BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU is ranked No. 15 in the 2011 Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll released Monday.
The Tigers are one of six Southeastern Conference teams appearing in the Top 40, along with No. 2 Florida, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 25 Auburn and No. 32 Arkansas. Cal State Fullerton, another LSU opponent this season, is No. 12 in the ranking.
TCU, which finished third at the 2010 College World Series is No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball’s poll.
LSU opens the 2011 season at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 18 versus Wake Forest in Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers, who captured the 2009 College World Series title, are seeking their third CWS appearance in the past four seasons.
LSU completed its five-week fall practice session in November, and the Tigers will begin preseason workouts in January.
“I thought our pitching was excellent throughout the fall intrasquad games,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We have several talented young arms, and they made a lot of progress. It’s also evident that we have a very athletic team that plays good defense. We’re excited about the potential of our new players with the group of veterans back from last season. We can’t wait for the 2011 season opener to get here.”
The LSU roster includes 17 lettermen from the 2010 club, including eight position players with starting experience and eight pitchers that recorded innings last season.
The LSU veterans are complemented by a talented class of 18 newcomers, including seven players that were selected in the 2010 Major League Draft. The class was voted No. 1 in the nation in September in the annual Collegiate Baseball recruiting ranking.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. I Preseason Poll
(As of Dec. 20, 2010)
Rank School (’10 Final Record)
1. Texas Christian (54-14)
2. Florida (47-17)
3. UCLA (51-17)
4. Clemson (45-25)
5. Vanderbilt (46-20)
6. Oklahoma (50-18)
7. Texas (50-13)
8. Texas A&M (43-21-1)
9. Oregon (40-24)
10. Stanford (31-25)
11. Arizona St. (52-10)
12. Cal St. Fullerton (46-18)
13. Florida St. (48-20)
14. South Carolina (54-16)
15. LSU (41-22)
16. Connecticut (48-16)
17. Virginia (51-14)
18. Miami, Fla. (43-20)
19. Georgia Tech. (47-15)
20. Louisville (50-14)
21. Rice (40-23)
22. Arizona (34-24)
23. Wichita St. (41-19)
24. Coastal Carolina (55-10)
25. Auburn (43-21)
26. St. John’s (43-20)
27. North Carolina (38-32)
28. San Diego (37-22)
29. Fresno St. (38-25)
30. Pittsburgh (38-18)
31. Washington St. (37-22)
32. Arkansas (43-21)
33. California (29-25)
34. U.C. Irvine (39-21)
35. College of Charleston (44-19)
36. Florida Atlantic (37-24)
37. Kansas St. (37-22)
38. Hawaii (35-28)
39. Baylor (36-24)
40. Kent St. (39-25)
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Florida International, U.C. Riverside, N.C.
State, Oregon St., Mississippi, Kentucky, Southern California, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi St., Oklahoma St., Missouri, South Florida, Nebraska, Cal Poly, Long Beach St., U.C. Santa Barbara, Florida Gulf Coast, Liberty, Minnesota, Michigan, James Madison, Southern Mississippi, East Carolina, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Bethune-Cookman, Illinois St., San Diego St., Tennessee Tech., The Citadel, Texas St., Northwestern St., Oral Roberts, Louisiana Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Lamar, Portland, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Nevada, New Mexico St., San Jose St., Charlotte, Mercer, East Tennessee St., Jacksonville, Georgia St., Tulane, Utah Valley St., New Mexico, Stony Brook, Iowa, Wisc.-Milwaukee, Canisius, Bryant, Jacksonville St., Dallas Baptist, Le Moyne.