LSU baseball has reportedly found its next baseball coach after Paul Mainieri officially retired at the end of the postseason.
The next man to take the reins of the Tigers’ program will reportedly be Arizona Wildcats coach Jay Johnson, according to Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball.
Johnson is just now coming off his second College World Series trip with Arizona. He and Wildcats came within just one victory of a National Championship in 2016, so it’s clear he has a winning foundation he can expand upon when he touches down in Baton Rouge.
Putting together one of the best teams offensively speaking in all of college baseball, Johnson led the team to its first conference title since 1992.
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He inherits the same fan base that surrounded Mainieri — and the expectations will be high per the usual.
“There’s a lot expected of you,” Mainieri told reporters before his time with the Tigers came to an end. “It’s an awesome fanbase and a lot of people that love LSU baseball. Have a lot of resources, a great administration but you have to be confident in yourself and you can’t listen to the criticism too much. You have to stick by what you believe and do it your way.”
Can Johnson lead LSU back to Omaha and take the Tigers all the way sooner rather than later?
It will be something to keep a watchful eye on.
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