In year two, Jared Jones looks to seize opportunity at LSU

There’s an inside joke between LSU head coach Jay Johnson and his new starting first baseman Jared Jones entering the 2024 season. 

With the departure of two-time All-SEC Defensive team first baseman Tre Morgan, there’s a high standard to uphold at the position, but the hope is to not hear Morgan’s name this season.

“[Morgan] was special, but Jared and I have a joke that we never want to hear how good of a first baseman Tre Morgan is again because they already forgot because you’re doing your job,” Johnson said with a grin. “You don’t have to be spectacular or a win a Gold Glove, just do your job.”

Jones is a different type of player from Morgan, standing at 6-foot-4 with a background as a catcher. The sophomore from Marietta, Georgia is a lean tower of power at the plate that was named to the Freshman All-SEC team in 2023, starting 47 games and batting .304 with 12 doubles, 14 homers, and 45 RBIs.

Late in the season, he was moved into a reserve role, but Jones remained attentive, learning from Morgan and the wealth of experienced players on the national championship team.

Offensively, Jones is one of Johnson’s top weapons in 2024 and now settles in after an inconsistent freshman campaign.

“It took a lot of time to adjust and get used to the speed of the game,” Jones said. “I learned how to handle my emotions better with the ups and downs last year. I’m excited to get into this year. I think I’ve made great strides in my mental game. It’s never going to be a finished product, but it’s just staying the course and taking it one pitch at a time.”

In 161 at bats, Jones walked 36 times, had 46 hits, but had 69 strikeouts, often wildly chasing at pitches, looking for the big swing. After an offseason of work, that’s been the biggest area of improvement for him.

“The biggest thing for me is going to be strikezone discipline,” Jones said. “Swinging at pitches I know I can hit well and laying off everything else, especially early in the count. Just getting my pitch and doing damage with it. Then, I’m still young, so anything with my maturity and taking on any leadership role I can is important to me.”

At first base, Jones has the benefit of getting ample repetitions last year when he stepped in to start when Morgan was limited due to an injury and could not play first base. As a result, Jones has 34 starts at first base under his belt, but now, he’s diving into the deep end as the full time starter on the reigning national champs.

“Jared is going to be the first baseman, as of today,” Johnson said. “As long as the mindset is right, then I feel good about that. He’s a huge target. He was even more advanced than we thought [last year] and it allowed us to pass the time when Tre [Morgan] was hurt and couldn’t catch the ball at first base. He’s super competitive. He’s super talented. We’ve survived two years of coach Kelly not trying to drag him over there to play D-line. We’ve made sure he’s continued to get his work in at first base defensively, because as we saw, defense at first base is one of the more undervalued things in baseball. I like where he’s at right now.”

Jones is one of the more fascinating players on the roster for 2024, with the potential to be an All-SEC talent at the plate, while still having the pressure of filling the shoes of some of the greats as LSU looks to repeat and win another national championship.

Expectations are high, but for Jones, it’s about not overstepping and carving out his own role on this roster – Even if he may have to hear Morgan’s name a few more times.

“Tre Morgan played an amazing first base and for me to watch him play for a year and learn from him for a year, he helped me out tremendously,” Jones said. “The fact he was able to take me under his wing and show me the ropes and hand them to me for this year, I’m excited to do what I can at first base and make the routine plays.

“I’m just really excited to go attack this season.”