BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU freshman Derek Curiel is rated No. 55 on the D1Baseball.com list of the Top 100 Outfielders in the nation. Curiel, a native of West Covina, Calif., is the highest-ranked freshman on the D1 Baseball outfielders list.
Curiel, a two-time member of the 18U USA National Team, was last month named the SEC Preseason Freshman of the Year by D1 Baseball.
He batted .314 with 33 hits – including 10 doubles – 21 RBI and 19 stolen bases in his senior year at Orange Lutheran High School. He was ranked as the No. 10 overall high school player in the country and as the second-best high school player in the state of California by Perfect Game.
Curiel hit .388 with a .522 on-base percentage this fall in LSU’s exhibition games and intra-squad scrimmages.
Last month, Perfect Game ranked Curiel No. 1 in its list of the Top 75 Freshmen for the 2025 season. Eight LSU freshmen were included on the list, including Curiel, right-handed pitcher William Schmidt (No. 4), catcher Cade Arrambide (No. 15); right-handed pitcher Casan Evans (No. 26); first baseman Ryan Costello (No. 32); right-handed pitcher Mavrick Rizy (No. 36); left-handed pitcher Cooper Williams (No. 67); and infielder Mikey Ryan (No. 69).
LSU, ranked No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 3 by D1 Baseball in preseason polls, opens the season at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, February 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.