BATON ROUGE — After going undefeated and winning the Easton Tiger Classic last weekend, the LSU softball team moved up one spot in both national polls released on Tuesday as the Tigers prepare to face Southeastern Louisiana, which is receiving votes in one poll, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.
Southeastern Conference rival Alabama moved up to the No. 1 spot in both polls, while LSU, Tennessee and Florida all come in ranked in the top 10. In addition, Mississippi State and Georgia are ranked in the top 25, which give the league the most nationally ranked teams of any conference in the nation.
After coming in tied for No. 7 in the NFCA/USA Today poll last week, LSU moved up to No. 6 this week. The Tigers also moved up one spot in the ESPN/USA Softball poll from No. 8 into a tie for seventh.
LSU has now been ranked for 31 straight weeks in the NFCA poll and has been among the nationally ranked teams in 135 of the 156 polls (.865) that have been released since the LSU program was reinstated in 1997. The Tigers have also been ranked in the top 10 for 89 total weeks. Since ESPN began its softball poll on Feb. 25, 2003, LSU has been ranked in 71 of the 80 polls (.888). The Tigers have now been ranked in the top 10 for 40 total weeks.
The undefeated Crimson Tide took over the No.1 position after previous No. 1 Arizona dropped three of its first five games. It marks the second time an SEC has been ranked No. 1 in both polls, after Tennessee accomplished the feat previously. Northwestern, which LSU will face this weekend, comes in at No. 2 in the NFCA poll and No. 3 in the ESPN poll, while Texas A&M sits at No. 3 and 4. Arizona State is ranked No. 4 and No. 2, while Tennessee is No. 5 in one poll and UCLA is fifth in the other respectively.
Rounding out the top 10 in the NFCA/USA Today poll are Tennessee at No. 5, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona and Baylor. The remainder of the top 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll includes Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona.
The SEC leads all conferences with six ranked teams, followed by the Pac-10 with five and the Big 12 with four. The Southeastern Conference also leads in teams ranked in the top 10 in both polls, boasting five teams ranked in the top 10, while the Pac-10 has three ranked in the top 10 in one poll and the Big 12 has three ranked in the top 10 in the other poll.
The Tigers will face the Lady Lions on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tiger Park. LSU will then travel to the prestigious Palm Springs Classic where the Tigers will face nationally ranked teams Northwestern, Arizona and Cal State Fullerton in the three-day round robin tournament.
NFCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll
Rank Team Record Points
1. Alabama (22) 10-0 688
2. Northwestern (1) 4-0 641
3. Texas A&M (4) 9-2 622
4. Arizona State (1) 10-1 614
5. Tennessee 8-1 584
6. LSU 6-0 530
7. Florida 13-0 501
8. Oklahoma 9-2 473
9. Arizona 2-3 472
10. Baylor 4-0 470
11. UCLA 8-2 437
12. Michigan 7-1 430
13. Stanford 10-0 395
14. Hawai’i 5-1 289
15. Mississippi State 11-0 264
16. Houston 9-0 263
17. DePaul 7-4 185
18. Ohio State 8-2 179
19. Georgia 9-2 171
20. Louisiana-Lafayette 3-0 162
21. UNLV 8-1-1 124
22. Washington 4-4-1 116
23. Cal State Fullerton 4-3-1 95
24. Virginia Tech 6-3 84
25. Texas 5-2-1 82
Others Receiving Votes: San Diego State 51, North Carolina 33, Fresno State 24, Southern Illinois 22, Louisville 15, Maryland 13, South Florida 13, Illinois 11, Missouri 8, BYU 6, Oregon State 6, Creighton 3, Colorado State 3, Hofstra 3, Kansas 3, Southeastern Louisiana 3, Nevada 3, Iowa 1, Georgia State 1, Western Kentucky 1, California 1
ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
Rank Team Record Points
1. Alabama (10) 10-0 477
2. Arizona State (3) 10-1 468
3. Northwestern (4) 4-0 463
4. Texas A&M (2) 9-2 446
5 UCLA 8-2 372
6 Oklahoma 9-2 369
T7. LSU 6-0 359
T7. Tennessee 8-1 359
9. Florida 13-0 349
10. Arizona (1) 2-3 344
11. Michigan 7-1 303
12. Stanford 10-0 299
13. Baylor 3-1 272
14. Hawaii 5-1 215
15. Mississippi State 11-0 210
16. UL-Lafayette 3-0 193
17. DePaul 7-4 132
T18. Georgia 9-2 109
T18. UNLV 9-2 109
20. Houston 9-0 108
21. Ohio State 8-2 88
22. Virginia Tech 6-3 70
23. Washington 4-4-1 51
24. Cal State Fullerton 4-3-1 50
25. San Diego State 9-1 46
Others receiving votes: North Carolina 41, Fresno State 38, Texas 38, Missouri 32, Southern Illinois 19, South Florida 16, Nevada 12, Illinois 11, Maryland 7, Colorado State 5, Western Kentucky 5, Georgia Tech 3, Kansas 3, BYU 2, Long Beach State 2, UMass 2, Purdue 2 and Arkansas 1.