LSU ranked 3rd in preseason polls

After finishing the season ranked in the top five following the program’s fourth berth in the Women’s College World Series, the LSU softball team will begin 2016 where they left off in 2015 as the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN/USA Softball Division I Preseason Polls have the Tigers ranked third place.
The Tigers, who finished the year ranked fourth in both polls after going 52-14 and earning a third-place finish in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the Women’s College World Series, return 16 letter winners and nine starters.
LSU is no stranger to beginning the season in the top 10 in both polls, as this is the 10th time in team history the Tigers have been slotted there by the NFCA and the fifth time being selected by USA Softball.
In the NFCA poll, Florida earned 26 first-place votes to open the year at No. 1, while Michigan also earned two first-place votes and is just ahead of LSU at No. 2, with 755 points to the Tigers’ 711. SEC members Auburn and Alabama sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with one first-place vote each.
Five conference teams are in the top 10 alone, and eight are ranked in the opening poll.
In the other poll, LSU earned 446 points with two first-place votes as the Gators and Wolverines also were ranked first and second. The top three teams were the only ones to receive first-place votes, as Oregon is the next highest without one in fourth, followed by Alabama in fifth.
The same five teams ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA poll dot the USA Softball poll in Florida, LSU, Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee, with nine total SEC teams making the initial list.
LSU opens the 2016 season with the Tiger Classic beginning Feb. 12, at Tiger Park. The team opens the regular season at 5 p.m. with the Ohio State Buckeyes in Baton Rouge.