LSU Baseball First Baseman Jared Jones Earns Preseason Accolade From D1 Baseball

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU junior Jared Jones is ranked No. 1 on the D1Baseball.com list of the Top 50 First Basemen in the nation.

Jones, a native of Marietta, Ga., who last week was named a First-Team Preseason All-American by D1 Baseball, hit .301 (69-for-229) for LSU last season with 14 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 59 RBI and 56 runs.

His 28 home runs marked the fourth-most in LSU history and the most by a Tiger since first baseman Matt Clark also hit 28 in 2008.

Jones, a 2023 Freshman All-American, finished the 2024 season No. 2 in the SEC in walks (59), No. 5 in home runs, No. 5 in slugging percentage (.747) and No. 9 in total bases (171).

He was named to the 2024 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional All-Tournament team after hitting a team-best .538 (7-for-13) with two homers, four RBI, five runs, nine walks and a .739 on-base percentage.

Jones was rated in December by D1 Baseball as the No. 39 Top College Prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft.

LSU, ranked No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 3 by D1 Baseball in preseason polls, opens the season at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, February 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU Catcher Luis Hernandez's Ranking:

LSU senior Luis Hernandez is ranked No. 10 on the D1Baseball.com list of the Top 50 Catchers in the nation.

Hernandez, who transferred to LSU last summer from Indiana State, was a 2024 First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, batting .359 (89-for-248) with 14 doubles, 23 homers and 76 RBI.

Hernandez, a first baseman, catcher and designated hitter at Indiana State, was a 2024 ABCA All-Midwest Region selection. The native of Gurabo, Puerto Rico, was also voted to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive Team.

He was a member of Puerto Rico’s national team that claimed a silver medal in September at the U23 Baseball World Cup in Shaoxing, China, where he hit .350 (7-for-20) with two doubles and four RBI.

Earlier this month, Hernandez was listed No. 6 among the Perfect Game Baseball Top 75 Seniors for the 2025 season.

LSU, ranked No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 3 by D1 Baseball in preseason polls, opens the season at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, February 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU Baseball in the Baseball America Preseason Poll:

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU is No. 2 in the 2025 Baseball America Preseason Poll released on Monday.

Texas A&M is No. 1 in the poll, followed by LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Virginia, Florida State, Florida, Clemson, Oregon State and Duke to round out the Top 10.

Other SEC teams appearing in the Baseball America Top 25 are No. 11 Georgia, No. 14 Texas, No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 19 Kentucky.

LSU will play 16 games in the 2025 regular season against teams ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25, including 15 SEC games and a February 26 matchup with No. 21 Dallas Baptist at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

LSU, which has been ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game and No. 3 by D1 Baseball earlier this month, will open the 2025 season at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, February 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

2025 Baseball America Preseason Poll (* – indicates 2025 LSU regular season opponent)

1 Texas A&M *
2 LSU
3 Tennessee *
4 Arkansas *
5 Virginia
6 Florida State
7 Florida
8 Clemson
9 Oregon State
10 Duke
11 Georgia
12 North Carolina
13 Oklahoma State
14 Texas *
15 Vanderbilt
16 North Carolina State
17 Wake Forest
18 Mississippi State *
19 Oregon
20 Kentucky
21 Dallas Baptist *
22 Arizona
23 UC Santa Barbara
24 UC Irvine
25 Indiana

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