Tag: sec baseball

This SEC program comes away from MLB draft as a big winner

The program will have a loaded roster in 2025.

Coming out of the 2024 MLB draft, there might not be a bigger winner from the SEC than the LSU Tigers, and no, it is not entirely due to the number of players they the program selected earlier this week.

Now yes, the Tigers did see their usual fair share of players selected, which included the likes of Tommy White, Luke Holman, and Gage Jump in round two, as well as Thatcher Hurd in the third.

However, what arguably makes the Tigers a bigger winner is from the names who were not selected, and instead will return to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season. These included star first baseman Jared Jones, as well as others such as shortstop Michael Braswell.

In addition to those two, LSU also a few commitments from top high school seniors that were expected to get drafted highly, but will instead play for the Tigers next season.

A group that started with outfielder Derek Curiel, LSU also saw both William Schmidt and Cade Arrambide announce they would be bypassing the MLB draft, and instead take their talents to Baton Rouge.

Schmidt, who was ranked as the draft’s No. 16 overall prospect according to MLB, is considered as arguably the top high school pitcher in the 2024 class. Out of Catholic High School in Louisiana, Schmidt is now expected to be a major impact player for LSU’s pitching staff as a freshman.

Arrambide however is arguably the top high school catcher in the 2024 class out of Tomball High School in Texas. He could also make a big impact as a freshman as well, as catcher is a position that the Tigers have lost some talent this offseason.

With all three being big moves in their own right, will this group help what was already a loaded Tigers roster return to the College World Series in 2025?

LSU first baseman Jared Jones to return for 2025 season

A potential SEC Player of the Year candidate will be returning to Baton Rouge next season.

After going undrafted in the 2024 MLB draft, LSU Tigers first baseman Jared Jones announced Tuesday afternoon that he would be returning to college for the 2025 season.

An impactful move for the Tigers 2025 roster, Jones has started each of the last two seasons for LSU defensively at first base, while also having been a key member of their lineup. Across that span, Jones has slashed a combined .303/.443/.703 with 42 HR, 104 RBI, and five SB.

As for this past season, Jones was among the top home run hitters in the SEC as a sophomore, hitting 28 total. Across 66 games played, Jones also slashed .301/.454/.747 with 59 RBI and three SB for the Tigers, while posting a K:BB ratio of 75:59 as well.

Jones was previously considered as the No. 119 overall prospect available in this draft according to MLB, and will now return to Baton Rouge next year where he is a potential preseason SEC Player of the Year candidate.

These SEC players were selected in first round of 2024 MLB draft

The SEC saw numerous players selected in the first round Sunday night.

As expected, the SEC as a whole was well represented during the first round of the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday night, seeing nine players selected across the 30 total picks, along with the nine incentive and compensation picks.

The first of those players selected was Georgia Bulldogs star third baseman Charlie Condon, as the 2024 SEC Player of the Year went No. 3 overall to the Colorado Rockies. Condon was also joined by Arkansas Razorbacks left-hander Hagen Smith, the 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year, in the top five picks, with the southpaw going No. 5 overall to the Chicago White Sox.

Also joining those two in the Top 10 were Florida’s Jac Caglianone at No. 6 to the Kansas City Royals and Tennessee’s Christian Moore at No. 8 to the Los Angeles Angels.

Rounding out the first round was Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery (No. 12 to Boston Red Sox), Mississippi State’s Jurrangelo Cijntje (No. 15 to Seattle Mariners), Alabama’s Ben Hess (No. 26 to New York Yankees), Kentucky’s Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 31 to Arizona Diamondbacks), and Tennessee’s Blake Burke (No. 34 to Milwaukee Brewers).

In addition to this group, numerous other SEC players came off the board in the second round on Sunday night such as LSU’s Tommy White and Texas A&M’s Chris Cortez, among others. The third round also began Monday afternoon.

Texas A&M pitcher Issac Morton confirms he will be returning to Aggieland

Texas A&M sophomore pitcher Issac Morton confirms he withdrew his name from the portal and will return for the 2025 season.

New Texas A&M pitching coach Jason Kelly will have another talented arm returning to College Station. Issac Morton entered the transfer portal to make sure he had options during the coaching change like any player might have done. The 6’3″ sophomore recently confirmed that he will indeed withdraw from the portal and return to A&M.

The decision appears to have come after coach Kelly met with Morton while in Cape Cod watching him pitch. Being able to keep a large part of this pitching staff together along with bringing in a few solid transfers has shown the hiring of Jason Kelly to be a good one so far. 

SEASON STATS

  • Record – 1-0
  • Saves – 0
  • ERA – 2.87
  • Innings Pitched – 15.2
  • Strikeouts – 22
  • Walks – 17
  • Opposing Batting Average – .113

Ahead of next season, Morton has a chance to compete for a spot regular work during the 2025 season with a year of experience under his belt.

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Auburn baseball adds former Florida LHP Cade Fisher from transfer portal

Fisher won 10 games and struck out 124 batters in two seasons for the Gators.

Auburn baseball head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is working to rebuild his roster following an unconventional season that saw Auburn miss out on the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2016. So far, Thompson has landed eight players from the transfer portal, arguably his biggest addition committing to the program over the weekend.

[autotag]Cade Fisher[/autotag], a left-handed pitcher originally for the Florida Gators, announced Saturday that he would take his talents to another fellow SEC program, the Auburn Tigers.

Fisher was a highly-touted recruit out of high school. The Dalton, Georgia native signed with Florida as the No. 12 national LHP from the 2022 class, and the top overall pitcher from Georgia. He ended his high school career with a 0.71 ERA, the lowest in all Georgia High School Association classifications.

His stellar high school career translated to college as he earned a freshman All-American honor from Perfect Game and was named to the SEC All-freshman team in 2023. He earned those accolades by building a 6-0 record with 48 strikeouts to 13 walks in 27 appearances.

Last season at Florida, he finished 4-3 with a career-high 76 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings with nine starts for the Gators. He also earned valuable College World Series experience during his time at Florida by appearing in seven games in Omaha over the last two seasons. Fisher’s most notable College World Series outing took place in the Gators loss to LSU in the game one of the final series in 2023, where he struck out five batters over 3 1/3 innings of work.

Fisher is the fourth pitcher to commit to Auburn from the transfer portal, joining [autotag]Sam Dutton[/autotag] (LSU), [autotag]Mason Koch[/autotag] (Creighton), and [autotag]Ryan Hetzler[/autotag] (California Baptist). He comes to Auburn with a career ERA of 5.30 and a record of 10-3 in 53 total appearances. He has recorded 124 strikeouts and 42 walks in 108 2/3 innings over the last two seasons at Florida.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9Xh_mwppXQ/

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Former LSU star Paul Skenes to start 2024 MLB All-Star Game

The former LSU ace will start for the National League.

After a stellar first half of the season, it was announced Friday afternoon that Pittsburgh Pirates rookie and former LSU Tigers star Paul Skenes will be the starting pitcher for the National League in the upcoming 2024 MLB All-Star Game.

The game, which pits the American League against the National League All-Stars, will take place Tuesday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Selected with the No. 1 overall pick out of LSU a year ago, Skenes has made his mark with Pittsburgh since being called-up for his MLB debut earlier this season. Since then, the rookie right-hander has made 11 starts for the Pirates where he owns a 6-0 record with a 1.90 ERA and an 89:13 K:BB ratio across 66.1 IP, while also holding opponents to a combined .202 AVG against.

At LSU, Skenes was named the 2023 SEC Pitcher of the Year during his lone season in Baton Rouge. There, Skenes held a 13-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and 209:20 K:BB ratio across 122.2 IP with the national champions prior to be being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft.

Having now added All-Star Game starter to his already impressive resume, could Skenes also add Rookie of the Year to that list later this year?

New Texas A&M pitching coach Jason Kelly talks about his coaching style with TexAgs

New Texas A&M pitching coach John Kelly sits down with TexAgs to talk about his journey to Bryan-College Station

Texas A&M saw a major improvement in pitching from the 2023 season to the 2024 campaign.

The change came after the former Seattle Mariner pitching coordinator Max Weiner joined Jim Schlossnagle’s 2024 staff, replacing Nate Yeskie. It was a match made in heaven. The pitching staff spoke very highly of him throughout the season. His mound visits were light-hearted, and he usually had the pitchers locked back in for the remainder of the inning.

Then, less than 24 hours later, the rug was pulled from under them. Weiner followed Schlossnagle to Austin. However, almost all the pitching staff chose not enter the transfer portal, which was surprising. However, A&M still needed to make the right hire and Michael Earley did just that.

Earley brought in former Washington Huskie head coach and LSU pitching coach Jason Kelly. Kelly has a wealth of experience and is widely recognized as one of the best pitching coaches in the nation, with a stable of talent to work with. Below, you can watch his recent interview with TexAgs, in which he talks about his pitching style and his relationship with coach Earley.

 

 

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LSU adds potential 2025 weekend starter through transfer portal

The Tigers add a potential 2025 starter through the transfer portal.

The LSU Tigers baseball program continued their transfer portal success late Wednesday night by securing a commitment from a player that could end up being a key member of their 2025 pitching staff, Anthony Eyanson.

Eyanson comes to Baton Rouge from UC San Diego, where the right-hander has spent each of the past two seasons. Over that span, Eyanson owned an 8-3 combined record while starting 16-of-22 games he appeared in, along with a 3.41 ERA and 119:32 K:BB ratio across 111 IP.

As for this past season, Eyanson was a Second Team All-Big West selection as a sophomore as a result of his 14 total appearances for UC San Diego, nine of which were starts. Over that stretch, the right-hander held a 6-2 record, a 3.07 ERA, and an 85:24 K:BB ratio across 82 IP, while also even collecting a save as a reliever.

Looking ahead, Eyanson is now likely to be a key member of LSU’s pitching staff as a junior, and could see time in both the rotation and bullpen. Do not necessarily rule out a weekend starter position for the right-hander either.

SEC to be well represented in first round of 2024 MLB draft

The SEC could see 8-to-10 players selected in the first round Sunday night.

When the 2024 MLB draft begins Sunday, July 14, the SEC will certainly not be lacking for representation within the first round.

As with previous years, the conference will see numerous players selected in the first round of the draft, which could include at-least seven-to-eight teams seeing a player selected Sunday night. In addition to this, the SEC is fully in the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick, and could very easily see three different players taken in the first five picks of the draft.

Those names include Georgia star and 2024 SEC Player of the Year Charlie Condon, as well as Florida two-way standout Jac Caglianone. Also included in that group is Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith, as well as Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery.

Elsewhere in the first round, national champion Tennessee is likely to see at-least one player selected in Christian Moore, as well as potentially another in Billy Amick. Other names that could come off the board Sunday night are LSU’s Tommy White, Kentucky’s Ryan Waldschmidt, and Mississippi State’s Jurrangelo Cijntje and Dakota Jordan.

So, with the answer to come Sunday night, how many SEC players will be selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft? It appears the conference will be featured well once again.

Texas A&M gets commitment from former St. Mary’s catcher Conner “Bear” Harrison

Former St, Mary’s catcher Conner “Bear” Harrison announced his commitment to the Texas A&M baseball team

  • SLG%/OB% – .541/.410

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    With the expectation of catcher Jackson Appel entering the draft and Max Kaufer transferring to South Carolina, the position is up for grabs. Texas A&M brought in a handful of catchers and will have a lot of good competition, with one of them hopefully taking the reins by the beginning of the season.

    On Wednesday night, former St. Mary catcher Conner “Bear” Harrison announced his commitment to the Aggies via social media. After a stellar high school career, Harrison earned a spot on the WCC All-Freshman team and completed the season with a .990 fielding percentage. 

    Under the tutelage of Michael Earley and Caleb Longley, I expect Harrison to make a leap in his home run numbers and strikeouts. Both coaches are considered two of the better hitting coaches in the nation, and Harrison has a lot of tools for them to work with. 

    SEASON STATS

    • Batting Average -.322
    • Runs – 24
    • Hits – 47
    • Home runs – 8
    • RBIs – 36
    • SLG%/OB% – .541/.410

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