LSU RHP Thatcher Hurd enters NCAA Transfer Portal
Thatcher Hurd was a key piece of LSU’s national title run in 2023, but after another shaky regular season, the junior right-handed pitcher has entered the transfer portal for the second time in his career on Tuesday morning, per Pete Nakos of On3.
Hurd had a 2-1 record in the three College World Series appearances, posting a 2.25 ERA with 13 strikeouts and a .146 opponent batting average in 12 innings. There was a hope that Hurd would be able to sustain that level entering the 2024 season, but it was a year marred with inconsistency, ending with a 6.55 ERA and a 3-4 record with nine starts and nine more appearances in relief. In 44 innings, Hurd allowed 38 runs with 24 walks to 56 strikeouts and a team-high 14 doubles allowed. Luke Holman and Gage Jump instead took the mantle as the two elite arms.
Still, Hurd flashed potential in the second to last game of the season, going 5.2 innings against North Carolina and holding the Tar Heels to just six hits and two runs with zero walks to keep the season alive.
“Every time I take the ball, I use past failures to fuel me,” Hurd said after the win over UNC. “I always want the ball and I’m greatful to get the ball today. I’m just happy I was able to keep us in it. Getting ahead in counts was the difference. Once you get 0-2 or 1-2, you have the ability to expand and throw your away pitch and for the majority of the year, that wasn’t the case and I was having to claw back in the count. I put the trust in my preparation and always feel like I can go until I get pulled.”
Prior to his two years at LSU, Hurd spent one season at UCLA after being the No. 1 pitcher in California. He suffered a back injury that shortened his freshman campaign and then transferred to LSU.
LSU’s offseason approach
Jay Johnson has already made major changes throughout the lineup and on the mound for LSU’s 2025 season. LSU added four right-handed pitchers in Chandler Dorsey (USF), Deven Sheerin (Mount St. Mary), Luke Haydin (Indiana State), and Zac Cowan (Wofford) to replenish the bullpen and continues to look for more options as he rounds out his rotation of arms.
“Going into the season, It’s really simple. I’m going do what’s best for LSU baseball in 2024 and that’s put our team in position to win every game we play,” Jay Johnson said in March. “Now the complex part of that is you could take any one of them out and put any one of them in and it would be the same thought, if that makes sense. So it’s just like, hey, this is what we need you to do to be the best player that you can be for our team. And then when you’re in there, you’re in there to help the team win. And I think we actually took a step forward this week in our approach to the game where it’s like if you’re trying to play for more playing time and putting all this pressure on yourself, you’re holding a water balloon and waiting for it to pop versus like, no, I’m gonna get in there and I’m gonna get my job done to help our team win. And that’s how they’re operating. You take any one of those guys out, whoever’s out is like the best guy on the bench that day.”
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