BATON ROUGE — After moving up three spots to No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll on Tuesday, the LSU softball team jumped two spots to No. 6 in the NFCA/USA Today poll, it was announced on Wednesday.
After beginning the year at No. 9 in the preseason NFCA poll, this is the highest ranking for LSU (31-5) in the NFCA/USA Today poll this season. Last week, the Tigers won a mid-week game from Centenary, 9-1, on the road. LSU then took 2-of-3 from then No. 2 Alabama at Tiger Park, dropping the first game, 6-0, before coming back to win the final two, 5-4 in eight innings and 3-0.
The Tigers have now been ranked for 22 straight weeks after having their streak of 103 consecutive weeks snapped on March 30, 2005, a streak that dated back to Feb. 28, 1998. In all, LSU has been ranked in 126 of the 147 polls (.857) that have been released since the program was reinstated in 1997. The Tigers have also been ranked in the top 10 for 81 weeks in the program’s history.
SEC rival Tennessee remained at No. 1, while Texas A&M moved up to No. 2. Alabama dropped one spot to No. 3, while Oklahoma and Arizona came in fourth and fifth respectively. Following the Tigers to round out the Top 10 are Arizona State, Northwestern, Texas and Michigan.
The Pac-10 still leads the way with seven ranked in the top 25, followed by the SEC with five ranked teams and the Big 12 with four ranked teams. The SEC and Big 12, however, lead the nation with three teams each ranked in the top 10. Among the five SEC teams in the top 25, three are in the top 10, including Tennessee, Alabama and LSU. Florida comes in at No. 19 and Georgia is ranked 22nd.
The NFCA/USA Today poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference.
This weekend, the Tigers remain on the road as LSU travels to Auburn for a three-game SEC series beginning on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and concluding with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The games will be broadcast in Baton Rouge on The X ? 104.5/104.9 FM and also in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net.
NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll
Rank School Record Pts. Pvs.
1. Tennessee (24) 33-2 600 1
2. Texas A&M 28-3 564 3
3. Alabama 31-3 538 2
4. Oklahoma 36-3 536 4
5. Arizona 24-7 494 6
6. LSU 31-5 462 8
7. Arizona State 34-7 461 5
8. Northwestern 24-6 452 7
9. Texas 25-7 393 10
10. Michigan 25-5 379 9
11. UCLA 24-6 360 11
12. Washington 22-7 312 12
13. Oregon 34-3 298 14
14. Stanford 24-6 283 13
15. UL-Lafayette 32-7 256 15
16. Baylor 30-9 233 17
17. Oregon State 24-10 215 16
18. Southern Illinois 27-6 183 19
19. Florida 27-14 156 22
20. Illinois State 27-7 151 20
21. Hawaii 33-7 135 21
22. Georgia 28-12 71 18
23. DePaul 20-7 69 24
24. N.C. State 22-13 41 23
25. North Carolina 32-8 35 NR
Others Receiving Votes:
Fresno State 31, Georgia Tech 28, Virginia Tech 14, Cal Poly 9, California 7. Nine others received one vote each.