Jay Johnson says 'fit' is the key to success in transfer portal

Like most teams nowadays, LSU baseball built core parts of their lineup through the transfer portal. Ever since it opened up, there’s been no better (or other) way to acquire proven and experienced talent for your roster as a college coach. So, of course top programs like LSU are hitting it hard when it comes to filling out their roster. But it’s not only about talent acquisition; the connection between the player and the coach and program is equally as important to success, according to Tiger head coach Jay Johnson.

“It’s a good question, and it’s fit,” Johnson answered when asked a recent press conference what’s the most important thing LSU looks for in transfers.

“We’re not for everybody,” he continued. “You know what I mean? Florida is probably not for everybody either. I think building team. You have to be really intentional about building team. And we have a great freshmen class as well. There’s guys that haven’t seen a lot of time here that are the future stars of our program.”

Johnson then listed a few portal players who have been incredible boosts for the Tigers on 2023.

“And I think about Brady Neal who has been hurt; Paxton Kling; Jared Jones. They’ve all contributed to this team’s success and will be the headliners of next year’s group. We got here in large part, in large part because of Gavin Guidry and Griffin Herring. I had a meeting with those guys in January and February, like, you’re going to have to spearhead this thing going forward.”

In some cases, LSU leaders are guys who may have transferred in but still provide that experience. According to Jay Johnson, you’re not winning in college baseball and especially in the SEC if you don’t have battle-tested ball players.

“The reality of it when you look at the SEC West and SEC East, you cannot win without age, experience and all those types of things. I mean, I think I know who the three players were who up here for Florida. Those are grown men. It’s not a little boy’s league. And you have to have some age and experience underneath you.”

For LSU to get some experience, the transfer portal was a terrific source.