BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball program picked up No. 20 and No. 22 preseason national rankings according to the ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Top 25 polls announced Tuesday.
It marks the 86th time in the last 88 editions of the polls that LSU has been ranked going back to the 2006 season. The Tigers return 17 letterwinners from a squad that produced a 40-18 record and appeared in the program’s 13th NCAA Regional last season.
Brittany Mack, a 2011 NFCA All-American Third-Team and All-SEC First-Team honoree, along with Ashley Langoni enter the 2012 campaign in pursuit of cracking the program’s Top 5 in strikeouts and home runs, respectively. Mack needs 75 Ks, while Langoni is four long balls shy of reaching those impressive accolades.
LSU also returns Simone Heyward, who secured a 2011 All-SEC Freshman Team selection after she paced the Tigers with a .294 batting average and 23 stolen bases.
The Tigers are scheduled to play 20 games against Top 25 competition in 2012, including 10 contests versus five teams that appeared in the 2011 Women’s College World Series.
Joining LSU from the SEC among the Top 25 are No. 2/4Florida, No. 3/2 Alabama, No. 10/12 Georgia, No. 13/18 Kentucky and No. 14/9 Tennessee. Auburn is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Among conferences, the SEC is tied for second nationally with six Top 25 teams.
Non-conference ranked opponents on LSU’s 2012 docket include No. 4/3 California, No. 5/6 Oklahoma, No. 11/16 Oklahoma State and No. 15/16 Michigan. Georgia Tech is tabbed No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, while DePaul and Florida State are receiving votes in both polls.
LSU is 17 days away from opening the 2012 campaign and playing host to the Tiger Classic. The Tigers usher in the next chapter of their storied history under first-year coach Beth Torina on February 10 versus Penn State. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. from Tiger Park. LSU also has match-ups slated against No. 15/16 Michigan and Louisiana Tech on opening weekend.
Fans can follow LSU softball using social media at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsu_softball on Twitter. Season tickets can be purchased for $75 at www.LSUtix.net for an impressive home schedule that features 2011 NCAA Tournament participants RV/RV Florida State, RV/No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 15/16 Michigan and Penn State along with electrifying SEC series versus Arkansas, NR/RV Auburn, No. 10/12 Georgia, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Preseason Poll
Rank, Team (First Place Votes), 2011 Record, Points, Final 2011 Ranking
1, Arizona State (30), 60-6, 750, 1
2, Florida, 56-13, 690, 2
3, Alabama, 53-11, 675, 3
4, California, 45-13, 651, 5
5, Oklahoma, 43-19, 603, 7
6, Missouri, 53-10, 594, 6
7, Baylor, 47-15, 567, 4
8, Arizona, 43-18, 515, 11
9, Stanford, 42-17, 467, 10
10, Georgia, 51-14, 455, 9
11, Oklahoma State, 42-20, 444, 8
12, Washington, 37-16, 402, 12
13, Kentucky, 40-16, 360, 13
14, Tennessee, 49-12, 348, 18
15, Michigan, 53-6, 324, 17
16, Oregon, 42-16, 309, 15
17, Texas A&M, 44-15, 297, 14
18, Texas, 46-10, 278, 20
19, UCLA, 36-19, 247, 19
20, Houston, 44-18, 185, 16
21, Nebraska, 41-14, 173, 21
22, LSU, 40-18, 119, 22
23, Louisiana-Lafayette, 51-11, 95, 23
24, Tulsa, 46-15, 45, 24
25, Louisville, 38-20, 32, RV
Dropped Out: No. 25 DePaul
Others Receiving Votes: DePaul 23, Syracuse 18, Georgia Tech 17, Notre Dame 12, Fresno State 10, East Carolina 8, Hawai’i 7, Hofstra 7, San Diego State 6, North Carolina 5, Texas Tech 5, Florida State 2, Massachusetts 2, BYU 1, Fordham 1 and New Mexico State 1.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Preseason Poll
Rank, Team (First Place Votes), 2011 Record, Points, Final 2011 Ranking
1, Arizona State (19), 60-6, 497, 1
2, Alabama, 53-11, 438, 3
3, California, 45-13, 425, 5
4, Florida (1), 56-13, 420, 2
5, Missouri, 53-10, 411, 6
6, Oklahoma, 43-19, 408, 7
7, Baylor, 47-15, 372, 4
8, Arizona, 43-18, 331, 11
9, Tennessee, 49-12, 316, 16
10, Stanford, 42-17, 314, 10
11, Oregon, 42-16, 252, 14
12, Georgia, 51-14, 239, 9
13, UCLA, 36-19, 235, 16
14, Washington, 37-16, 232, 15
15, Texas A&M, 44-15, 228, 13
t16, Michigan, 53-6, 211, 17
t16, Oklahoma State, 42-20, 211, 8
18, Kentucky, 40-16, 203, 12
19, Texas, 46-10, 195, 19
t20, LSU, 40-18, 106, 22
t20, Nebraska, 41-14, 106, 21
22, Houston, 44-18, 72, 18
23, Georgia Tech, 45-12, 62, 24
24, Louisiana-Lafayette, 51-11, 52, 25
25, Notre Dame, 46-11, 40, 23
Others receiving votes: Syracuse 37, Ohio State 18, Tulsa 15, BYU 8, North Carolina 8, DePaul 6, San Diego State 6, Texas Tech 6, Auburn 3, Fresno State 3, South Florida 3, Florida State 2, Lipscomb 2, Louisville 2, Northwestern 2, Fordham 1, Massachusetts 1 and UNLV 1.