BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 16/13 LSU opens the 2026 season with the Tiger Classic on Feb. 5-8 at Tiger Park.
The Tigers’ season opener will be against NC State at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Feb. 5, before playing a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 6, versus Nevada (3 p.m. CT) and NC State (5:30 p.m. CT). LSU will take on Nevada for the second time at 5:30 p.m. CT on Feb. 7, and concludes the weekend on Sunday, Feb. 8, against Illinois (12:30 p.m. CT) and Lamar (3 p.m. CT).
Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard will call each LSU game on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, while Patrick Wright will join Girouard for Friday’s doubleheader. All LSU games will be on SEC Network +, and non-LSU contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
LSU is 25-4 in home openers since 1997 and has a 14-4 record against the 2026 Tiger Classic tournament field. The Tigers are 6-1 against NC State, 5-3 versus Illinois, 2-0 versus Lamar, and 1-0 against Nevada.
LSU is picked to finish seventh in the 2026 SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, with catcher Maci Bergeron and utility player Tori Edwards earning Preseason All-SEC honors after both were named 2025 NFCA All-Americans.
LSU returns 12 players from the 2025 roster, including seven starters, and welcomes 11 newcomers, including five transfers in pitcher Cece Cellura (San Diego State), infielder Kylee Edwards (Mississippi State), infielder Ally Hutchins (Kentucky), utility player Char Lorenz (Louisville) and pitcher Paytn Monticelli (Oklahoma/Wisconsin).
The opening weekend will also serve as a homecoming for some, as three of the head coaches coming to Baton Rouge this weekend have ties to the program: Victoria Hayward (Nevada), Lindsay Leftwich (NC State) and Tyra Perry (Illinois).
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