LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson was emotional after the Tigers season ended on Monday night with a 4-3 loss to North Carolina in ten innings. Despite a 3-12 start in SEC play, Johnson felt he had one of the best teams in the country.
For the last month, they’ve looked like one of the best teams in the country, especially during the SEC Tournament, when they put together their best baseball of the season.
But it came to a crashing end in Chapel Hill and a special group of players took off their gold jerseys for the final time.
LSU’s best power hitters are likely moving on, including first baseman Jared Jones, who hit a team-high 28 home runs. Third baseman Tommy White has one more year of eligibility left, but he’ll likely be a first round draft pick next month.
Hayden Travinski who slugged 16 home runs in 2024 is out of eligibility after a five-year run at LSU.
That’s 68 of the team’s 114 home runs that Johnson will have to replace next season.
Mac Bingham is another player who has exhausted his eligibility along with catcher Alex Milazzo
Shortstop Michael Braswell and left fielder Josh Pearson are draft eligible, but there’s a good chance they will likely return next season.
Centerfielder Paxton Kling is also draft eligible, but after hitting .222 you would think he would want to put together at least one good season of college ball before turning pro.
LSU’s talented one-two punch on the mound will likely hear their names called in the draft. Luke Holman and Gage Jump both had terrific seasons and considering the risk of injury for pitchers, you would think they will want to begin their professional careers.
Griffin Herring had the lowest ERA on the team at 1.79 and is draft eligible after two years. But Herring could improve his draft stock by coming back to LSU for one more season to be a starting pitcher. He only started one game this season.
Coach Johnson says Thatcher Hurd is a future major leaguer, despite back-to-back tough regular seasons in Baton Rouge. The talent is there, and he may think it’s time for him to make the jump to professional baseball.
Christian Little has exhausted his eligibility and is hoping the improvement he’s shown will result in a team selecting him.
Relievers Fidel Ulloa, Justin Loer and Gavin Guidry are also draft eligible, but you would think they would return.
According to Perfect Game, Coach Jay Johnson has the second-best incoming recruiting class in the nation. But the Major League Draft could also pick that apart by taking several signees.
Johnson will spend the next month working the transfer portal hard. Unlike last June, he doesn’t have to worry about winning games, he can spend all his time focusing on 2025.
But it will also be hard to let go of 2024. It was loaded with a lot of special players.