Transfer LHP Gage Jump gets fresh start at LSU in 2024

It was a routine fall ball scrimmage when LSU faced Louisiana Lafayette on Nov. 12 in Alex Box Stadium. UCLA transfer left-handed pitcher Gage Jump was set to pitch two innings against the Ragin’ Cajuns, a key step back from his Tommy John surgery that held him out of the entire 2023 season on the west coast.

Jump took the mound, blanking ULL in his two innings, a quality showing as he continued his march towards getting ready for the 2024 season. Once he left the field, he knew this place was different. To this day, he thinks back to those scrimmages and how hundreds of LSU fans were in attendance to watch the games and cheer on the team in the thick of the football season

“That was a lot of fans for me,” Jump said of the fall exhibitions. “Being in those small situations with those fans was very exciting. With this kind of atmosphere, it’s different from what I was used to, but I’m trying to embrace it and it’s more fun like that.”

Jump is from Aliso, California and spent his first two years at UCLA where the fan support was thin, according to him. He was the No. 1 left handed pitcher in California, pitched 16.1 innings as a freshman for the Bruins before Tommy John Surgery wiped out his second year.

Already looking to enter the transfer portal, Jump watched the NCAA Tournament and it was impossible not to notice how lively LSU was. Once he talked with his brother, Hunter, who transferred to Kentucky from Arizona State, it was decided – He needed to find his way to the SEC.

“My brother went to Kentucky for his fifth year and he was the one telling me it was the real deal and this is where you want to play,” Jump said. “I watched LSU in the College World Series and I’ve always wanted to play in Omaha and play in a Super Regional at a place like Alex Box. I thought of that when they were playing those games and it got me fired up and made me want to play here.”

For a player with only 16.1 innings pitched, there was a reliance on relationships once entering the portal since the production was still to be seen. That’s where knowing fellow Pac-12 transplant Jay Johnson, LSU’s head coach, went a long way. 

“I recruited him extremely hard at Arizona. He’s one of those guys that we had to have and very rarely do you get that combination of talent, character, competitiveness, but we didn’t get him, he chose to go to UCLA, but in that process, we built a good relationship. With that, when he entered the transfer portal, it wasn’t that hard to reconnect. You look at what last year’s team accomplished and how coming to LSU elevated them, it was an attractive deal. We were lucky he was under the radar because he missed last season. We’ve been very deliberate about him returning, he threw six innings in the fall. We’ve built him up and will continue to build him up to where he can improve as the year goes on.”

As a highly rated high school pitcher, the talent was never a question with Jump’s talent for Johnson and now that pitching coach Nate Yeskie has been able to work with him meticulously upon his recovery, it’s only accelerated his potential.

“I’m a four-pitch guy: Fastball, curveball, slider, changeup,” Jump said. “I’d like to say I’m very aggressive and with coach Yeskie, the idea of suffocating the zone and playing to our strengths puts pressure on the hitter. I’m just happy to play with the talent we have on this team and I’m excited for the season.”

The talent was enticing to Jump out of the portal, but the work ethic and approach is what ultimately sold him. Coming from a UCLA program he had questions about, there were no such concerns once he got to Baton Rouge.

“It’s a lot different,” Jump said. “I envisioned LSU to be the top and when I got here, it was all of that and more. Being with guys like Hayden Travenski, Michael Braswell, the mindset these guys have is to do everything they can to win. The mindset for everyone is aggressive, attacking everything we do, so I’m super excited.

“Here, you look to your left and look to your right and you trust everyone because we’re playing for LSU and playing for each other.”

Fortunately, Jump won’t be pressed into action heavily from day one. With a quality staff around him and a veteran coaching staff, Jump’s season is a marathon that will need to peak in the second half of the year for the reigning national champs.

From the team’s approach to fans in the stands, the change has been a breath of fresh air for Jump and now he’s intent on making the most of the opportunity.

“My arm after Tommy John is feeling really good,” Jump said. “It’s been 18 months, and that’s usually when you’re full go with no issues, so I’m feeling really good. Recovery is long and monotonous and at times it can get boring. Last year it was not fun sitting in the dugout doing nothing. Now that I’m able to pitch, it’s go time and I’m excited to be wearing this jersey and playing at Alex Box stadium. LSU is the best place in the world to play baseball. I’m super pumped to be able to be here.”