Members of the LSU baseball team discussed preseason rankings and preparations for their season opener against Notre Dame with the press on Thursday.
“We don’t really pay attention to that,” sophomore Josh Smith said. “No one has played a game yet, so you can’t tell anything. People doubting us fires us up.”
LSU was predicted to finish fourth in the SEC West behind Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. Head Coach Paul Mainieri mentioned that this season is the first time LSU has not been ranked either 1 or 2 in the SEC West in the past nine seasons.
“Evidently someone is going to take us lightly,” Coach Mainieri said. “It took them a decade to take us lightly. But, those things don’t really mean anything. We’ll get what we earn. I’m confident in our group.”
“It is what it is,” senior Nick Coomes said. “I don’t really pay attention to those. This team is ready for the season. Zack Hess said it best: ‘We don’t rebuild, we reload.'”
LSU opens its 2018 season against Notre Dame on February 16-18 at Alex Box Stadium.