Tag: lsu baseball

LSU ranked in the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll

Jay Johnson’s squad starts the season in the top 10.

LSU is ranked No. 7 in the 2022 USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll, marking the Tigers’ fifth Top 10 appearance in a preseason poll.

LSU’s previously released preseason rankings are No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 4 by Perfect Game, No. 8 by D1 Baseball, and No. 10 by Baseball America.

The Tigers start the first season of Jay Johnson’s tenure with high rankings and high expectations. This is understandable because a young LSU team made the Super Regionals last year and new head coach Jay Johnson led the Arizona Wildcats to a Pac-12 Championship and the College World Series. With a ton of returning talent and some new talent, expect the Tigers to make some noise in “The Box” this season.

The Tigers have been engaged in preseason training and scrimmages since January 28, and the 2022 season begins at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday, February 18, when LSU plays host to Maine in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU is one of eight Southeastern Conference teams appearing in the USA Today 2022 preseason Top 25, along with No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Florida, No. 16 Tennessee, and No. 17 Georgia.

Texas, which will face LSU on March 5 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, is No. 1 in the USA Today ranking.

2022 USA Today Preseason Top 25

AP Photo/Wade Payne

*(2021 records in parentheses)

1. Texas (50-17)
2. Vanderbilt (49-18)
3. Mississippi State (50-18)
4. Arkansas (50-13)
5. Stanford (39-17)
6. Mississippi (45-22)
7. LSU (38-25)
8. Oklahoma State (36-19-1)
9. North Carolina State (37-19)
10. Florida (38-22)
11. Notre Dame (34-13)
12. Texas Tech (39-17)
13. East Carolina (44-17)
14. Florida State (31-24)
15. Arizona (45-18)
16. Tennessee (50-18)
17. Georgia (31-25)
18. TCU (41-19)
19. UC Irvine (43-18)
20. Oregon State (37-24)
21. Virginia (36-27)
22. Dallas Baptist (41-18)
23. Georgia Tech (31-25)
24. UCLA (37-20)
25. Duke (33-22)

A quick look ahead to the LSU Tigers 2022 baseball season

We aren’t far away from the beginning of baseball season.

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We are just a couple of weeks away from the start of what looks to be another exciting Baseball Season at “The Box”.

Not only is it the start of a new season, but also a start of a new regime at LSU. On June 25th, 2021, the Tigers hired Jay Johnson to be the new skipper for the Tigers baseball program. Coach Johnson coached at Arizona last year where he was the Pac-12 coach of the year. He led the Wildcats to the Pac-12 championship and eventually to the College World Series.

His Wildcats had the nation’s best offense in 2021. Oh yeah, did I mention he brought his best player with him? Jacob Berry was the hottest hitter for the No. 1 offense in the country, batting .352 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. This is why he was placed on Baseball America’s Preseason All-American team for the 2022 season. He wasn’t the only Tiger on that list.

Berry was joined by Dylan Crews, Cade Doughty, and Tre’ Morgan. All four of these Sophomores are part of the reason why there is so much excitement around the program this year. Many truly believe this is a team that could win it all.

LSU begins the 2022 season ranked No. 10 on Baseball America’s Top 25. They will ease into the season with Maine, at Louisiana Tech, Southern, Towson, and New Orleans before things ramp up in the Shriners Hospital for Children College Classic where the Tigers will take on the likes of Oklahoma, No. 1 Texas, and Baylor at Minute Maid Park.

LSU leads the nation with four on Baseball America’s preseason All-American team

Four Tigers named preseason All-American by Baseball America

LSU leads the country with four players on the 2022 Baseball America Preseason All-America team. Sophomore outfielder Dylan Crews and Sophomore infielder Jacob Berry were voted to the first team, and Sophomore first baseman Tre’ Morgan and Redshirt Sophomore infielder Cade Doughty were voted to the second team.

In 2021, Dylan Crews was named the 2021 Perfect Game National Freshman of the Year. He hit .362 (89-for-246) with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers, 42 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases. Crews’ 18 home runs last year were the most in a single season by a freshman in LSU history, surpassing Mike Fontenot, who hit 17 home runs as a freshman in 2000. Crews also earned all-tournament honors for the Euguene Regional as he batted .476 (10-for-21) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, four RBI, and six runs scored.

Jacob Berry is a new face in Baton Rouge, but he is a guy that Tiger fans will get familiar with quickly. Berry transferred to LSU from Arizona, where he led the Wildcats to the 2021 College World Series and the Pac-12 Championship. Berry batted .352 with a team-high 17 homers and 70 RBI. He was named the National Co-Freshman of the Year by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Berry earned first-team All America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and he was named a second-team All-America honors from D1Baseball and Perfect Game.

Tre’ Morgan batted .357 (89-for-249) last year with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 42 RBI, 64 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases. He was honored as a Freshman All-America, Second-Team All-SEC, and Freshman All-SEC.

Cade Doughty posted a .308 batting average (70-for-227) in 2021 with 11 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homers, 55 RBI, and 41 runs scored. Doughty helped LSU clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M when his two-out, three-run homer in the fifth inning erased a 6-3 deficit and then hit a two-run double in the top of the 13th to help the Tigers take the lead and seal the deal.

LSU baseball ranked in fourth preseason poll

Another preseason poll, another top 10 ranking

We are less than a month away from the beginning of the 2022 college baseball season and the LSU Tigers are among the top 10 teams in the country.

New baseball head coach Jay Johnson is preparing to lead this team back to Omaha and the College World Series. Last season their dream was cut short by the Tennessee Volunteers in the Super Regional.

After signing the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, the Tigers are ready to defend their turf and make another run at a national championship. LSU hasn’t returned to the CWS since 2017. Johnson led the Arizona Wildcats to Omaha last year.

Per the LSU Tigers’ release:

LSU is ranked No. 10 in the 2022 Baseball America preseason Top 25, marking the Tigers’ fourth Top 10 appearance in a preseason poll.

LSU’s previously released preseason rankings are No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 4 by Perfect Game, and No. 8 by D1 Baseball.

The Tigers are engaged in groups workouts and conditioning drills, and LSU’s first official team practice is scheduled for Friday afternoon. The 2022 season begins on February 18, when LSU plays host to Maine in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

Rank Team
1 Texas Longhorns
2 Vanderbilt Commodores
3 Mississippi State Bulldogs
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5 Virginia Cavaliers
6 Florida Gators
7 Stanford Cardinal
8 Arkansas Razorbacks
9 Mississippi Rebels
10 LSU Tigers
11 Oregon State Beavers
12 Florida State Seminoles
13 Arizona Wildcats
14 Georgia Bulldogs
15 East Carolina Pirates
16 North Carolina State Wolfpack
17 Tennessee Volunteers
18 UC Irvine Anteaters
19 Oklahoma State Cowboys
20 Nebraska Cornhuskers
21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
22 UCLA Bruins
23 Texas Tech Red Raiders
24 Old Dominion Monarchs
25 Miami Hurricanes

 

Top three LSU baseball players of All-Time

LSU baseball won six national championships and had a lot of talent in their program, three of the best were Ben McDonald, Eddy Furniss, and Todd Walker.

LSU baseball has won six national championships in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2009. When you win six national championships, you must have a lot of talent come through your program. Three of the best players for LSU were Ben McDonald, Eddy Furniss, and Todd Walker.

Ben McDonald Pitcher 1987-1989

McDonald was at LSU for three years and helped the team reach the College World Series twice. In the 1987 College World Series, McDonald gave up a walk-off grand slam to Stanford. McDonald had his best year in 1989 when he went 14-4 with a 3.49 ERA. He also set an SEC record with 202 strikeouts. The 1989 National Player of the Year finished his LSU career with 373 strikeouts and had a 44.2 consecutive scoreless inning streak. McDonald was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Todd Walker Second Base 1992-1994

Walker was the 1992 Freshman of the Year and SEC Player of the Year in his sophomore season. Walker was a two-time All-American that batted .396. The second baseman was known for his bat and had 310 hits in three years and 246 RBIs. Walker is also a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Eddy Furniss First Base 1996-1998

Furniss was a beast while at LSU; when he left LSU, he was the leader in hits (352), home runs (80), and RBIs (308). Furniss also leads LSU in many other offensive categories. The first baseman was a two-time All-American, SEC Player of the Year in 1996, and won back-to-back College World Series’s.

LSU and UL-Lafayette to face off on Sunday in a fall baseball scrimmage

LSU and UL-Lafayette will face off in a fall baseball scrimmage on Sunday.

The LSU Baseball team will face UL-Lafayette on Sunday in a Fall baseball scrimmage.

According to the press release from the LSU athletic department, the first pitch comes at 12:00 p.m. CT. Gates will open at 11:00 a.m. and parking will be free. The fall baseball practice schedule will continue through Nov. 21. The game on Sunday will feature 16 innings with a 30-minute break between the 8th and 9th innings.

“Team practice has been progressing very well,” said LSU first-year coach Jay Johnson. “We really appreciate the fans coming out last Sunday; that was really impressive, and we’re looking forward to seeing them again this weekend. We’ll have one more week of fall practice after this weekend, so we’re looking to finish strong.

“The development of our pitching has been really encouraging; we walked two batters in 20 innings against UNO, and that’s a significant positive development. Limiting the free bases from the mound has been impressive, and I think we made two errors in 20 innings last weekend. I thought we handled the baseball really well, and when you’re limiting opportunities for the opponent like that, it’s really hard for them to score.”

The 2022 LSU baseball season begins on Feb. 18 when the Tigers host Maine.

Former LSU Tiger Alex Bregman looking for another championship

Former LSU Tiger Alex Bregman looks for World Series ring No. 2.

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A former LSU Tiger has made it to one of the biggest stages in sports.

Alex Bregman, third baseman for the Houston Astros, will be in the Astros starting lineup in game one of the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.

Bregman was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft, being selected behind none other than Dansby Swanson, who currently plays shortstop for the Braves.

Bregman posted two top-five AL Most Valuable Player finishes, has won a Silver Slugger and is a two-time All-Star. He has played 15 fewer career regular-season games than Swanson but has a higher OPS+ (138 to 89) and bWAR (26.1 to 9.1). Bregman was also the youngest Opening Day third baseman in Astros history back in 2017.

Bregman is currently batting .282 in the postseason, with 11 hits, eight runs scored, and five RBIs. He has a .749 OPS and has a .364 OBP. He has started all 10 postseason games for the Houston Astros.

LSU baseball schedule announced for the 2022 season

LSU released the schedule for baseball on Wednesday.

On Wednesday the baseball schedule for the LSU Tigers was announced for the upcoming season.

The LSU baseball season will start against Maine on Feb. 18-20 for a three-game series at home. This will be the first game under new LSU head coach Jay Johnson, who comes over from Arizona. The Tigers will take place in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, in early March.

During the three-game stretch, they will face future SEC opponents Oklahoma and Texas in back-to-back games. The team will close out the classic with a game against Baylor. The first SEC games will start on Mar. 18-20 when the Texas A&M Aggies come to Baton Rouge.

A full look at the 2022 LSU Tigers baseball schedule:

February Games:

18-20 Maine Home
23 Louisiana Tech Away
25 Towson Home
26 Southern Home
27 Towson Home (Game 1 of DH)
27 Southern Home (Game 2 of DH)

March Games:

2 New Orleans Home
4 Oklahoma Houston, Texas
5 Texas Houston, Texas
6 Baylor Houston, Texas
8 McNeese Home
11-13 Bethune-Cookman Home
15 Tulane Home
18-20 Texas A&M Home
22 Louisiana Tech Home
25-27 Florida Away
29 UL-Monroe Home

April Games:

1-3 Auburn Home
5 Grambling Home
8-10 Mississippi State Away
12 Lamar Home
14-16 Arkansas Away
19 ULL Home
22-24 Missour Home
26 TBA Home
29-30 Georgia Home

May Games:

1 Georgia Home
3 Nicholls Home
6-8 Alabama Away
10 Southeastern Louisiana Home
13-15 Ole Miss Home
17 Northwestern State Home
19-21 Vanderbilt Away
24-29 SEC Tournament Hoover, Alabama

 

LSU baseball: Where the Tigers stand ahead of the season

How will the Tigers finish out the upcoming baseball season?

LSU baseball has undergone a lot of changes between last season and this season.

Obviously, the most notable of those is a head coach change after the retirement of Paul Mainieri. Enter new head coach Jay Johnson, formerly of Arizona.

Regardless of how different things make look this year, one thing remains — high expectations for the program in Baton Rouge.

Baseball America recently released its ‘Never Too Early’ rankings for college baseball teams across the country, and LSU sat at No. 10 on the list, behind Texas, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Stanford, Virginia, Florida, Notre Dame and Ole Miss.

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Here’s a look at the Top 10 in order:

Behind the Tigers, in order, were Florida State, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Arizona, East Carolina, UC Irvine, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Tennessee Texas Christian, Georgia, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Charlotte and Oklahoma State.

The Tigers are in good hands with Johnson, and it will be interesting to see how they finish out in comparison to these preseason rankings.

Johnson comes to LSU fresh off his second College World Series trip with Arizona. He and the Wildcats were just one win away from a National Championship in 2016, so it’s clear he has a winning foundation to grow.

He built one of the best teams offensively in college baseball, leading Arizona to its first conference title since 1992.

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Report: LSU baseball to hire Arizona coach Jay Johnson

Jay Johnson will reportedly be LSU baseball’s next coach.

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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