Tag: LSU Baseball Recruiting

LSU baseball’s recruiting class ranks 5th in the nation, per Collegiate Baseball

The Tigers are looking to defend their title after adding one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

LSU baseball coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] is looking to repeat as national champion in 2024, and despite losing a number of key players like [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], Johnson is reloading the roster with a talented group.

The Tigers added a 20-man recruiting class this fall, including 13 high school signees, six Division I transfers and a junior college transfer. That group ranks fifth in the nation, according to Collegiate Baseball.

LSU’s class is headlined by [autotag]Cam Johnson[/autotag], who becomes the highest-ranked Tigers recruit to reach campus. The No. 11 overall prospect and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in his high school class, Johnson was a 20th-round pick but opted to enroll at LSU instead.

This is the 16th time in the last 17 years LSU has had its class rank in the top 10. The Tigers’ 2022 class ranked No. 1 according to Collegiate Baseball.

Arkansas, UCLA, Tennessee and Florida were the only schools that finished with a higher recruiting ranking.

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LSU signee pulls his name from 2023 MLB draft

Kade Anderson helped ease Jay Johnson’s mind on Friday night as he announced that he was removing his name from the draft.

The MLB draft is a bit of an anxious time for many college coaches.

You work hard on the recruiting trail all season to sign the best prospects in the country, but they could easily be taken away from you in the draft.

[autotag]Kade Anderson[/autotag] helped ease Jay Johnson’s mind Friday night by announcing he was removing his name from the draft and would follow [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag]’ footsteps by going to school.

Anderson was ranked as the No. 2 player overall and the No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the state of Louisiana. He was ranked as the No. 130 prospect in the nation and the No. 19 left-handed pitcher in the country. Those numbers will get you looks in the draft, but Anderson chose to go to the bayou instead.

The MLB draft will begin Sunday night as the best college and prep players wait to hear their names called.

No. 2 left-handed pitcher in 2026 commits to LSU baseball

The Tigers landed a commitment from Braxton Beaty, who is currently a freshman in high school.

[autotag]Braxton Beaty[/autotag] is a 5-foot-9, 140-pound pitcher from Angleton, Texas, where he plays for the Angelton Wildcats. Beaty is ranked as the No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2026 by Perfect Game.

The Angleton Wildcats finished last season 13-17 with a loss to Milby in the playoffs.

Beaty became the first commitment of the 2026 class for LSU on Monday. Head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has signed back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes for LSU as well as signing top transfer portal classes. The future is bright on the Bayou and the Tigers will field a team this year that could go all the way to Omaha and bring another championship back to Baton Rouge.

Beaty has three pitches in his repertoire so far, a fastball, slider, and changeup combo. His fastball has topped out at 86 mph and his slider and changeup vary from 74 to 78 mph. Beaty is just a freshman so he has plenty of time to grow and develop as a pitcher.

He will be fun to watch during his high school career.

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LSU baseball lands commitment from No. 2 player in the class of 2024

The Tigers stay winning on the recruiting trail under coach Jay Johnson.

LSU landed a commitment from the No. 2 recruit in the 2024 baseball recruiting class, [autotag]Konnor Griffin[/autotag], on Thursday.

Griffin is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound two-way player from Jackson Prep in Florence, Mississippi. The Patriots finished last season 31-7 with a win over Madison-Ridgeland Academy in the state championship game.

With Griffin’s commitment, LSU now has verbal commitments from the No. 1, 2, 5 and 10 recruits for the class of 2024. Coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] has signed back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes the past two years and is on his way to doing it again for 2023.

With the type of class he brings in for 2024, he may sign four straight top recruiting classes. Jay Johnson and the Tigers are currently preparing for their 2022-23 campaign as their season begins against Western Michigan on February 17, 2023. Expectations are at an all-time high for Jay Johnson’s second season on the Bayou.

He has a team loaded with talent that could end the season in Omaha.

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LSU baseball lands commitment from No. 1 Texas prospect in 2024

Casan Evans gives LSU’s already elite recruiting yet another boost.

Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers coaching staff have done it again.

The coaching staff that has signed the No. 1 recruiting class out of high school the past two years just received a commitment from the No. 1 player in Texas according to the prep baseball report in [autotag]Casan Evans[/autotag].

Evans plays shortstop and stars as a right-handed pitcher for the St. Pius X Panthers in Houston, Texas. The Tigers have already gotten a commitment from the No. 3 prospect from Texas in Cade Arrambide, a catcher from Tomball, Texas, that plays for the Tomball Cougars.

These two players have a chance at being the next great battery on the Bayou, but they could also hear their names called in the MLB draft. The Tigers lost a few potential members of this years team to the draft last year. Either way, it is a very exciting time if you are a fan of LSU baseball.

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LSU baseball lands commitment from 2025 shortstop

Coach Jay Johnson never stops recruiting.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] is one of the best recruiters in the nation. That is evidenced by the fact that he has signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country two years in a row, and he also signed the No. 1 transfer class this year.

If you want to be the best, the recruiting never stops. Johnson has just received a commitment from 2025 shortstop [autotag]Marshall Louque[/autotag] from Lutcher, Louisiana. The Lutcher Bulldogs are an incredible baseball team in Class 3A. They are the defending state champions after going 35-9 last season and beating Berwick for the state championship.

Louque was only a freshman on that team, but he made a big impact. He will be a name to watch between now and his signing day. As for Johnson and the Tiger baseball team, they have started intrasquad scrimmages as their preparation begins for the 2022 baseball season before Spring rolls around. This will be Johnson’s second full year as the head coach.

The Tigers’ season ended with a loss in the regional championship game against Southern Miss.

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LSU baseball has the No. 1 recruiting class for the second year in a row

Jay Johnson continues to stockpile talent in Baton Rouge.

For the second year in a row, coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers have signed the No. 1 recruiting class. Although the Tigers lost a few of their commitments to the 2022 MLB Draft, there is still a very talented group of freshmen that will be on the field for LSU this spring.

LSU boasts six recruits that are listed by Baseball America as top 500 draft prospects. [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag] (No. 71), [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] (No. 83), [autotag]Chase Shores[/autotag] (No. 93), [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] (No. 215), [autotag]Aiden Moffett[/autotag] (No. 495) and [autotag]Ethan Frey[/autotag] (No. 499).

Last season, LSU went 40-22 overall and 17-13 in conference play. Their season ended with a loss to Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Regional.

LSU lost a lot of talented guys from that team last year (to the MLB Draft and the transfer portal) but with this type of recruiting class, it will be a fun Spring at the Box.

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LSU signee Rob Snelling hears his name called on Night 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft

LSU’s 2022 signing class took another hit on Sunday night as Snelling became the third incoming freshman that was taken in the first round.

The Tigers signed the top recruiting class in the country in 2022, but it took a hit on Sunday night during the MLB draft as Rob Snelling became the third signee to be drafted in the first round. He was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 39th pick.

Snelling is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed pitcher from Reno, Nevada. Snelling was ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the draft according to MLB.com and was a four-star recruit coming out of high school.

Like fellow first-round pick signee [autotag]Mikey Romero[/autotag], Snelling was committed to play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] at Arizona before choosing to follow him to Baton Rouge. Now, his plans may have changed again.

He gets the option to stay a lot closer to home and play with some stars in San Diego, though he still has the choice to not sign with the Padres and come to Baton Rouge.

If he signs with the Padres, he will head to the minor leagues for a few years before hopefully making his way to the bigs.

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Another member of LSU’s 2022 recruiting class flies off the draft board

Mikey Romero became the second LSU signee to be drafted in the first round on Sunday night.

[autotag]Mikey Romero[/autotag] became the latest member of LSU’s recruiting class to get drafted as he was picked with the 24th pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 2022 MLB draft. Romero joins [autotag]Justin Crawford[/autotag], another 2022 recruit who was taken in the first round.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound shortstop/second baseman from Orange Lutheran in California was ranked as the No. 65 overall prospect in the MLB draft according to MLB.com, but he went off the board earlier than some expected.

He was rated as a five-star infielder in the 2022 recruiting class, and he was committed to play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] at Arizona. When Johnson left the desert for LSU, Romero re-opened his recruitment and wound up following Johnson to the bayou.

Now, he is a first-round draft pick with a storied Red Sox franchise. He now has a choice to either sign with Boston or come to Baton Rouge. Regardless, he won’t immediately go to Boston as he will likely spend some years in the minor leagues before hopefully making his dreams come true and becoming a big leaguer.

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Top LSU baseball signee Justin Crawford drafted in 1st round by Philadelphia Phillies

The Tigers’ highest-rated commit in 2022 likely won’t be making it to campus.

One of the best signees of LSU’s No. 1 2022 recruiting class in center fielder [autotag]Justin Crawford[/autotag] — son of former MLB outfielder Carl Crawford — was selected with the No. 17 pick of the MLB draft on Sunday night by the Philadelphia Phillies.

He’s the second LSU player to come off the board after star third baseman Jacob Berry went to the Miami Marlins with the sixth overall picked.If he signs, Crawford would join an outfield in Philly with reigning MVP Bryce Harper.

Seven of LSU’s top-10 highest-rated draft prospects were part of the 2022 recruiting class, and Crawford was the first domino to fall.

He likely will not be the last, either, as LSU may have one or two more incoming freshmen picked tonight. Even though these kids get drafted, they still have the option to go to LSU and play for coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the Tigers. But given the slotted values for first or second-round picks, it would be very hard to turn that down.

Though a surprise could be in the works when it comes time to negotiate his signing bonus, Crawford is now likely heading to the minor leagues to grind it out for a while before we hopefully see him in the majors one day.

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