Five members of the LSU Tigers squad were named to the 2024 SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist, announced by the league on Wednesday.
A total of 88 student-athletes were named to this year’s SEC preseason watchlist, which include LSU's Mollie Baker, Jazmin Ferguson, Ida Hermannsdóttir, Ava Galligan, and Sydney Cheesman.
Baker, Hermannsdottir and Galligan are all returning to LSU this year, while Ferguson and Cheesman transferred to the team this spring and will enter their first season in the Purple and Gold.
Baker enters her final season with the Tigers as captain in 2024. She was the only player to appear and start in all 20 matches for the Tigers last year. The forward tallied three goals, five assists, 1,551 minutes and earned United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Third Team honors in 2023.
Hermannsdottir continues to be one of the top midfielders to watch in the nation. She enters year three at LSU with 11 goals, four assists and 2,366 minutes in her career.
Galligan enters her second year with the Tigers after a breakout debut season in 2023. She recorded four goals, five assists and played in all 20 matches in her freshman season.
Ferguson joined the squad from East Carolina University, where she spent two seasons and was the 2023 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She will serve as a vice captain as she enters her junior season this upcoming fall. United Soccer Coaches named her a defender to watch in 2024.
Cheesman transferred to LSU from the University of North Carolina, where she tallied 175 minutes on the pitch in her nine games played and helped lead the Tar Heels to two NCAA Tournament appearances. The defender was rated four stars by Top Drawer Soccer in the recruiting rankings in 2022 prior to starting her collegiate career at UNC.
The 32nd season of women’s soccer in the SEC season will begin on Thursday, August 15th, as the conference returns 62% (18 of 29) of the players that earned first or second team All-SEC honors last season.