Tag: Cameron Johnson

Rutgers baseball lands Canadian pitcher Cameron Johnson

Rutgers baseball has another commitment in the 2024 class.

Cameron Johnson, a left-handed pitcher, committed to Rutgers baseball on Wednesday as part of the 2024 recruiting class.

Out of TNXL Academy in Ocee, Florida, Johnson consistently throws his fastball in the 88-90 mile per hour range. From Canada, Johnson gives Rutgers baseball another strong arm to develop.

He will join two other Canadians at Rutgers along with catcher Hugh Pinkney and infielder Ty Doucette (who also played a season at TNXL).

The addition of Johnson is another important piece for Rutgers head coach Steve Owens as he looks to get the baseball program consistently into the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson made his commitment public on Thursday afternoon:

 

Rutgers baseball is off to a 3-0 start this season, following their season-opening series at Winthrop. This weekend, they play at Old Dominion, who went 32-23 and lost to James Madison in the Sun Belt Championship.

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In the sweep of Winthrop, the aforementioned Doucette stepped in nicely for Rutgers. The freshman had two hits in seven at-bats, including a double. He also crossed home plate twice for Rutgers. 

Nine former UNC Basketball players on 2023-2024 NBA rosters

The NBA is well-represented by former Tar Heels, with nine suiting up across seven teams. The newest professional Tar Heel is Leaky Black.

NBA fans, sing your praises – the regular season is finally upon us.

Opening night kicked off on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with Lakers-Nuggets and Suns-Warriors giving fans an appetizer. There will be a full slate of games tonight, highlighted by Celtics-Knicks and Mavericks-Spurs, plus more to come throughout the weekend.

Tar Heel fans are highly anticipating the UNC season opener on Monday, Nov. 6 against Radford, but there’s good reason for them to also be excited about the NBA.

Nine former Tar Heels – Leaky Black, Cole Anthony, Day’Ron Sharpe, Harrison Barnes, Danny Green, Nassir Little, Coby White, Cam Johnson and Reggie Bullock – are on NBA rosters.

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A couple of them are starting, a few are valuable role players while one is a rookie.

Let’s take a deeper look at each former Tar Heel and how long they’ve been in the NBA for. Will any of them walk away with another championship?

Top Louisiana baseball recruit Jake Brown officially coming to LSU

One of LSU’s top 2023 signees will not sign after being drafted in the 16th round by the Texas Rangers.

Despite being selected by the Texas Rangers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB draft, one of LSU’s top recruiting signees will ultimately come to campus in [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag].

The left-handed pitcher from Sulphur, Louisiana, is the No. 1 recruit in the state, and he ranks as the No. 116 overall high school recruit nationally, according to Perfect Game.

Brown reaching campus was largely expected. After he wasn’t selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft, he tweeted tiger emojis. However, that tweet was deleted when he was ultimately taken by Texas the next day.

Still, it was reported that Brown would likely still enroll at LSU, and though he took a week to mull it over, that’s what he chose to do in the end.

Brown is a big addition to a pitching staff that’s expected to also add [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], a 20th-round pick. Johnson is the No. 11 player in the 2023 class and would be the highest-ranked recruit to ever reach campus for the Tigers.

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Veteran LSU catcher returning for 2024 season

One of the star players of the 2023 baseball season will be returning for another year on the Bayou.

One of the star players of the 2023 baseball season will be returning for another year on the Bayou. Redshirt junior catcher [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] has confirmed that he will be coming back to LSU to play one more season.

It came as a surprise to me when Travinski was not drafted during the 2023 MLB draft. We’re talking about a solid catcher who is coming off his best spring at LSU. Last year, Travinski had a batting average of .356 with five doubles, 10 homers and 30 RBI.

With that kind of production, especially for a team that won the national championship, he seemed like a shoo-in to be drafted this year.

Nevertheless, the man who had his own mustache t-shirt will be coming back to LSU to help lead another group of pitchers. He’ll get to catch for [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] once again and a few new faces as well. One of those is [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], LSU’s highest-rated baseball signee of all time.

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LSU signee Blake Mitchell officially inks under-slot deal with Royals

As expected, Blake Mitchell won’t make it to campus and is trying his hand at professional ball.

In a decision that should come as no surprise to LSU, catcher [autotag]Blake Mitchell[/autotag] will not enroll in Baton Rouge and will join the Kansas City Royals after the team drafted him with the eighth pick in the 2023 MLB draft last weekend.

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Mitchell agreed to a signing bonus of $4.9 million. That’s nearly $1 million below the slot value for the eighth pick, which sits at $5,980,100.

Mitchell ranks as the top high school catcher prospect and is the No. 8 overall prospect in his class. Perfect Game also ranks him as the top player in the talent-rich state of Texas.

Mitchell is the only LSU signee who is expected to sign with a pro club following the draft. The Tigers expect left-handed pitcher [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag] — the No. 11 high school prospect in the country and a 20th-round pick — to make it to campus.

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Top LSU pitching signee Cameron Johnson expected to come to campus, pass on offer from Cardinals

Cameron Johnson would be the highest-ranked LSU signee to ever reach campus.

The St. Louis Cardinals gave LSU baseball fans a scare on Tuesday evening when they took a flyer on left-handed pitcher [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag] with their 20th-round pick.

The Rangers themselves even viewed that pick as a “Hail Mary,” as the team seems to widely expect that Johnson will forego his contract offer and ultimately choose to enroll at LSU.

That indeed seems to be how things are trending. According to MLB.com Cardinals writer John Denton, Johnson is unlikely to sign before the July 25 deadline.

As the No. 11 overall player and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2023, Johnson would become the highest-ranked prospect to ever reach campus for LSU. For reference, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] ranked No. 13 when he withdrew from the draft out of high school.

Getting Johnson to enroll after he fell in the draft would be a massive win for coach Jay Johnson’s team, which will need to replace quite a bit of pitching talent in 2024.

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Top LSU signee Cameron Johnson drafted in 20th round by Cardinals

One of the top prospects in LSU’s 2023 signing class finally heard his name called.

One of LSU’s top prospects in the 2023 class finally heard his name called after a lengthy wait in the MLB draft.

[autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], the No. 2 left-handed pitcher and No. 11 prospect nationally in his recruiting class according to Perfect Game, went to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round with the 605th pick.

Johnson was a guy who many expected to go earlier in the draft, but his falling bodes well for his chances of ending up in Baton Rouge. He’s the second highest-rated prospect in LSU’s class, behind No. 8 pick Blake Mitchell, who is almost certainly going pro after he was picked by the Kansas City Royals.

We’ll have to wait and see if he ultimately chooses to sign with the Cardinals, but coach Jay Johnson has to like his chances of getting the talented lefty from IMG Academy in Florida to campus.

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How Ty Floyd and Grant Taylor getting drafted affects LSU pitching

Here’s how LSU’s pitching staff shakes out after the MLB draft.

It’s been a good draft for LSU baseball.

The Tigers stole the show on Sunday night with the first and second overall picks in [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag].

On a more local level, another big story is how the draft will affect the LSU pitching staff. LSU’s seen three of its best arms get picked so far, leaving the Tigers with a lot to replace heading into 2024.

The good news is the bullpen remains strong even if the starting staff requires some rebuilding.

Let’s take a look at how LSU pitching shapes up as the Tigers try to defend their national title.

Pair of former Tar Heels named among top 30 NBA free agents

A pair of former UNC basketball players were named among the top 30 NBA free agents.

The NBA calendar will flip to the new league year later this week and when it does, free agency is expected to get off to a wild start. This year, there are some big names getting set to hit the market including James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Fred VanVleet , and Khris Middleton among others.

But a pair of former UNC basketball players could be cashing in as well.

Among the players set to hit free agency are wings Cam Johnson and Harrison Barnes.  Johnson is a restricted free agent meaning Brooklyn has the right to match any contract offer sheet he gets. Meanwhile, Barnes is an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere on the market.

As we get set for free agency, CBS Sports released its list of the top 30 free agents. And both Johnson and Barnes cracked the list.

Johnson checked in at No. 12 on the list:

Brooklyn’s direction is a bit uncertain at the moment, but it has the right to retain Johnson for whatever price another team is willing to offer. A sharpshooting wing with size who can run the floor is a hot commodity, and he should be paid accordingly.

Barnes was No. 19:

Mike Brown heaped praise upon Barnes throughout the Kings‘ first playoff series in 17 years, and he would certainly love to have the veteran forward back to help continue their ascent in the Western Conference. That being said, Barnes is the ideal proven, 3-and-D piece to place on any contender.

Both should get a nice payday for next season as rumors are swirling that Johnson could get up to $90M. Barnes is a savvy veteran that will find a home and should get a nice deal himself.

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Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun keep Houston close in Brooklyn

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 31 efficient points while Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. had double-doubles, but the #Rockets couldn’t withstand Brooklyn’s late 3-point barrage.

The losing streak for the young and rebuilding Rockets is now at seven games after Wednesday’s 121-114 loss (box score) in Brooklyn wrapped up an 0-5 road trip. But unlike the three previous outings, which were mostly uncompetitive, Houston (18-59) led the Nets (41-35) by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before an 18-4 run in the final three minutes turned the game upside down.

Yet again, the difference was in 3-point shooting. Led by 31 points and five 3-pointers from Cameron Johnson, the Nets shot 17-of-35 (48.6%) from behind the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, Houston was just 9-of-30 from deep (30%). That math proved difficult to overcome, even on a night where the Rockets had a 60-47 rebounding edge.

Alperen Sengun (21 points, 12 rebounds, 62.5% FG) and Jabari Smith Jr. (12 points, 12 rebounds) both had double-doubles as Houston flexed its interior muscle, while Kevin Porter Jr. had 31 points on 11-of-22 shooting (50%) and 4-of-10 on 3-pointers (40%). Porter also grabbed 9 rebounds and had a team-high 6 assists and 3 steals.

But the Rockets couldn’t withstand an unusually rough game by backcourt mate Jalen Green, who had 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting (38.5%) while missing all four of his 3-pointers.

KJ Martin added 15 points and 7 rebounds while hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point range (60%), while Josh Christopher had 14 points and 4 assists in just 17 bench minutes, making 6-of-10 shots (60%).

Scroll on for highlights, postgame interviews, and reaction by Houston fans and media members. With the road trip complete, next up for the Rockets is three straight games in the friendly confines of Toyota Center, representing their final homestand of the 2022-23 season. Tipoff of Friday’s opener versus Detroit is at 7 p.m. Central.