LSU No. 5 in Collegiate Baseball Recruiting Rankings

Tigers in Top 10 for 10th Time in 11 Years

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU is No. 5 in the 2017 Collegiate Baseball magazine recruiting rankings released on Wednesday, marking the 10th time in 11 years the Tigers are in the Top 10 of the survey.

LSU also has finished in the Top 5 of the recruiting polls six times in the past 11 seasons. The Tigers were No. 1 in the recruiting rankings in 2007, 2010 and 2014; No. 3 in 2009; No. 4 in 2012; No. 7 in 2011, 2015 and 2016; and No. 10 in 2013.

The 18-man recruiting class includes 11 pitchers and seven position players. The new Tigers have engaged in conditioning drills and individual workouts with the returning LSU players since early September, and the team will hold its first full-squad workout of the fall practice session on Sunday, October 1.

The Tigers’ talented group of newcomers contains four players that were selected in the 2017 MLB Draft – right-handed pitcher AJ Labas, right-handed pitcher Cameron Sanders, outfielder/left-handed pitcher Daniel Cabrera and right-handed pitcher Nick Storz.

“The rankings are a testament to the relentless efforts of our recruiting coordinator, Nolan Cain, and our entire staff,” said 12th-year LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “We are committed to excellence at LSU, and the players that join our program know that much will be demanded of them. At the same time, they know they will be given an opportunity to compete for significant positions in our lineup or on the mound as soon as they arrive on campus. Our upcoming fall practice period will be an important time to evaluate what kind of impact this recruiting class can have upon our 2018 season.”

LSU enjoyed a tremendous 2017 season, finishing as the national runners-up at the College World Series while posting a 52-20 final record. The Tigers also won five titles during the year – SEC regular-season, SEC Western Division, SEC Tournament, NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional.

The Tigers became last season one of only two teams in NCAA history to earn six consecutive NCAA Tournament National Seeds.

The 2018 season opens on February 16 when the Tigers play host to Notre Dame in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

Vanderbilt is No. 1 in the 2017 Collegiate Baseball recruiting survey, followed by Florida, South Carolina, Arizona State, LSU, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Kentucky and Michigan.

2017 NCAA Div. I Recruiting Results
By Collegiate Baseball
1. Vanderbilt
2. Florida
3. South Carolina
4. Arizona St.
5. LSU
6. Arkansas
7. Oklahoma St.
8. Auburn
9. Kentucky
10. Michigan
11. Clemson
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Florida St.
15. Georgia Tech
16. Central Florida
17. Florida International
18. UCLA
19. UC Santa Barbara
20. Texas Christian
21. Texas A&M
22. North Carolina
23. Louisville
24. Mississippi St.
25. South Alabama
26. Virginia
27. Cal St. Fullerton
28. Texas
29. Southern California
30. Coastal Carolina
31. Arizona
32. Stanford
33. San Diego St.
34. UC Riverside
35. Oregon
36. Oregon St.
37. New Mexico St.
38. East Carolina
39. Maryland
40. Cal St. Northridge

Other Top Recruiting Classes: Minnesota, San Diego, Texas Tech., Rice, UNC Wilmington, Memphis, Nevada, Mississippi, Baylor, Iowa, Louisiana-Lafayette, Washington, Missouri St., Hawaii, California, Dallas Baptist, Utah, Kansas, Winthrop, Duke, Southern Mississippi, Indiana, Cal Poly, Houston, UC Irvine, Middle Tennessee St., N.C. State, Ohio St., Kennesaw St., Georgia Southern, Sam Houston St., Alabama, Georgia, Stetson, Washington St., Wake Forest, Tulane, Marshall, Oral Roberts, St. Mary’s, Florida Gulf Coast, Creighton, Fresno St., Gonzaga, Bryant, Loyola Marymount, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Butler, Western Kentucky, Tennessee, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Florida Atlantic, Wichita St., Pepperdine, Georgia Southern, Kent St., Central Michigan, Ball St., Long Beach St., Western Michigan, Texas St., Nebraska, College of Charleston, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Stony Brook, Connecticut, Brigham Young, Grand Canyon, Seattle.