Tag: Michael Braswell

The stars are aligning for LSU baseball in 2025

LSU baseball has all the tools to win a national title in 2024. Now, it’s about putting the pieces together.

The summer of 2022 was a good one for LSU baseball. [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] knew players like [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] were returning while adding superstars [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] in the transfer portal. It made LSU the consensus No. 1 entering 2023, with some calling it a dream team.

That group fit the billing, going on to win the national title a year later.

This summer has been a similar flood of positive news for Jay Johnson’s squad. According to 64Analytics, the Tigers have the top transfer class in college baseball. LSU survived the MLB draft largely unscathed and with a few surprises.

Star high school pitcher [autotag]William Schmidt[/autotag] pulled his name from draft boards and announced his decision to attend LSU. Key contributors from the 2024 squad, first baseman [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] and shortstop [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag], both announced their return to school.

I’m not saying the 2025 squad will be a dream team on the level of 2023. We may never see that assembly of talent again in college baseball. LSU hasn’t added a Skenes or White in the portal, but those players aren’t there every year. There’s no Dylan Crews or Tre Morgan either, even if LSU’s lineup does have potential to be among the nation’s best.

Regardless, LSU is positioning itself to be a true national title contender in 2025. Questions about the pitching staff remain, but the portal work has built enough depth for a few solid options to emerge. Jones should take another step forward as a slugger and second basemen [autotag]Steven Milam[/autotag] is set to become a superstar.

Don’t forget about [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag], who had several impressive moments as a true freshman down the stretch.

It’s a team that will be battle-tested after facing adversity in 2024 and seeing its season come to a heartbreaking end in the Chapel Hill Regional.

Johnson, having managed a team filled with stars in 2023 and a team that needed some work in 2024, has proven he can win in different ways. Next year, we’ll see a combo of the two styles. It will be a team with strong portal reinforcements, but much of the core will come through high school recruiting and retaining what LSU already has.

After a disappointing 2024, the pressure will be turned on again next year. How this group deals with that will be something to watch, but the veteran presence is there.

Johnson knows his gig is the best job in the country. It’s because it doesn’t take much effort to assemble a team like this. LSU has all the tools to win another national title in 2025, now it’s just about putting the pieces together.

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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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Instant Analysis: LSU crowned the champions of the Astros Foundation Classic with Sunday win over Texas State

LSU joins Vanderbilt as the only other team to go 3-0 at the Astros Foundation Classic.

LSU took on Texas State in a battle of two teams who came into the game undefeated at the [autotag]Astros Foundation Classic[/autotag]. Texas State knocked off Houston and Texas while LSU knocked off Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette. Both teams entered the game looking to leave as one of the only two teams to go 3-0 on the weekend.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers and he had a quality start. He went five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, five strikeouts, and one walk. Hurd was the first LSU starter to give up an earned run during the Classic.

[autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] got the Tigers on the board first with a solo shot in the bottom of the third inning to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers tacked on five runs as [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag] hit an RBI double, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] had a two-RBI single, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] had an RBI single, and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] got an RBI on a fielder’s choice to make the score 6-0 LSU.

In the top of the fifth inning, Hurd looked like he would escape the inning unscathed until a ball caromed off of [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag]’s glove into left field resulting in a run. After that, a throwing error by Braswell resulted in two more runs scoring for the Bobcats to cut the lead to 6-3.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, LSU got two of those three runs back. Travinski hit an RBI double and [autotag]Stephen Milam[/autotag] hit an RBI double to extend the LSU lead to 8-3.

[autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] entered to pitch for LSU in the top of the seventh after [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] got the Tigers through the sixth unscathed. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Milam hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 9-3. [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] then entered to pinch hit for LSU and he hit an RBI single to make it 10-3 Tigers.

With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, [autotag]DJ Primeaux[/autotag] came into the game to try to get the last out of the evening. DJ was met with a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 10-5 and [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] would get the call out of the bullpen.

With the win, LSU moves to 11-1 on the season. LSU was crowned the champions of the Astros Foundation College Classic tournament after going undefeated and putting up a better run differential than Vanderbilt, who also finished the tourney 3-0. The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana.

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Six LSU players named to D1Baseball’s impact transfer list

D1 Baseball released a list of the top 130 impact transfers in college baseball. Six LSU newcomers made the list.

D1Baseball released a list of the top 130 impact transfers in college baseball. Six LSU newcomers made the list.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] (No. 3), [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] (No. 12), [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] (No. 21), [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag] (No. 23), [autotag]Kade Woods[/autotag] (No. 37) and [autotag]Michael Braswell III[/autotag] (No. 119) all made the top 130.

Three out of those six are all in-conference transfers. Holman and Woods are both coming to LSU from Alabama, and Braswell spent his last two seasons playing for South Carolina.

The other three guys are from all across the map. Bingham is another recruit from the Arizona to LSU pipeline, Jump is coming to LSU from UCLA, and Loer is coming to LSU after pitching at Xavier for two seasons.

Jay Johnson’s message to LSU targets in transfer portal: ‘There’s only one place to come play’

Johnson used his postgame press conference after Thursday night’s win over Wake Forest to do some recruiting.

LSU will be playing for its seventh national title against the Florida Gators this weekend.

After back-to-back gutsy wins from the bullpen, the Tigers outlasted Wake Forest in a winner-take-all game for a spot in the College World Series final on Thursday night.

As has been the case all year, transfers came up huge for LSU in this game, and with portal season already in full swing, Johnson used his postgame pulpit as a chance to offer a message to targets.

“If you’re one of the best players in the transfer portal, there’s only one place to come play,” he said in his press conference.

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] — the top pitcher in the country and potential No. 1 MLB draft pick — started the game and went eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts in what may be his final appearance with the Tigers.

He’s a transfer from Air Force. The pitcher that relieved him and finished the shutout in the final three innings, [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag], is a transfer, as is the man whose bat secured the win for LSU in [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag], who hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th.

The Tigers are already off to a good start in the portal, landing South Carolina infielder [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag] and Xavier pitcher [autotag]Justin Loer[/autotag].

Based on Johnson’s comments and the way he handled last offseason, they are likely just the first of many.

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LSU baseball lands transfer shortstop from South Carolina

Michael Braswell appeared in 105 games over the last two seasons, becoming a Freshman All-SEC selection in 2022.

The Tigers are still focused on winning a ring as they compete at the College World Series in Omaha this weekend, but coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] is already working to ensure that LSU has a championship-caliber roster once again in 2024.

On Thursday, the Tigers picked up their first transfer portal commitment in former South Carolina shortstop [autotag]Michael Braswell[/autotag], who announced his commitment on his Twitter account.

Braswell is a sophomore from Mabelton, Georgia. He has appeared in 105 games over the last two seasons, and he was a Freshman All-SEC selection in 2022.

He saw his production dip a bit this spring. His batting average dropped from .284 to .255, though his on-base percentage rose slightly to .372. He currently has one home run, eight doubles and 23 RBI on the year.

With starting shortstop [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag] likely heading to the draft, Braswell will have the chance to vie for an immediate starting spot in Baton Rouge.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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