Lindsay Leftwich Season 2025
Lindsay Leftwich embarks on her 12th season as an assistant coach at LSU in 2022. She is involved with all aspects of the program which include defense, hitting, recruiting, video scouting and camps.
The former Northwestern State standout has been with Beth Torina for every step of her head coaching career which includes LSU’s run to the 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017 Women’s College World Series.
In 2022, LSU made its 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance behind a 34-23 record. The Tigers finished the season with a .963 fielding percentage and had three players who concluded the season with a perfect fielding percentage with 85 or more chances, including Ciara Briggs, Cait Calland and Raeleen Gutierrez. Briggs, a centerfielder, became the first LSU Tiger to win a Gold Glove Award at the collegiate level with 82 putouts, seven assists and was involved in one double play. Shortstop Taylor Pleasants led the Tigers with 106 assists and was involved in a team-high 12 double plays. Both Briggs and Pleasants were NFCA South All-Region and All-SEC selections.
The Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament for the 15th consecutive year after winning the Baton Regional for the fifth-straight year. The Tigers finished the year ranked in the Top 15 nationally and logged an overall 35-22 record. Offensively LSU had a .269 batting average that featured three players hitting over .300, including Aliyah Andrews (.365), Ciara Briggs (.339) and Taylor Pleasants (.316). Defensively, the Tigers had a .964 fielding percentage and turned 22 double plays which is tied for the fourth-most in a season in the program’s record book. Andrews and Pleasants were honored as NFCA All-Americans, and Pleasants was also tabbed SEC Newcomer of the Year. Andrews led the team with a .365 batting average, 70 hits, 46 runs and 27 stolen bases (No. 29 in the NCAA). Andrews capped her career with 145 career stolen bases, ranking No. 2 in program history behind Dee Douglas (155, 1998-2001). Pleasants led the team with 13 home runs and 49 RBI, and defensively set the standard with 120 assists and was involved in 12 double plays. Briggs joined Pleasants on the All-SEC Newcomer Team, while Shelbi Sunseri accompanied Andrews on the All-SEC Defensive Team to round out the 2021 SEC postseason awards.
The 2020 season was shortened due to the pandemic but the Tigers’ offense was strong for 24 games, finishing with a .344 team batting average. Georgia Clark led the Tigers with a .425 average at the plate and led the team in home runs with four. Aliyah Andrews and Morgan Cummins also finished with a .400 or above average. Cummins also hit four home runs on the season. The Tigers scored 172 runs through 24 games, had a slugging percentage of .543 and an on-base percentage of .444. A total of 13 players ended the shortened season hitting .328 or above.
The Tigers saw a big increase in batting average in 2019 as they posted a .303 mark to finish the year, which was 43 points high than 2018. The Tigers broke the single-season home run record, finishing the year with a total of 74 home runs. Shelbi Sunseri and Shemiah Sanchez combined for 34 home runs, each finishing the season with 17 apiece. The Tigers scored a total of 73 runs through the first six games of the year, which was the most scored in any six-game stretch in program history. Sunseri and Amanda Sanchez earned NFCA All-American honors, while Shemiah Sanchez picked up First Team All-SEC honors.
In 2017, LSU made a third-consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance, Leftwich’s fourth trip to Oklahoma City in her coaching career. For the third-straight season, the Tigers featured at least one player in double-digit home runs. The Tigers had the second-most hits in the conference, including Bailey Landry with 92 total hits on the year which was also second-best in the SEC.
Leftwich helped three players finished with a batting average of over .300, including Landry hitting a team-high .402 in the 70 games played. She finished with 21 extra-base hits on the season. The Tigers also had four players with a .400 slugging percentage or higher. Sahvanna Jaquish led the team in slugging percentage (.514), RBI (61) and in walks (62). Her 61 RBIs was third among the league.
In 2016, Leftwich helped five players finish the season hitting over .300 on the season as LSU finished with the fourth most total hits ever, second most runs scored and second most RBIs in a single season. LSU also earned a program-record 315 walks on the year. The Tigers finished with a team on-base percentage of .423, which ranked second all-time in program history, and a .475 slugging percentage, which is tied for third-highest at LSU. For the second consecutive season, the Tigers featured multiple hitters with double-digit home runs.
The team set multiple school and SEC records in a 30-8 victory against Louisiana Tech. The line for the night showed LSU with 30 runs scored on 27 hits, including seven home runs and 27 RBIs. The runs scored and home runs in the game tied SEC records, while the 27 hits was also a league record. The Tigers scored 15 runs in the 6th inning, a program record, and collected a program-record 56 total bases during the contest.
In 2015, LSU produced a second SEC All-Defensive Team member in first baseman Sandra Simmons. Simmons produced a fielding percentage of .970, while catcher Kellsi Kloss led all LSU players with a .988 mark behind the plate for the Tigers. Kloss was named First Team All-SEC and was the first LSU catcher in program history to earn a spot on the All-SEC First Team.
The 2015 Tigers set five team hitting statistical records on the way to Leftwich’s second trip to the Women’s College World Series. LSU finished the season setting a new team record with a .335 batting average, .523 slugging percentage and .425 on-base percentage, driving in a record 392 RBIs and scoring 428 times. The squad finished two homers shy of tying the record set in 2014 with 63. For the second time in program history, a trio of players recorded 10+ home runs.
In 2014 the team produced its highest fielding percentage under Leftwich, finishing in the top five in the league with a .970 mark. Under her watch, six different players posted defensive averages above led by Sandra Simons who led the team with a .994 average with 309 putouts.
The 2014 team earned the second highest team batting average in program history at .314, while the squad’s 65 home runs were the most in a single year in program history. Sahvanna Jaquish hit 17 home runs, a single season program record, on her way to becoming the 16th NFCA All-American in program history.
During the 2013 season, LSU improved its fielding percentage to a .968 ratio to rank fourth on the SEC leaderboard. Sandra Simmons tallied 306 putouts, the sixth-most by a position player in program history. She also amassed a .991 fielding clip which sits in fifth place on LSU’s all-time list. The Tigers had five players with at least a .300 batting average which included All-SEC honorees A.J. Andrews (first team), Bianka Bell (second team) and Jacee Blades (second team). Andrews was the 15th player in program history to notch NFCA All-America status, while Bell garnered the SEC’s Freshman of the Year award after her 12 homers tied for third-most in program history for a single season.
The Tigers came away with a .964 team fielding percentage in 2012, the fourth-best defensive clip in the SEC. Ashley Langoni totaled 74 putouts and four assists from her left field post as an All-SEC Defensive Team pick. LSU’s catching tandem of Morgan Russell and Lauren Houston gunned down a combined 21 base runners attempting to steal. The total equaled the program’s second-highest single season mark.
Leftwich’s first trip to the Women’s College World Series came with the Tigers during the 2012 season. Ashley Langoni joined former All-American Leslie Klein (2006) and Rachel Mitchell (2008) as the only players to capture the program’s triple crown during a single season.
Before coming to LSU, Leftwich spent four seasons as Torina’s top assistant at Florida International. The Golden Panthers collected 14 All-Sun Belt selections sparked by a sweep of the league’s 2010 postseason awards where Kasey Barrett picked up the SBC’s Pitcher of the Year, Ashley McClain notched SBC Player of the Year and Brie Rojas secured SBC Freshman of the Year. McClain also came away with National Fastpitch Coaches Association [NFCA] All-South Region First-Team honors in 2010 and 2011.
FIU posted a 38-21 record and claimed the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament bid and first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in 2010. The Golden Panthers improved their win total during three of Leftwich’s four seasons, and she aided Torina to a pair of SBC Coach of the Year awards in 2008 and 2010.
Prior to FIU, Leftwich served as a graduate assistant at New Mexico. She was in charge of softball operations and assisted with daily coaching duties during the 2007 season. In 2006, Leftwich worked as the pitching coach at Wichita State where she helped the Shockers compile a 35-23 record.
Leftwich, a native of Houston, Texas, opened her coaching career as a student assistant at Northwestern State. She aided in coaching the offense and catchers in addition to playing an instrumental role in recruiting, fundraising, alumni relations and camps.
Leftwich enjoyed a three-year playing career with the Demons highlighted by NFCA All-Southeast Region, All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana Second-Team selections in 2002.
NSU racked up a program-record 45 victories en route to a NCAA Tournament berth during the 2002 campaign. Leftwich drove home 44 RBIs, which are currently tied for third-most in program history for a single season, while her 123 assists on the infield paced the Southland Conference.
During her career, Leftwich added five Southland Conference along with a pair of Louisiana Sports Writers Association [LSWA] Hitter of the Week awards. She finished her career ranked fifth in both home runs and RBIs at NSU after a back injury held her out of her senior season.
An excellent student-athlete, Leftwich garnered numerous academic accolades, including Verizon Academic All-District Team recognition in 2002 and 2004 and NFCA Scholar Athlete recognition from 2001-04. In 2005, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in art and substance abuse prevention.