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LSU baseball media day: Tigers remain recruiting for 2025 season – Sports Illustrated

LSU baseball media day: Tigers remain recruiting for 2025 season – Sports Illustrated

BATON ROUGE, LA.

LSU, ranked No. 3 in the D1 baseball preseason poll, opens the season at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

Coach Jay Johnson, who guided the Tigers to the 2023 College World Series title, enters his fourth season at LSU with more championship aspirations.

He addressed the assembled media Friday in the Champions Clubhouse at Alex Box Stadium as LSU held its annual preseason press conference.

“I don’t know that we’re a young team, but we’re a brand new team,” Johnson said. “We only have 12 players that actually played in a game for us last season, but having new players brings a lot of excitement to our program. We have a lot to figure out in terms of where we’re going from a personnel standpoint. At the start of the season, the goal is to win every game while determining what our “best team” looks like. “

“The Tigers” 2025 include seven returning position players with starting experience at LSU, including senior shortstop Michael Braswell III, senior outfielder Josh Pearson, junior first baseman Jared Jones, junior outfielder Ethan Frey, sophomore shortstop Steven Milam, sophomore shortstop Ashton Larson and sophomore shortstop Steven Milam. Sophomore Ashton Larson and Sophomore Steven Milam Sophomore Ashton Larson and Sophomore Outfielder/lefty pitcher Jake Brown.

The pitching staff features six veterans who have pitched at LSU, including junior righty Gavin Guidry, junior righty Kade Woods, sophomore Chase Shores, sophomore Jaden Knott, sophomore Kade Anderson and sophomore lefty DJ Primeaux.

LSU’s incoming class includes 12 NCAA Division I transfers, four JUCO transfers and 10 high school signees. Several LSU players were ranked in August among Baseball America magazine’s top 100 college transfers, and 11 Tigers appeared on Baseball America’s top 500 prospects list for the 2024 MLB draft.

The Top 100 College Transfers list included LSU junior infielder Daniel Dickinson, junior right-handed pitcher Anthony Eyanson, junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Mayers, junior right-handed pitcher Chandler Dorsey, junior right-handed pitcher Zac Cowan, senior catcher Luis Hernandez, Senior outfielder/left fielder Dalton Beck and junior outfielder Chris Stanfield.

Stanfield was also among LSU’s newcomers listed among the top 500 prospects in last summer’s MLB draft, along with junior lefty Connor Ware, freshman right-hander William Schmidt, freshman right-hander Kasan Evans, freshman Cade Aranmbid, freshman Mickey Ryan , freshman left-hander Cooper Williams, freshman right-hander Maverick Rizzi, freshman Ryan Costello, freshman John Pearson and freshman David Hogg II.

LSU freshman Derek Curiel was also going to be listed as a top prospect, but he announced his intention to enroll at LSU before the draft.

Johnson believes the Tigers of 2025 are capable of maintaining the exceptional standards of the LSU program.

“Emphasizing the fundamentals, being highly competitive, appreciating winning and honoring what LSU baseball has been long before I got here are the staples of our program,” Johnson explained.

“Having character is also very important because character affects the ability to make good decisions as a young person.

“We have a lot of new guys who will be doing things this season for the first time and they need the mental toughness to be locked into the task. The players’ ability to respond to adversity with fortitude and focus on what is relevant will be crucial. They’ve done a very good job since the start of the fall semester, they’ve been very coachable, and we’re very excited to get into the next three weeks. “

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers on SI: @Lsutigerssi For all the coverage surrounding the LSU program.

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