BATON ROUGE — LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri met with the 2010 Tigers for the first time on Monday as the players returned to campus for the first day of fall semester classes.
The defending NCAA champions attended morning and early-afternoon classes before meeting with the coaching staff in Alex Box Stadium.
“Today we began the process of molding a new team,” said Mainieri, who directed LSU to the 2009 national title in June with a College World Series Finals win over Texas. “This is the time where we educate our players about the obligations they have both on the field and in the classroom. We place them into a frame of mind where they understand the commitment involved in being a part of the LSU program.”
Beginning next week, the Tigers will engage in strength and conditioning drills and participate in individual workouts on the field. LSU will conduct its full-squad fall practice session from October 13 through November 20.
The 2010 season begins on February 19, when the Tigers play host to Centenary in Alex Box Stadium.
LSU welcomes back 17 players that made significant contributions to the 2009 national championship drive, including seven position players with starting experience and 10 pitchers that recorded innings last season.
Senior all-America outfielder Blake Dean leads a core of veterans that includes junior outfielder Leon Landry, junior catcher Micah Gibbs, sophomore outfielder Mikie Mahtook, sophomore infielder Tyler Hanover, sophomore shortstop Austin Nola and sophomore infielder Grant Dozar.
Two players that had part-time starting roles during the 2008 season ? senior infielder Matt Gaudet and sophomore outfielder Johnny Dishon ? are back on the Tigers’ active roster in 2010.
The pitching staff is led by junior all-America right-hander Anthony Ranaudo, who finished third in the nation last season with 159 strikeouts and was the winning pitcher in the deciding game of the CWS Finals.
Also returning is sophomore right-hander Matty Ott, the 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year who established the LSU single-season record for saves last season with 16.
Ranaudo and Ott are joined by a talented group of hurlers that includes senior right-hander Paul Bertuccini, junior right-handers Austin Ross, Daniel Bradshaw and Ben Alsup, junior left-hander Chad Jones, sophomore left-hander Chris Matulis and sophomore right-handers Shane Riedie and Spencer Mathews.
The LSU veterans are complemented by a talented class of 13 newcomers, including five players that have been selected in the Major League Draft.
“We’re preparing a new team to be successful,” said Mainieri, the 2009 National Coach of the Year. “I have all the confidence in the world that we’ve got the pieces in place to be able to have another outstanding club.”