Cade Beloso explains why he took LSU's transfers under his wing

The LSU Tigers are in the championship series of the NCAA Baseball Tournament thanks to a loaded roster which features a blend of longtime Tiger players plus some incredibly talented folks from the transfer portal. However, for LSU to blend together and become a squad capable of winning the whole thing, the elder statesmen of Baton Rouge had to take the newcomers under their wing. For the Tigers, the man leading the way in helping the new guys get familiar with LSU baseball was Cade Beloso.

Ahead of the final series vs. Florida, Beloso got a chance to speak with media and was asked about his perceived role as the old fella taking transfers under his wing. He simply deferred to his teammates’ talent, noting that it’s not too hard to make a great baseball team when you have such great players.

“I mean, yes, you look around the room and you see the talent. You’ve got two guys up here that are going to play in the Big Leagues for 15-plus years if they choose to. But we knew we were going to have a great team.”

However, Beloso does note that team chemistry is a vital part of the equation when it comes to building out a squad that can last when adversity hits come postseason time.

“But it’s not about how good your team is, it’s about your chemistry,” says Beloso. “That’s really what it comes down to at the end of the day is, how much you love each other, how much you’re going to want to play for each other.”

He continued, further emphasizing the team aspect of baseball.

“It’s a team game. You can’t just rely on one person. We knew that going in. Just hanging out in the fall, doing team building stuff with Coach (Jay Johnson) and a bunch of our mental coaches and stuff like that and just trying to be brothers, I think that’s what it comes down to. That’s one thing we pride ourselves on; we’re a group of brothers.”

Cade Beloso certainly understands the value of having a group of likeable and connected guys on a roster together. Because when you hit a road block out in Omaha, some adversity comes your way, it’s just you plus the few dozen other fellas down in that dugout. That’s when your mettle and your team chemistry is really tested. Surely, the Tigers will find themselves in such a situation this weekend, and we’ll al get to see if they have that ultimate fight in ’em.