HAMMOND, La. – With the first baseball games less than two months away Collegiate Baseball newspaper released its Pre-Season NCAA Division I Poll Tuesday, slotting Southeastern Louisiana as the No. 36-ranked team in the nation.
Coming off an NCAA Regional appearance and back-to-back 40-win seasons, head coach
Matt Riser's club rolls into 2017 with big expectations.
"It's always great to get some national recognition, but at the same time we haven't done anything yet," Riser said. "All of this is on paper which has never won anyone a championship. It shows the respect our program is beginning to build year in and year out. This is more credit to the past than anything else."
The Lions return six All-Conference players, including Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American / Southland Conference Freshman of the Year
Brennan Breaud, Southland Conference Relief Pitcher of the Year
Kade Granier and
Mac Sceroler, a 36th-round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm excited about doing that work with the group of guys we have this year," Riser said. "The core group of returners all need to take a step forward. They have a chance to be one of the most fun group of guys I've ever coached."
Southeastern plays 14 games, six of them at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, against teams ranked in the poll. The Lions open the season at home against No. 14-ranked UL Lafayette. No. 23-ranked Sam Houston State and No. 34-ranked Tulane also make trips to Hammond.
In addition to rematches with Tulane and UL Lafayette, Southeastern also matches up with No. 2-ranked LSU, No. 6-ranked Vanderbilt, and No. 27-ranked Rice on the road.
The Lions play another 17 games against teams drawing votes in the poll.
Season tickets for Southeastern's 29-game home slate in 2017 can be purchased for as little as $103 (general admission). Reserved seats are priced at $128 each and box seats are $279. A family plan that includes two adult and two youth (ages 3-12) general admission tickets is available for $206. Tax is included in all prices.
For more information on purchasing Southeastern baseball season tickets, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. The ticket office is closed for the holidays, but will re-open on Jan. 3, 2017.
Collegiate Baseball NCAA Div. I Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team |
2016 Record |
Points |
| 1 |
TCU |
49-18 |
496 |
| 2 |
LSU |
45-21 |
494 |
| 3 |
Florida |
52-16 |
491 |
| 4 |
South Carolina |
46-18 |
489 |
| 5 |
Oregon State |
35-19 |
485 |
| 6 |
Vanderbilt |
43-19 |
482 |
| 7 |
Arizona |
49-24 |
480 |
| 8 |
Miami (Fla.) |
50-14 |
478 |
| 9 |
Florida State |
41-22 |
475 |
| 10 |
Cal State Fullerton |
36-23 |
472 |
| 11 |
Louisville |
50-14 |
470 |
| 12 |
Clemson |
44-20 |
469 |
| 13 |
East Carolina |
38-23-1 |
465 |
| 14 |
UL Lafayette |
43-21 |
463 |
| 15 |
North Carolina |
34-21 |
460 |
| 16 |
Virginia |
38-22 |
458 |
| 17 |
Long Beach State |
38-22 |
456 |
| 18 |
U.C. Santa Barbara |
43-20-1 |
454 |
| 19 |
Coastal Carolina |
55-18 |
450 |
| 20 |
Texas A&M |
49-16 |
448 |
| 21 |
Washington |
33-23 |
445 |
| 22 |
Ole Miss |
43-19 |
443 |
| 23 |
Sam Houston State |
42-22 |
440 |
| 24 |
Stanford |
31-23 |
438 |
| 25 |
Arizona State |
36-23 |
435 |
| 26 |
Dallas Baptist |
44-19 |
432 |
| 27 |
Rice |
38-24 |
429 |
| 28 |
Oklahoma State |
43-22 |
426 |
| 29 |
Texas Tech |
47-20 |
424 |
| 30 |
Texas |
25-32 |
420 |
| 31 |
N.C. State |
38-22 |
417 |
| 32 |
Michigan |
36-21 |
415 |
| 33 |
Nebraska |
37-22 |
412 |
| 34 |
Tulane |
41-21 |
410 |
| 35 |
Houston |
36-23 |
407 |
| 36 |
Southeastern |
40-21 |
404 |
| 37 |
Gonzaga |
36-21 |
401 |
| 38 |
Georgia Tech |
38-25 |
398 |
| 39 |
Kent State |
44-14 |
394 |
| 40 |
Florida Atlantic |
39-19 |
390 |
Note: Southeastern 2017 opponents in italics |
Other Teams Receiving Votes: New Mexico (39-23),
West Virginia (36-22), Utah (26-29),
Southern Miss (41-20), Wake Forest (35-27), Fresno State (36-22), U.C. Irvine (31-25), Maryland (30-27), Central Florida (26-33), Oklahoma (30-27-1), Cal Poly (32-25), UCLA (25-31), Nevada (37-24), UNLV (24-32), San Diego State (21-38), Oregon (29-25), Southern Cal (28-28), California (32-21), Washington State (19-35), Auburn (23-33), Mississippi State (44-18-1), Kentucky (32-25), Georgia (27-30), Tennessee (29-28),
South Alabama (42-22), Alabama (32-26), Arkansas (26-29), Missouri (26-30), Georgia Southern (36-24), Troy (32-26), Little Rock (26-28), Texas State (31-28), BYU (37-17), San Diego (27-29), Pepperdine (29-24), St. Mary's (33-25), San Francisco (22-34), New Mexico State (34-23), Oral Roberts (38-21), Seattle (37-21), Grand Canyon (25-28-1), Michigan State (36-20), Indiana (32-24), Minnesota (36-22), Ohio State (44-20-1), Illinois (28-23), Iowa (30-26), Western Michigan (22-34), Central Michigan (24-37), Missouri State (38-21), Southern Illinois (31-25-1), Ball State (32-26), Louisiana Tech (42-20), UNC Wilmington (41-19), Morehead State (32-27), Kennesaw State (28-27), Florida Gulf Coast (27-32), North Florida (39-19), Lipscomb (31-27), Rhode Island (31-27), St. Joseph's (31-23), VCU (38-19), Xavier (32-30), Creighton (38-17),
Seton Hall (38-20), St. John's (28-26-1), Gardner-Webb (37-21), High Point (32-24), College of Charleston (31-26-1), William & Mary (31-31), Wright State. (46-17), Princeton (24-21), Dartmouth (18-25), Fairfield (32-27), Miami, Ohio (27-29), Florida A&M (31-21), Alabama State (38-17), Indiana State (35-21), Wichita State (21-37), Bryant (47-12), Southeast Missouri (39-21), Austin Peay (30-23), Jacksonville State (34-24), Tennessee Tech (31-24), Navy (43-16-1), Lehigh (25-29), Mercer (38-23), UNC Greensboro (38-21), Western Carolina (31-31),
Lamar (35-19),
McNeese St. (31-25).
