BATON ROUGE, La. – Four LSU softball student-athletes are listed on the annual D100 Player Rankings by D1Softball announced Thursday.
Infielder Taylor Pleasants is ranked No. 22, pitcher Sydney Berzon is No. 24, outfielder Ciara Briggs is No. 35, and infielder Danieca Coffey is ranked No. 77. Earlier in the week, the Tigers were ranked No. 17 in the D1Softball Top 25 Preseason Rankings.
The Tigers check in at No. 17 in the D1Softball Preseason Top 25 Rankings. #DealUsIn pic.twitter.com/iPtL3LVJT4
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) January 16, 2024
Despite battling a core injury throughout the 2023 season, Pleasants earned a spot on the NFCA South All-Region First Team for the second consecutive year, became a three-time All-SEC selection, and was on the SEC All-Defensive Team. In 55 starts, Pleasants batted .346 and led the team with a .562 slugging percentage, thanks to 56 hits and eight home runs. She also boasted a team-high 53 RBIs. Defensively, she paced the team with 118 assists, had 61 putouts, and was part of turning 15 double plays. Pleasants will enter the 2024 season ranked No. 5 in the LSU record book with 37 career home runs and a .597 career slugging percentage, No. 6 with 171 career RBIs, and No. 7 with 389 career assists.
Berzon became the program’s first NFCA All-American freshman pitcher since 2015 (Carley Hoover). She was also a 2023 All-SEC Second Team honoree. Berzon achieved a 14-8 record in the circle with a 1.91 ERA behind 127 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .209 batting average. Her 127 strikeouts ranked No. 10 among SEC pitchers. Last season, Berzon threw 11 complete games and had four shutouts, all in 143.0 innings pitched.
Briggs is the first back-to-back Gold Glove winner in softball history – collegiate or professionally (2022, 2023), and in LSU history, Briggs joins LSU baseball’s Zach Watson (2018, 2019) as the only two-time back-to-back Gold Glove winners. In the last two seasons combined, Briggs has no errors in 176 chances. In 2023, she had 83 putouts and four assists. At the plate, Briggs logged a .347 batting average, 68 hits, 24 RBI, 46 runs, two home runs (both grand slams), and 11 stolen bases. Briggs graced the 2023 NFCA South All-Region First Team, the All-SEC Second Team, and the 2023 SEC All-Defensive Team. Briggs will enter the 2024 season ranked No. 7 in the program’s record book with a career .356 batting average and .990 fielding percentage.
Coffey was placed on the 2023 NFCA South All-Region First Team as she led the Tigers with a .392 batting average and 74 hits. She also had a team-best .482 on-base percentage and 12 stolen bases. Coffey drove in 24 runs, scored 44 of her own, and had 11 extra-base hits, including two home runs last season. Coffey enters the 2024 season ranked No. 6 all-time in program history with a .430 career on-base percentage and No. 9 all-time with a .354 career batting average.
General admission season tickets and single-game tickets are now on sale for the 2024 season. To purchase your tickets, click here.
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