BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 19th-ranked LSU softball team was picked to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference in a vote by the league’s head coaches the conference announced Thursday morning.
Points for the annual preseason poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 basis, and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
LSU is coming off of a 38-24 campaign in 2014, that saw the team finish in a tie for sixth place at the end of the regular season with a 13-11 league mark, making it to the semifinals of the SEC tournament and the final of the NCAA Tucson Regional in Arizona for the program’s record ninth-straight postseason appearance.
The Tigers return 13 letterwinners to the roster in 2015, led by All-American standouts A.J. Andrews and Sahvanna Jaquish, along with NFCA All-South Region picks Bianka Bell and Baylee Corbello. On Wednesday, Bell was named to USA Softball’s Top 50 Watch List for the 2015 Player of the Year Award, which identifies some of the top collegiate softball players in the country in Division I.
Defending national champion Florida was picked to with the 2015 regular season SEC title, earning 11 of a possible 13 first-place votes. Alabama, the national runners-up was picked to finish second, while Kentucky earned one vote and was tabbed third. Georgia earned the final vote, finishing behind LSU in the fifth spot.
Nine of the 13 SEC softball teams appear among the nation’s top-25 in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll.
LSU opens the season on Friday, Feb. 6, hosting the Memphis Tigers at 4 p.m. at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge. LSU hosts Memphis, Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State and NC State for the Tiger Classic that weekend.
Season tickets for the 2015 LSU softball season are currently on sale for $75, as the Tigers will play 35 games in Tiger Park in the upcoming year. For more information on purchasing season tickets, visit LSUTix.net or call (225) 578-2184.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusb on Instagram.
2015 SEC Preseason Poll (First Place Votes in Parenthesis)
Place School Points
1. Florida (11) 143
2. Alabama 120
3. Kentucky (1) 115
4. LSU 103
5. Georgia (1) 102
6. Missouri 98
7. Auburn 85
8. Tennessee 76
9. Texas A&M 48
10. South Carolina 46
11. Mississippi State 42
12. Arkansas 21
13. Ole Miss 15