcomers, including the 2005 Gatorade National High School Softball Player of the Year Dani Hofer.
The NFCA/USA Today poll is voted on by 30 NCAA Division I coaches representing different conferences. Defending national champion Michigan tops the poll, edging out defending runner-up UCLA. Tennessee, which advanced to the semi-finals of the Women’s College World Series, ranks third, followed by Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Stanford, California, Texas A&M and Georgia.
The Pac-10 leads the conferences with seven of its eight softball playing schools ranked in the top 25, while the Big 12 is represented by six schools, followed by the SEC with five schools ranked in the poll. Among the five SEC teams in the top 25, three are in the top 10, followed by Auburn at No. 17 and Florida at No. 19.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different Amateur Softball Association regions and 11 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members. Michigan tops that poll, again edging out UCLA. Tennessee also ranks third, followed by Texas, Arizona, Texas A&M, California, Alabama, Stanford and Baylor.
The Pac-10 and Big 12 each have six teams ranked in the top 25, followed by the SEC with five ranked teams. Among the five SEC teams in the top 25, two are in the top 10, followed by Georgia at No. 11, Auburn at No. 20 and Florida at No. 23.
LSU will play 21 of its 61 regular-season games against 10 teams that are ranked in the Top 25, including 11 games against five Top 10 opponents. Ranked opponents on the Tigers’ 2006 schedule include No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 6/8 Alabama, No. 7/9 Stanford, No. 10/11 Georgia, No. 12/13 Oklahoma, No. 13/14 Washington, No. 15/12 Oregon State, No. 17/20 Auburn and No. 19/23 Florida.
LSU will open the season on Feb. 10 against Stephen F. Austin at Tiger Park in the Purple & Gold Challenge at 3:30 p.m. The Tigers will then take on Northwestern State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and South Dakota State before beginning bracket play in the three-day tournament.