ESPN, Tom Hart correct initial report, Jay Johnson available for SEC title game vs. Tennessee

During Saturday’s semifinal game at the SEC Baseball Tournament between Tennessee and Vanderbilt, ESPN’s Tom Hart said LSU head coach Jay Johnson would be suspended for the title matchup. He was ejected earlier in the day against South Carolina after a controversial call went against the Tigers in extra innings.

However, Hart has since received new information. Johnson is eligible to be in the dugout on Sunday afternoon and will be around the LSU team. There will be no suspension for Johnson despite his ejection.

“I’m told that, despite his ejection in the semifinals, Jay Johnson will be eligible to coach in the championship game tomorrow,” Hart said via X.

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Johnson has been vocal about the great baseball LSU has been playing down the stretch. Capping things off with an SEC Tournament championship would back those words up. He will be thankful to witness it first hand, something he cannot say about the walk-off home run against South Carolina.

Jay Johnson ejected in extra innings vs. South Carolina

Johnson was ejected from LSU’s game against South Carolina on Saturday after one of the more unique sequences in SEC Baseball Tournament history. South Carolina was awarded a run in the top of the 10th inning despite being thrown out at home on an attempted steal. The umpires determined there was interference at the plate, causing for a balk to be called.

Folks in purple and gold were not too thrilled with the decision, potentially being the game-winning run. Johnson went out there to get an explanation and when he retaliated, the ejection occurred.

LSU ended up winning the game on a walk-off home run meaning the controversial play wound up not mattering too much.

From the moment Johnson was ejected, potentially being suspended entered his mind. Instead of sticking around the argue a bit more, he decided to leave the field and avoid any kind of further penalties from the SEC offices in Birmingham.

“No, I’m not messing with anything,” Johnson said during a postgame interview with SEC Network. “We got too much important baseball coming tomorrow and the NCAA Tournament… The umpire crew, once I was ejected, it was like ‘You got to leave right now. Otherwise, there’s going to be a suspension.’ We fought too hard to get to this position. So I basically walked off the field.”