There are several reasons why LSU lost a program record 21 SEC games in 2026.
The transfer portal additions of Seth Dardar, Zach Yorke, Brayden Simpson, and Trent Caraway did not pan out.
Poor defense, LSU is tied for last in SEC games in fielding percentage (.969).
There were injuries. Starting pitcher Cooper Moore went down in March, starting left fielder Chris Stanfield was banged up all season, and star right fielder Jake Brown missed the last month of the season with a broken hamate bone.
Starting pitcher Casan Evans suffered arm soreness right before game one of a crucial series against Mississippi State. Even shortstop Steven Milam dealt with an injury this season.
But poor pitching is what sank this season. “Poor” is probably not the right adjective. It was atrocious.
In conference play, LSU’s team ERA was a league-worst 7.14.
Take away the sweep of South Carolina, and LSU allowed 10 or more runs in eight of its last nine SEC games.
“I’ve always used that if we get to seven (runs) on offense that usually produces wins 80% of the time, we screwed up that stat completely this year, we have a lot of work to do,” Johnson said after getting swept by Florida on Saturday.
In conference play, LSU also led the league in runs allowed (231), walks (183), and wild pitches (53).
In an indication that LSU’s pitchers have stuff, they struck out 318 SEC hitters, fourth most in conference play, but when you are walking six hitters a game, you are asking for trouble.
“There are too many walks, too many hit batters, too many wild pitches, and we can’t get off the field when we need to, and when we score, we give up runs immediately, and we need to make sure we are diving into all of that for each guy specifically to make them the best they can be,” Johnson said.
Johnson said after Saturday’s 15-11 loss, he still believes in pitching coach Nate Yeskie, who has been pitching at four different schools that went to the College World Series.
Johnson also said he believes in Jamie Tutko, who is the director of player development for pitchers.
Johnson is excited about the pitchers expected to return next season, including William Schmidt, Casan Evans, Cooper Moore, Mavrick Rizy. Cooper Williams, Reagan Ricken, Zion Theophilus, and Marcos Paz.
But some of the pitchers on the 2025 national championship team did not develop. And usually, a freshman emerges. That didn’t happen in 2026.
The coaching staff has already begun its evaluation of what went wrong.
Hopefully, they will have answers.
Yes, the transfer portal position players didn’t pan out, but even if they did, LSU couldn’t stop other teams from scoring.
Yes, there were injuries, but when the injuries started to pile up, this team was already headed in the wrong direction.
Yes, the defense was bad, but all the walks didn’t help.
The emphasis this offseason will be on pitching and developing or acquiring front-line starters and quality relievers.
If they don’t, it will not matter how much Cade Arrambide, Omar Serna, and Mason Braun improve next season.
This year showed that if you can’t keep the other team from scoring 10 runs or more, you are not going to win many games.
