BATON ROUGE — The fifth-ranked LSU softball team was ranked in the first NCAA Regional poll released Thursday, which lists the top 10 teams in each region alphabetically rather than numerically.
In addition to LSU, five teams from the Southeastern Conference were listed in the Central Region rankings including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina. Other teams ranked in the central region include DePaul, Houston, South Florida and Southern Miss.
The nation in broken down into eight regions: Central, East, Mideast, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific, South and West. Last year, LSU was ranked in every regional poll and finished the season ranked first in the Central Region.
The rankings will be released every two weeks throughout the season with the final rankings released on May 12. The rankings will be used to determine placement in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the regular season.
LSU will host SEC Eastern Division-leading Georgia in a three-game series at Tiger Park this weekend. The series begins with a doubleheader at 11 a.m. on Saturday and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m.