Jay Johnson details how being a cancer survivor impacts Luke Holman as pitcher

LSU Tigers head coach Jay Johnson knows he has a special player in pitcher Luke Holman. Because of that, Holman has the complete faith of his head coach.

Johnson explained how special Holman is following the win over Kentucky. In particular, Johnson explained that being a cancer survivor has impacted Holman as a pitcher. After all, it’s easy to keep your composure playing baseball when you’ve battled far worse.

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“He’s special,” Jay Johnson said. “It’s hard to think so positively about somebody you’ve only had for one year, and I’ve been very fortunate, obviously having Paul [Skenes] last year and Luke. I think it goes a little deeper with him. I think there’s always some unique circumstances that goes into it. He’s a cancer survivor from when he was a little kid. So, when you put in context a game you need to win in college baseball versus what he went through, overcame, it’s not surprising.”

When he was less than 18 years old, Luke Holman battled and beat large cell lymphoma. It required a year of chemotherapy and took plenty out of him as an athlete as he had to rebuild his strength following his illness. He’d go on to be drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays but chose to go to college.

At the time, Holman spoke to The Reading Eagle about his battle with cancer.

“Nothing really held me back,” Holman said. “Nothing ever crushed my dreams. I knew if I just put in a bunch of work, I’d still have a chance. I feel like I had to put in extra work after chemo and everything. I got bigger and stronger. That helped a lot.”

Holman initially went to Alabama, where he pitched for two seasons and was the Crimson Tide’s top starter in 2023. Following the 2023 season, he transferred to LSU to play for Jay Johnson.

“But his poise, presence, mound demeanor, focus level, maturity, is probably as good as anyone else I’ve had,” Johnson said. “Obviously, he’s the real deal. He’s going to pitch for a long time and I love it too because there might be guys who have more on the fastball or metrics. This and that. I mean, there’s nobody I think is as effective at getting outs as him.”

Jay Johnson turned to Luke Holman in the SEC Tournament, giving him the start against Kentucky. Holman rewarded that trust, going for six innings of scoreless baseball while striking out seven.

This season, Luke Holman has been dominant. He’s started 15 games, throwing 85 innings over the course of the season. His ERA is sitting at 2.54 and he’s struck out 116 on the season. Now, he’ll look to continue that success deep into the NCAA Tournament.