LSU baseball wraps up fall practice, looks forward to 2025 season

As LSU prepares for a new year in 2025, Jay Johnson and his program put the finishing touches on its six-week fall practice session last weekend. As head coach Jay Johnson summarized the fall on Monday, he said the Tigers realized significant benefits from the experience.

“It was a really good fall for us with a lot of new players, completely new team” Johnson said. “It was very productive, and I feel like we got a lot accomplished relative to developing an identity for the team. We learned a lot about the players on the roster, and we feel like we’re in a really good spot as the season approaches.”

LSU opens the 2025 season on Friday, February 14, when the Tigers play host to Purdue Fort Wayne in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU’s class of newcomers includes 12 NCAA Division I transfers, four JUCO transfers and 10 high school signees. Nine LSU players were ranked in August among Baseball America magazine’s Top 100 College Transfers, and 11 Tigers appeared in the Baseball America Top 500 Prospects list for the 2024 MLB Draft.

The Top 100 College Transfers list included LSU junior infielder Daniel Dickinson (No. 2), junior right-handed pitcher Anthony Eyanson (No. 4), sophomore right-handed pitcher Deven Sheerin (No. 8), junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Mayers (No. 17), junior right-handed pitcher Chandler Dorsey (No. 22), junior right-hander pitcher Zac Cowan (No. 23), senior utility player Luis Hernandez (No. 32), senior outfielder/left-hander pitcher Dalton Beck (No. 34) and junior outfielder Chris Stanfield (No. 79).

The Top 500 Prospects for the 2024 MLB Draft included LSU freshman right-handed pitcher William Schmidt (No. 22), freshman right-handed pitcher Casan Evans (No. 100), freshman catcher Cade Arrambide (No. 125), freshman infielder Mikey Ryan (No. 139), junior outfielder Chris Stanfield (No. 154), freshman left-handed pitcher Cooper Williams (No. 257), freshman right-handed pitcher Mavrick Rizy (No. 263), freshman first baseman Ryan Costello (No. 346), freshman outfielder John Pearson (No. 356), freshman infielder David Hogg II (No. 358), and junior left-handed pitcher Conner Ware (No. 482).

In addition to the newcomers, the Tigers feature seven returning position players with starting experience at LSU, including senior shortstop Michael Braswell III, senior outfielder Josh Pearson, junior first baseman Jared Jones, junior outfielder Ethan Frey, sophomore second baseman Steven Milam, sophomore outfielder Ashton Larson, and sophomore outfielder/left-handed pitcher Jake Brown.

The pitching staff contains six veteran hurlers who have recorded innings at LSU, including junior right-hander Gavin Guidry, junior right-hander Kade Woods, sophomore right-hander Chase Shores, sophomore right-hander Jaden Noot, sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson and sophomore left-hander DJ Primeaux.

Johnson explained that since 18 LSU pitchers have advanced to professional baseball over the past two seasons, a great emphasis has been placed upon augmenting the pitching staff with a wealth of new arms.

The LSU skipper was especially impressed with the pitchers’ performances in scrimmages throughout the fall.

“I’m very excited about their strike-throwing ability,” Johnson said. “I thought they did a really good job of getting ahead in counts with first-pitch strikes, and they all have some uniqueness in what they’re able to do on the mound.”

Johnson said the team’s focus now shifts to taking final exams in December before the players travel home for the holidays. The Tigers are scheduled to return on campus on January 13, when preseason preparations begin.

“We’re putting the players in position for them to develop and improve, and they’re understanding what this team is going to need to do to be successful,” Johnson explained. “Being intentional about what we’re doing has resulted in a productive fall, and it will give us a good starting point when we come back in January.

“I like the feel we have for where we’re at, who we have, what we are and what we need to do in order to have success this season.”

*LSU press release