The LSU Tigers and head baseball coach Jay Johnson received some massive news surrounding their 2025 roster Monday night, as top prep prospect Derek Curiel announced that he would be withdrawing from the 2024 MLB draft to attend college next season.
Attending Orange Lutheran High School in California, Curiel is considered as one of the top outfield prep prospects in this draft. An accomplished player at Orange Lutheran, Curiel slashed a combined .318/.424/.421 across the last four seasons, while also having 60 RBI with 60 SB across his high school career.
Curiel was expected to be among the top high school outfield prospects taken in the 2024 MLB draft, which is set to take place in mid-July. Instead, he is now set to attend LSU next season where he will be among the SEC’s most talented freshmen, as well as likely an instant-impact player with the Tigers.
Just how big of an impact could the highly-touted outfielder now have for LSU in 2025?
SoCal prep CF Derek Curiel has pulled his name out of the 2024 MLB Draft to attend LSU, per his Instagram. He’s the only player to opt out of the draft so far, per source.
He will be 2026 MLB Draft eligible at LSU due to age and was seen as a 3rd round talent in the 2024 class. pic.twitter.com/y9XR2zaKV1
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) June 17, 2024