Greatest LSU Athletes of the Decade: #38 Bianka Bell

In her four years with the Tigers, Bianka Bell set a standard of offensive excellence, with elite hitting skill and hitting power, that highlighted not just the last decade, but established Bell as one of the best players in program history.

Go through the softball career record book and you will find Bell near or at the top of most categories. Entering the 2020 season she led LSU in career on base percentage, home runs, runs scored and total bases. She is second in career slugging percentage, walks and RBI. Bell also holds top-five status in hits and batting average. Bell is tied for the program lead with most RBI in a game (six) and home runs (3). She was a two-time All-American and three time All-SEC player, while also being named to the All-SEC freshman team in her first year. Twice in her career she was part of an LSU team that made it to the Women’s College World Series Finals.

The postseason was never a problem for Bell either. She became the first player to hit a home run twice in a WCWS game, with two against Georgia in 2016. That year she was also named to the All-Tournament team in the SEC Tournament. In 2015 she had the game winning hit that propelled the Tigers over Arizona State in the Regional.

Bell was a model of consistency over her career with the Tigers. In all four years she had 60 or more hits, 50 plus RBI, double-digit home runs, while never hitting below .330, slugging below .590 or have an on base percentage less than .420.

Her best performance came as a junior in 2015 where she had a .415/.790/.500 season with 18 home runs and 73 RBI. She would be named an All-American and All-SEC at the conclusion of the season.

Bell began her career as a shortstop, but her senior year, she moved over to third base to allow Amber Serrett to take over at shortstop. Although her offensive totals took a dip as a senior, it was apparent teams were pitching around her, going from 32 walks in her junior season to 56 in her senior season.

Following her senior year, Bell returned as a student coach for one season on Beth Torina’s staff.

There was nothing subtle about Bell’s time at LSU. Nothing sneaky good or under the radar. Bell spent four years mashing for the Tigers, setting records, and in the process, set a standard of excellence for future Tigers to aspire to.