Report: LSU hires Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson to same position

According to Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball, the LSU Tigers have hired Wes Johnson as their pitching coach. Head coach Jay Johnson is building quite the staff, pulling Johnson away from MLB and the Minnesota Twins.

Of course, the Major League season is still going on and the Twins are currently in first place in the AL Central. Johnson will still be leaving the organization and getting to work at LSU just hours after the 2022 College World Series officially ended.

“BREAKING: @LSUbaseball is hiring @Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson as its new pitching coach, sources tell @d1baseball. Johnson has spent the last four seasons with the #Twins and marks a blockbuster hire for Jay Johnson.”

Johnson has spent time with two other SEC programs — the Arkansas Razorbacks and Mississippi State Bulldogs. He will be making his return to college baseball after four-plus seasons in MLB.

LSU Tigers land commitment from two highly touted transfers

Friday was quite a day for LSU baseball. The Tigers landed two big-time transfers from the transfer portal — including one from an SEC rival.

Former Vanderbilt pitcher Christian Little and former NC State first baseman Tommy White both committed to LSU Friday afternoon, according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers. Both players were highly sought-after in the portal and are huge additions for the Tigers.

White had a monster year as a freshman for NC State this season, hitting 27 home runs — a new NCAA record for most home runs by a freshman. He also batted .362 and drove in 74 runs to help the Wolfpack to a 36-21 overall record, including a 14-15 mark in ACC action. For his efforts, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year and was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist.

Little made 18 appearances for Vanderbilt in 2022, including three starts. He had a 3.72 ERA in 38.2 innings of work to go with 46 strikeouts and three saves. He also had a 1-2 record on the bump before entering the portal. As a group, the Commodores went 39-23 overall and 14-16 in SEC play this past season.

In fact, Little started a game against LSU during the regular season. He allowed six runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work as the Tigers defeated Vanderbilt 8-3 in May. But now, he’ll get ready to suit up for the Tigers, who swept the three-game series against the Commodores to close out the regular season.