As 2024 season ends, Jay Johnson reflects on memorable run

LSU head coach Jay Johnson stepped to the postgame press conference overwhelmed with angst, but he remained strong. Alongside him was senior Will Helmers who last year at this time wasn’t even a consideration to be on the roster on the national title winning team.

Hellmers had just delivered a performance worthy of being written about for months on end, but unfortunately LSU fell short of the ultimate goal, losing to North Carolina 4-3 in the region final on Monday night. 

“Outside of one more hit to get one more spread and put more pressure on them in the middle of the game, we played well, but [Will] was incredible,” Johnson said. “We left him in because they were not seeing him well, then we got to 71 pitches and I felt good about where we were. Nate was a completely different look and then Gage is a completely different look from both of them. We had that plan in motion and they just executed and got it going. The whole game at the end we were just this close. The margins are that thin, but I’m good because of how we prepared and how we competed.”

Johnson continued to think back to when it was unlikely LSU would even get into the NCAA Tournament to where LSU finished the season, going toe-to-toe with one of the five best teams in the country with its bullpen running on fumes. As a coach, to see your team go on a run like that when it very easily could have crumbled or packed it in for next season, that’s what has Johnson’s head up and ready to fight for more in the coming years.

“We held the trophy last year and I’m equally proud of my team and our program today as I was that day,” Johnson said. “Where we were in the middle of SEC play to right now is one of the most gratifying coaching years of my entire life. To come out of that the way we came out of that, nobody does that, and to take these guys [to the end].

“I love these guys. The achievement is what we’re here to do, but that means nothing to me. Right now I have a broken heart because I wanted to go to practice on Wednesday. This is special what this man [Will Helmers] did tonight. Last year he wasn’t even on the roster last year in Omaha. He’s probably the best example of what we want to be about, what being a man is about, and I’m certainly proud of him and this team.”

It was another classic for the Tigers in this incredible run of baseball over the past two months, but unfortunately it was not enough to keep the season going. 

We know Jay Johnson will begin his pursuit of building another championship roster as soon as he lands in Louisiana – that’s just how he’s wired. But even for someone who works as hard as he does on sustaining success, he had to take a step back and really appreciate what this team accomplished. 

Starting three freshmen, several transfers, and more underclassmen, his team continuously proved there was no stage too big for them. Getting a sweep over Ole Miss when it mattered most, making a run at the title game in Hoover, and being one out away from a Super Regional appearance, LSU continued fighting. 

Talent wins championships. Johnson will be the first to tell you that – and he does often. However, experience and toughness is what separates the great teams from the champions, and maybe this year will help lay the foundation for those key traits that will get the Tigers back to Omaha in 2025. 

“I’m honored to be a part of a game like that and a regional like this,” Johnson said, “My whole life is built around Omaha and I didn’t get these guys there. Even if the College World Series meant we could just keep doing what we’re doing, because there was something incredibly special about it. It’s hard right now. It’s not about putting another banner up, I just did not want to step out of what we had going on right now.”