Jay Johnson admits he couldn't imagine this LSU team without transfer Michael Braswell

The LSU Tigers are coming into the 2024 season as the defending national champions. One of the key players who head coach Jay Johnson brought in to help defend that title is infielder Michael Braswell.

Ahead of the season, Johnson shared the process of bringing Braswell as a transfer from South Carolina to LSU and emphasized how important he’s already become to the LSU team.

“My first thought was he went in the transfer portal and I yelled at Josh [Jordan], like, ‘Get me his number like yesterday,'” Jay Johnson said. “And he did, so we called him, and he’s like, ‘Hey, coach.’ We had just beaten Kentucky in the Super Regional and it was game two where Jordan [Thompson] made three ridiculous plays. I mean ridiculous major league-caliber plays. I remember being happy we were going to Omaha, but the way my brain works, like, ‘Man it’s going to be hard to replace that caliber of defense.'”

Jordan Thompson is now in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, where he was a 15th round draft pick. He’s playing at the Single-A level.

“I was talking to Michael and he was like ‘Yeah, I’ll come down when y’all get back from Omaha,’ but I said, ‘No, I want you to come tomorrow.’ So, he flew in the next day and we had a good couple of days, and the day before our first game in Omaha, he said he’s coming to LSU.” 

Now a junior, Michael Braswell spent two seasons at South Carolina. In 2022, he was named to the Freshmen All-SEC Team. He played 105 games for the Gamecocks, hitting for a .271 average, three home runs, and 50 RBIs. He has a career .367 slugging percentage.

Now, Jay Johnson says that Michael Braswell already means a ton to the LSU Tigers.

“He means a lot to our team and this is with great respect for other players, it’s kind of hard to imagine our team this year without him,” Johnson said.

“And he’s done a great job defensively, better than I thought, and I always had a high opinion of him…Thankfully he chose to come here. It’s one of those deals that’s mutually beneficial. He’s and Coach [Marc] Wanaka have put in a lot of work on the offensive side of it and I think he led our team in hitting this Fall. He has a really good idea of what he’s doing right now.”

Michael Braswell on his growth at LSU

One of the biggest things for Michael Braswell is looking to improve as a hitter. That’s something he recently shared how he’s been working on at LSU.

“It was really about hitting development. Coach Johnson told me, ‘We think you have the base pieces to be a really good hitter and with our development we can take you to the next level.’ I put my trust in him to get me better and it’s worked so far,” Braswell said.

“It’s all mechanical. Using my lower body in my swing and trying to get more balls in the air and in the gaps because in the last two years I’ve been a ground ball hitter, but now I’m using more of my body to unlock more power and drive the ball into the gaps.”