Do you think LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson is satisfied with winning a national championship? Just a few days after beating Florida for LSU’s seventh title, Johnson hopped on a plane to recruit former Alabama pitcher Luke Holman.
Holman signed with LSU and will be a weekend starter for LSU.
Johnson is like a lot of great coaches, he loves winning, but also enjoys the process and lives by the process which includes living in the present with one eye towards the future.
And Johnson believes his team shares that same mindset.
“There’s just an attitude about we need to go about this certain way to keep our seat at the table or make our seat at the table, because we have a great schedule, we have great challenges, it’s another up year for the SEC, everybody is getting twice as many players in the portal, there’s some challenges, but how they go about attacking those challenges has been really positive,” said Johnson.
LSU must replace some great players from that 2023 team. Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes, Ty Floyd, Tre Morgan, Gavin Dugas, Jordan Thompson and Brayden Jobert.
Jared Jones started much of the season at first base last season, but he started to struggle with the bat in May and Morgan moved back to first base.
But Jones still put-up solid numbers for a freshman campaign, hitting .304 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs.
Johnson has faith Jones can be a great two-way player at first and he has put the work in.
“He’s super competitive, he’s obviously super talented, I like where he’s at right now,” said Johnson.
Tommy White will start at third base after not swinging a bat for six months following shoulder surgery.
South Carolina transfer Michael Braswell is the probable starter at shortstop. Braswell hit .271 in two seasons for the Gamecocks with 3 home runs and 50 RBIs. Johnson began recruiting Braswell shortly after their super regional series win over Kentucky. Johnson likes how he plays, his competitive at-bats and can make everyone around him better.
Josh Pearson started in right field and is making the move to second base this year. Johnson says Pearson can do anything you ask him and believes he can raise the ceiling of the team.
In the outfield, Arizona transfer Mac Bingham could be the starter in center field. He hit .360 with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs for the Wildcats last season.
Talented sophomore Paxton Kling could also start at center field or right field. Kling had 90 at bats last season and hit .289 with 4 home runs and 9 RBIs. Johnson says Kling has made great strides in his development. He had a couple of injuries last year, but if he can stay healthy, he’s expected to have a major impact.
Freshman Jake Brown from Sulphur High School could be the starter at left field. He’s also an outstanding pitcher.
Hayden Travinski is expected to get the most at-bats at designated hitter. Johnson believes there’s more on the table for him after he hitting 10 home runs in 104 at bats.
The weekend rotation is expected to have Thatcher Hurd, Luke Holeman, and UCLA transfer Gage Jump.