Tag: Jay Johnson

LSU pitcher signee Cam Caminiti drafted by Braves in 1st round

Cam Caminiti’s wait was a bit longer than some expected, but LSU’s top pitcher signee is likely heading to Atlanta after being drafted in Round 1.

Another one of LSU’s top signees in the 2024 recruiting class has heard his name called in the first round of the MLB draft.

[autotag]Cam Caminiti[/autotag] is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound left-handed pitcher from Scottsdale, Arizona where he played for Saguaro High School. Cam was the top left-handed pitching prospect in the draft. Caminiti was the top left-handed pitcher and [autotag]William Schmidt[/autotag] was the top right-handed pitcher coming out of high school in this draft. [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] signed both of them.

With the 24th pick of the 2024 MLB draft, the [autotag]Atlanta Braves[/autotag] picked Cam Caminiti. The slot value at No. 24 overall is $3,556,300. Atlanta is a fantastic landing spot for Caminiti as they do a great job of developing pitchers and they have a farm full of really good arms.

Caminiti is just 17 years old and will likely start in rookie ball for the Braves and he has the talent to work his way through the minors quickly.

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Top LSU signee Konnor Griffin drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 9

The No. 1 prep prospect in the 2024 MLB draft heard his name called early on draft night.

The No. 1 prep prospect in the 2024 MLB draft heard his name called early on draft night.

[autotag]Konnor Griffin[/autotag] is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound outfielder who is committed to playing for LSU but he is a generational baseball prospect. Although [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] landed him in the 2024 recruiting cycle, it was always highly likely that Griffin would be swept away by an MLB team.

Griffin was the first prep player taken in the 2024 MLB draft and he was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The No. 9 slot in the draft has an estimated value of $6,216,600. To land Griffin, the Pirates may have to pay over slot value to keep him from going to Baton Rouge.

The Pirates made a splash when they took [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] with the No. 1 overall pick last year and they made a splash again this year by taking the best prep hitter in the draft.

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Elite LSU pitcher signee William Schmidt withdraws from 2024 MLB draft

The No. 16 overall prospect in the MLB draft has made his decision on where he will spend his future.

The No. 16 overall prospect in the 2024 MLB draft has made his decision on where he will spend his future.

[autotag]William Schmidt[/autotag] is one of the top prep pitchers in the draft and was projected to be one of the early first-round draft picks in tonight’s draft, but he has decided to pull his name out of the pool and attend LSU.

This is huge news for the Tigers as Schmidt was one of their top pitching commits and Schmidt is from Baton Rouge where he played for Catholic High School. You can never have too many pitchers on the roster and Schmidt is a guy who could come in and start on Day 1.

This gives Johnson and the Tigers some positive news as we head into the first two rounds of the draft on Sunday night. A lot of LSU signees and former Tiger players could hear their names called tonight.

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LSU baseball cleans house at LSWA Awards

The Tigers took home four of the five major awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Every year the [autotag]Louisiana Sports Writers Association[/autotag] (LSWA) names an All-Louisiana Baseball team and gives out five major baseball awards. The five major awards are Hitter of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year. Three LSU players took home four out of those five awards.

Let’s start with the player who took home two of those awards by himself, [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag]. Holman was the recipient of the Pitcher of the Year award and the Newcomer of the Year award. The Alabama transfer was the No. 2 pitcher in the rotation for the Tigers this spring and he was incredible on the mound. He finished the season with a 9-4 record and a 2.75 ERA as he struck out 127 hitters and only walked 33.

The Hitter of the Year title went to [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag]. Tommy Tanks production at the plate actually dipped this spring but he still finished the season with a .330 batting average with 12 doubles, one triple, 24 homers and 70 RBI.

The Freshman of the Year award went to [autotag]Steven Milam[/autotag] who became the starting second baseman for LSU baseball this spring and became one of the most clutch players on the team when the Tigers needed him the most. Milam finished the year with a .326 batting average with 12 doubles, three triples, eight homers and 40 RBI.

The other major award was Coach of the Year. That award went to LSU Eunice’s Jeff Willis who led the LSU Eunice Bengals to a 56-8 record and an NJCAA Division II National Championship.

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LSU baseball lands prized infielder in the transfer portal

The No. 1 transfer portal class in the country just got even better with the addition of Daniel Dickinson from Utah Valley.

The No. 1 transfer portal class in the country just got even better with the addition of [autotag]Daniel Dickinson[/autotag] from Utah Valley.

Dickinson was a sophomore last year for the Utah Valley Wolverines and he was likely the best player on the team. The Wolverines finished the 2024 season with a 29-29 overall record and an 18-12 record in conference play. Out of the 58 total games last season, Dickinson started every game.

He finished the year with a .363 batting average with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, and 53 RBI. He also stole 32 bases for the Wolverines. It is no secret that LSU’s depth on the infield was depleted. [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] is possibly the only starter returning from last year’s team.

There is still a chance [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag] comes back to LSU and [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] could be moved to an infield spot, but [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has still been searching to attempt to fill holes on the roster. He has done just that by landing Dickinson.

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LSU baseball has the No. 1 transfer portal class according to 64Analytics

The Tigers have done a good job flipping the roster so far this offseason.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has always been a great recruiter as far as high school players are concerned. Thanks to the transfer portal, his recruiting style has had to try to find a balance between recruiting kids out of high school and kids who were transferring from other colleges.

According to [autotag]64Analytics[/autotag], he is doing a great job recruiting other college players. After landing [autotag]Connor Benge[/autotag] yesterday, LSU now has the No. 1 recruiting class in the transfer portal. As you can see, the portal rankings are full of SEC teams. Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky and Duke round out the top five.

LSU has lost 17 players in the transfer portal but they have 10 commitments. Six of the Tigers who left were ranked in the Top250 on 64Analytics leaderboard and nine of LSU’s current transfer portal commitments are in the Top 250.

LSU is nowhere near finished in the transfer portal as the Tigers are still in the hunt for a few players.

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LSU baseball’s Steven Milam earns Freshman All-American honors from D1Baseball

Steven Milam’s play this season has earned him a spot on the D1Baseball Freshman All-American team.

[autotag]Steven Milam[/autotag] entered the 2024 season as a backup middle infielder but he ended up as one of the most pivotal players on the team.

Milam became the starting second baseman early in the season and played in 63 games for the Tigers. He finished the year with a .326 batting average with 12 doubles, three triples, eight homers and 40 RBI.

Some of his biggest plays happened in the postseason. Milam hit a homer to save the day for LSU against South Carolina in the SEC tournament and he hit two homers against Wofford to help LSU win their first game of the Chapel Hill Regional.

Milam’s play this season has earned him a spot on the D1Baseball Freshman All-American team. Milam is a First-Team All-American and was the only Freshman Tiger to be recognized as an All-American by D1Baseball.

The Tigers have lost a lot of players to the transfer portal this offseason but I am glad Milam has not been one of them.

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Jay Johnson picks up another hitter for LSU baseball in the transfer portal

Jay Johnson has landed an intriguing prospect out of the transfer portal in Dalton Beck from Incarnate Word.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has landed an intriguing prospect out of the transfer portal in [autotag]Dalton Beck[/autotag] from Incarnate Word. Beck has been a bit of a journeyman over the first three years of his collegiate career.

Beck started at Grayson College before transferring to Kansas State for his sophomore season and then transferring to Incarnate Word for his junior season. He has appeared as a pitcher and a hitter for each team but it seems as though his bat heavily outweighs his ability on the mound.

Beck put up some gaudy numbers for the Cardinals last season as he appeared in 39 games making 39 starts. He finished with a .348 batting average and a .707 slugging percentage with 12 doubles, one triple, 18 homers, and 67 RBI.

Beck was an outfielder for the Cardinals and he could fill that same role for LSU. With all of the players the Tigers have lost in the transfer portal, it’s nice to get a hitter back.

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Where LSU baseball stands with top remaining uncommitted transfer portal targets

The Tigers are not done in the transfer portal just yet.

The LSU baseball team has already added quite a transfer portal haul since the conclusion of the 2024 season, but coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] isn’t done yet.

The Tigers remain in the mix for several of the top uncommitted players who remain in the portal. Now that the college baseball season is in the books, expect things to sort themselves out quickly for players who have yet to make decisions.

LSU will hope those decisions prove beneficial for it, and it is trending for several of them. It isn’t all good news as the Tigers are seemingly out of contention for East Carolina’s [autotag]Zac Root[/autotag], the top pitcher in the portal, according to LSU Country’s Zack Nagy.

But all is not lost. LSU is in play for one of the other top arms in the portal, Tennessee freshman left-hander [autotag]Matthew Dallas[/autotag], according to Nagy. Dallas is a former top 100 prospect who had a 1-0 record and 4.76 ERA this season.

The Tigers also still have a shot at [autotag]Kaeden Kent[/autotag], a Texas A&M transfer who batted .327 in 2024 as a contact hitter. Kent, like the other Aggie players in the portal, could return now that the team has announced that former hitting coach Matthew Earley will take the head coaching job.

LSU will hope it can benefit in a few ways from the tumult in College Station as it has also reached out to Penn third base transfer [autotag]Wyatt Henseler[/autotag], the Ivy League Player of the Year. He committed to Texas A&M as a graduate transfer in September, but he may be reconsidering that decision following the coaching change.

Nagy also listed [autotag]Connor Harrison[/autotag], a catcher from St. Mary’s, and [autotag]Gavin Kilen[/autotag], an infielder from Louisville, as other names to watch as Johnson looks to complete another impressive transfer class.

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LSU pitcher Justin Loer re-enters the transfer portal

Justin Loer finished with a 2-0 record and a 5.92 ERA in his lone season on the Bayou.

A pitcher who [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] landed out of the transfer portal in 2023 is tossing his name back into the portal this year. [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] is exiting the Bayou after only one season.

Loer finished with a 2-0 record and a 5.92 ERA. He pitched fewer innings this year than either of his two years at his previous school, [autotag]Xavier[/autotag]. He pitched 24.1 innings, one inning fewer than how many he pitched during his freshman season at Xavier.

He struck out 30 hitters while walking 12. Loer will be entering his senior season next year no matter where he ends up. Johnson has been very active in the portal as he has been trying to reload a roster that still has a lot of talent but fell short of Omaha this year.

I hope that Loer is successful no matter where he lands next. He is a pitcher with a lot of great tools. He just needs some more innings.

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