BATON ROUGE – The freshman class for the 2016 LSU gymnastics team has earned the distinction as the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation CollegeGymFans.com announced Monday.
It is the first time the Tigers have received the No. 1 ranking for a recruiting class. This dynamic group includes Lexie Priessman, Sarah Finnegan, McKenna Kelley, Julianna Cannamela and Kaitlyn Szafranski.
“To have the No. 1 recruiting class is definitely a positive reflection on the quality of our program, and I think it’s a great honor,” head coach D-D Breaux said. “As a coaching staff we are really excited, from Ashleigh Clare-Kearney in choreography, to what Bob Moore is doing with them on vaulting to Jay Clark and I in the gym as well.
“The freshman class is very talented, and they are eager. What’s great is that we have a complement of fantastic sophomores, juniors and seniors that are really giving us good leadership for an outstanding freshmen class, so it makes for a great combination.”
Florida was ranked with the No. 2 recruiting class, followed by Alabama at No. 3, UCLA at No. 4 and Utah at No. 5.
“While this kind of recognition is always nice to have, so much is left to be seen in terms of how everyone’s freshmen pan out,” Clark said. “There’s a lot of gymnastics that has to take place before you can determine for sure who the real impact performers were. It’s always nice for our program to be recognized in any way that is positive, but we don’t lend a whole lot of credence to arbitrary polls and things of this nature.
“It does, however, speak to the state of our program and the fact that we are continuing to attract more and more of the top talent as we become more consistently successful at the top. With our new training facility nearing completion and our crowds approaching 13,000, the excitement and the buzz in this town for the LSU gymnastics program is at an all-time high. I do think this is allowing us to attract attention from kids who might not have otherwise considered LSU in the past. It’s a great time to be involved with this program here at LSU, and we are excited about the future, not only with this class but the many classes to come.”
CollegeGymFans.com’s ranking attempts to gauge the athletes at the start of the preseason and, to the degree possible, factors in preseason training reports and videos. Ultimately, they look for a set of impact athletes who can consistently score in the 9.85+ range on their events and be a potential standout on their team and help propel their teams toward success.
No. 5 LSU will open the 2016 season this week when the Tigers play host to No. 1 Oklahoma at 4 p.m. CT Saturday in the Maravich Center.
Tickets are on sale at www.LSUtix.net at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for youth ages 3-12. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184 or in person at the ticket office on the first floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building on campus.
CollegeGymFans.com Top Recruiting Classes of 2016
1. LSU
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. Utah
6. Oklahoma
7. Michigan
8. Georgia
9. Illinois
10. Boise State