LSU’s Streak As No. 1 In Top 25 Reaching Rarified Air

Image credit: Tommy White, Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

This week, for the 12th straight time this season, LSU topped the Baseball America Top 25. The Tigers were the top-ranked team in the Preseason Top 25 and haven’t wavered from that spot through the first 11 weeks of the season.

LSU is 35-8 and has not posted a losing weekend this season. Its schedule is ranked seventh in the country, and it owns series wins against Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas A&M, all of which are projected to make the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers’ lone “blemish” is a split of a rain-shortened two-game series at South Carolina, which currently ranks as a top-five team.

LSU’s consistent success has kept the top spot in the rankings unchanged all season. With the season two-thirds complete, just how rare is the Tigers’ run?

Baseball America has been ranking college teams since 1981, a 43-year history. In that time, only four other Preseason No. 1 teams have held that ranking for more than 10 weeks into the season.

North Carolina in 2013 was the most recent team to do so. The Tar Heels held the No. 1 spot for 13 straight rankings to start the season, lasting until they lost a series at Georgia Tech and the rankings updated on May 13.

Stanford held the top spot for 15 straight rankings in 1998, the longest streak to open a season. The Cardinal were No. 1 from the start of the season until the end of the regular season, when they were swept in the Pac-12 championship series at Washington.

Oklahoma State in 1988 held the top spot for 12 weeks to open the season. The Cowboys were 48-3 when they were dropped from the No. 1 ranking in favor of Fresno State, which was 49-6 and had just swept No. 5 Cal State Fullerton.

Arizona State in 1984 held the top spot from the preseason until June 1. The rankings were different in those early days, however. They were updated biweekly (for each issue of the magazine) and there was an update after regionals (today there is no rankings update during the NCAA Tournament). So, while the Sun Devils were only No. 1 in eight consecutive rankings, they did hold the top spot from the preseason through regionals, which finished at the end of May.

Those four teams were the Preseason No. 1s that held the ranking the longest, but there have been other lengthy streaks atop the rankings that started during the season. Arkansas in 2021 lasted 14 straight rankings. UCLA in 2019 lasted for 11 straight weeks. Oregon State in 2017, LSU in 1997 and Texas in 1987 all held No. 1 for 10 straight weeks.

LSU has reached rarified air with its impressive start to the season. The bad news for the Tigers is that none of the previous Preseason No. 1 teams to hold that ranking for at least 10 weeks to start the season have gone on to win the national championship. Arizona State in 1984 and UNC in 2013 both made it to Omaha and won two games in the CWS, but neither 1988 Oklahoma State nor 1998 Stanford made it out of regionals.

Other teams with lengthy runs atop the rankings also fell short of the ultimate prize. Arkansas in 2021 and UCLA in 2019 both stumbled in super regionals. Oregon State in 2017 was upset in the bracket final in Omaha, losing twice to LSU. Texas in 1987 finished third in the CWS.

LSU in 1997, however, did win the national title. Those Tigers, which like this year’s version, were led by a powerful offense, were No. 1 from March 10 until they were knocked back to No. 2 in the May 19 update.

Whether 2023 LSU can match the 1997 team’s accomplishment and win the national championship remains to be seen. But regardless of how the season ends, the Tigers have already made their mark.