In the eyes of Southeastern Conference coaches, LSU’s highly-touted incoming recruiting class will not be making a huge splash this season. The 17th annual preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday has the Tigers finishing fifth in the SEC Western Division, just ahead of Alabama. “The competitor in me made my blood boil a little bit when I first saw the poll,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in a news release. “But I then realized that preseason polls and prognostications have no effect upon how the season unfolds. We’ll see where we stand at the end of the season after 30 league games.” The Tigers, who have the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class according to the Collegiate Baseball newspaper, were 29-26-1 this past season and finished SEC play with 12-17-1 record. Ole Miss was picked to win the western division, followed by Mississippi State, defending SEC West-champion Arkansas and Auburn. Coaches picked Vanderbilt to win the SEC title. The Commodores won the conference championship in 2007 and earned the nation’s No. 1 seed in this past season’s NCAA Tournament. LSU opens its regular season Feb. 22 against Indiana. The Tigers begin conference play March 14 with a three-game road series against Tennessee.
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