Mainieri formally welcomes 16 new players to baseball squad for 2016 season

Coach Paul Mainieri formally announced Thursday LSU’s 16-man signing class, which features 10 position players, five pitchers and one two-way player.
Mainieri, who directed the 2015 Tigers to the SEC title and a berth in the College World Series, said that members of the incoming class will contend immediately for playing time as LSU must replace eight of the nine starters from last season’s batting order.
“This is obviously an extremely important recruiting class for us, having lost eight of our nine everyday starters,” Mainieri, the 2015 National Coach of the Year, said in a news release. “We also lost three seniors and 11 players total, so we needed a large class. We needed to bring in a group of guys who could compete for everyday positions, as well as guys who could add depth to our pitching staff. I think we may have some difference-makers in the guys that have joined our team.”
The new players and the veteran members of the LSU squad begin fall semester classes Aug. 24, and will engage in a four-week period of conditioning drills and individual workouts.
LSU begins its six-week, full-squad fall practice session Sept. 27, and the 2016 season starts Feb. 19, when the Tigers play host to Cincinnati in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
“With guys like (returning starting pitchers) Alex Lange and Jared Poche’, along with our other veterans and new players, we have a very formidable pitching staff going into 2016. The main focus this fall is going to be putting together a lineup. With (outfielder) Jake Fraley being the only position player returning to the starting lineup from 2015, we have our work cut out for us.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited over a fall practice,” Mainieri said. “There are so many questions marks and so much teaching because of the new players. To see them compete against each other and see how the pieces fit together will be a lot of fun.”
Mainieri, who is entering his 34th season of collegiate coaching and his 10th at LSU, said he expects the 2016 Fighting Tiger squad to embody the work ethic of its predecessors. LSU is the only team to earn an NCAA Tournament National Seed in each of the past four seasons, and the Tigers have a nation’s-best 204 wins since 2012.
“We believe in hard work, I can tell you that,” Mainieri said. “The month of September, we’ll do a lot of strength training and conditioning, and we’ll challenge the players. To play at this level at LSU with the expectations of what we have for our program, you have to have committed players. They have to be all in. Everybody has to be pulling on the same end of the rope, and it means they make some sacrifices, and they’re certainly going to work hard. There’s going to be a lot of competition, which I think is good. I think it brings out the best in you.”