LSU softball kickstarts its season and returns to Tiger Park for the annual Tiger Classic beginning on Thursday.

With games spanning from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, LSU will host NC State, Nevada, Illinois and Lamar.

Although LSU swept last year’s Tiger Classic, this year’s opponents will present new challenges for the Tigers.

NC State

LSU starts its season off against NC State on Thursday at 6 p.m. and the two play again at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

This matchup has been hyped up by both programs, with Lindsay Leftwich’s return to Tiger Park, where she served as an assistant coach under LSU head coach Beth Torina for 12 years.

LSU is 25-4 in home openers since 1997, but NC State is a tough opponent that has been on the rise over the past few seasons. Leftwich’s reputation in college softball has attracted new talent leding to NC State’s recent success. The Wolfpack roster consists of seven new players, three of whom transferred from SEC schools, leaving it up in the air for how good this new squad will be.

Last time LSU faced off against NC State, they came away with a dominant 7-0 win, but this is a completely new NC State team that will surely bring up new challenges for the Tigers. Hopefully, LSU is able to start its season off strong and avoid an upset.

“I think about it all the time just by default … but it’s going to be cool,” Torina said. “Everybody here is so proud of her and all that she’s accomplished. I’m going to try to get in her head the whole way, try to use all those things.”

Nevada

LSU’s second matchup of the weekend comes against Nevada on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

This matchup again welcomes a familiar face back to Tiger Park, Nevada head coach Victoria Hayward. She was a graduate assistant coach with the Tigers in 2015, when the staff was named Staff of the Year, kickstarting her coaching career.

Hayward was named head coach of Nevada after the 2024 season and has recently changed the trajectory of its softball program. In her first season, she led the Wolf Pack to a 41-14 record, winning the Mountain West for the first time in program history. The historic season also earned Hayward the Mountain West Coach of the Year.

LSU should not look past Nevada, even if it is ranked significantly higher. Nevada is looking to follow up last year’s historic season with another statement year, and getting a huge upset against a top 25 team in LSU would be huge for the Wolf Pack.

Illinois

LSU and Illinois face off at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

LSU has held the upper hand over Illinois in the past, beating them three of the past four times. Illinois head coach Tyra Perry has a close connection to LSU and Torina. Perry was a great player for LSU softball in the ‘90s and was named NFCA All-Region as a senior in 1997.

Despite the skill gap between LSU and Illinois, Perry seems to enjoy coming back to Tiger Park. Just two years ago, LSU faced Illinois in the Purple and Gold Challenge, where the Tigers won in a tight 3-2 contest.

Illinois is loaded with new players this season, bringing in 13 over the offseason, making it unknown how good this new squad can be. Hopefully, LSU can get a big non-conference win in the BIG 10 versus SEC showdown.

Lamar

LSU wraps up the Tiger Classic against Lamar at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Lamar’s softball program has been on a steady rise the past few years, finishing the past two seasons with a positive record. The program aims to continue growing in 2026 with more top-tier matchups, such as the one against LSU.

In the past, LSU has dominated Lamar; since 2014, the two teams have played twice. LSU would come out unscathed in both games, winning 10-0 and 4-1. Overall, the new look to Lamar’s program might cause more problems for LSU than in the past, but LSU could definitely still make it out of this game with a win.