BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU is ranked No. 5 in the Perfect Game poll released Wednesday, marking the Tigers’ third Top 10 designation of the 2016 preseason. LSU is No. 7 in both the Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball.com preseason polls.
In addition, Perfect Game named LSU sophomore pitcher Alex Lange a first-team preseason All-American, and junior outfielder Jake Fraley received third-team preseason All-America recognition.
LSU is one of four Southeastern Conference teams appearing in the Perfect Game 2016 preseason Top 10, along with No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Vanderbilt.
Other SEC squads appearing in the Top 25 are No. 15 Missouri and No. 17 Mississippi State. One of LSU’s non-conference opponents, Notre Dame, is No. 24 in the poll.
The Tigers will begin preseason practice on Friday, January 29, and LSU opens the 2016 season at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 19 versus Cincinnati in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
LSU’s pitching staff will be led by Lange, who posted a 12-0 record in 2015 with a 1.97 ERA in 114 innings. In 17 starts, he recorded 131 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .212 cumulative batting average.
Lange, a native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., was voted the 2015 National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year, and he received first-team All-America and first-team All-SEC recognition.
Fraley, the only returning starter from LSU’s 2015 everyday lineup, hit .307 last season with 11 doubles, five triples, two homers and 35 RBI. He was No. 6 in the SEC in stolen bases with 23 steals in 29 attempts.
Fraley, a product of Middletown, Del., was LSU’s leading hitter in its eight NCAA Tournament games last season, batting .387 (12-for-31) with two doubles, one triple, one homer, five RBI, seven runs and four steals.
Perfect Game Preseason Top 25
Rank, Team, 2015 Record, 2015 Final Ranking
1, Florida, 52-18, 3
2, Louisville, 47-18, 8
3, Texas A&M, 50-14, 12
4, Vanderbilt, 51-21, 2
5, LSU, 54-12, 4
6, Oregon State, 39-19-1, 18
7, Oklahoma State, 38-20, 20
8, California, 36-21, NR
9, Virginia, 44-24, 1
10, UL-Lafayette, 42-23, 24
11, Miami, 50-17, 6
12, Oregon, 38-25, NR
13, NC State, 36-23, NR
14, UCLA, 45-16, 9
15, Missouri, 30-28, NR
16, Houston, 43-20, 17
17, Mississippi State, 24-30, NR
18, TCU, 51-15, 5
19, Oklahoma, 34-27, NR
20, Florida State, 44-21, 13
21, Coastal Carolina, 39-20, NR
22, North Carolina, 34-24, NR
23, Michigan, 39-25, NR
24, Notre Dame, 37-23, NR
25, Texas Tech, 31-24, NR