Jay Johnson on winning national championship: 'This was the way it was supposed to go'

LSU brought together the right people at the right place at the right time to win the College World Series.

That’s what Tigers head coach Jay Johnson said about how this group of guys came together to win a national championship, which is good for the seventh in program history, and the first since 2009.

“This was the way it was supposed to go,” Johnson said directly after winning the championship. “Probably more impressive than winning the national championship is that these guys were national champions every single day from the first meeting until tonight.”

Monday’s 18-4 stomping of Florida in the winner-take-all national championship game doubled as the final time ace pitcher Paul Skenes and 2023 Golden Spikes Award Dylan Crews will don the purple and gold for Johnson and the LSU Tigers.

Skenes, who warmed up in the bullpen for a potential close, did not appear in Game 3 — but Crews finished the game hitting 4-for-6 from the plate including one walk, an RBI and was responsible for three of the Tigers’ 18 runs.

“It’s been a ride of a lifetime. Those kinds of guys don’t come around, and to have two of them on the same team — those guys are better people than they are players,” Johnson said of Crews and Skenes. “I’m just speechless. All these guys had were massive expectations all year long, and they met them.

“They didn’t just meet them by winning a national championship, they met them every single day.”

Now, Skenes and Crews move on to the pros and are both expected to be the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in next month’s 2023 MLB Draft.

Skenes (13-2) finishes the season with 122.2 innings pitched, an SEC record-breaking 209 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.69. Opposing batters ended up hitting .165 off him through 19 appearances. He allowed 72 hits against 436 batters and allowed just seven home runs.

Crews, on the other hand, heads to the pros having finished his final season batting a whopping .421 average to go with 106 hits, 69 RBIs and 18 home runs. The outfielder, who also won the 2023 Golden Gloves for his work in center field, finished the year with a perfect fielding percentage in 164 put-out attempts.

Now, Johnson has to quickly find some players either on his team, through recruiting or in the transfer portal to fill Skenes and Crews’ shoes next season. Though, that’s certainly easier said than done.