By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE — There’s probably not a day since LSU’s Jay Johnson first became a major college head baseball coach 11 seasons ago that he hasn’t tinkered with his roster.
His hobbies are likely roster management and puzzle solving.
He never looks at just his current roster to see how the pieces fit, but also understands how to envision next season’s team while still keeping an eye on the prize in front of him.
“How I operate my entire life is always like what decisions can propel the program forward in terms of results,” Johnson said. “Attacking different challenges and constantly improving our process of winning.”
It’s why while Johnson was guiding the Tigers to their seventh NCAA national championship in Omaha last June, pushing buttons to find enough effective starting pitchers and relievers to take the mound for eight CWS games, he was also shopping in the transfer portal to plug holes in his projected 2024 roster.
By the time the Tigers had advanced to the championship series vs. Florida, South Carolina shortstop Michael Braswell, Xavier All-Big East pitcher Justin Loer and Alabama pitcher Kade Woods all announced they were transferring to LSU.
“Definitely work needed to be done in Omaha,” Johnson said. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished while were there. I feel like we executed that really well.”
A couple of days after LSU’s national championship celebration, passengers waiting to board a plane at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport were stunned to see Johnson standing with them.
“They were like `What are you doing?’,” Johnson said. “I said, `I’m trying to do it (win a national title) again. I went out and saw (Alabama pitcher) Luke Holman that day.”
Johnson also survived July’s Major League Baseball draft with 13 LSU players chosen as well as four freshmen signees. The Tigers lost just one signee and retained two veteran pitchers who had been drafted in the later rounds.
Finally, Johnson had to hire a new pitching coach (Nate Yeskie) for a third straight season. His previous LSU pitching coaches Jason Kelly (2022) and Wes Johnson (last season) were hired as head coaches by Washington and Georgia respectively.
With the Feb. 16 season opener vs. VMI in Alex Box Stadium in sight, Johnson begins year three having to replace six of the Tigers’ top eight hitters, two starting pitchers and their most used reliever.
Included in that bunch are center fielder Dylan Crews, arguably the best position player in LSU history after winning the 2023 Golden Spikes Award and being chosen No. 2 overall MLB draft, and pitcher Paul Skenes, possibly the most dominant Tigers’ hurler ever who won several national Player of the Year awards and was the No. 1 overall MLB draft pick.
Because there are so many players stepping into starting vacancies, Johnson doesn’t characterize his 2024 team as the defending national champions.
“We’re not defending anything,” Johnson said. “If you do that, you’re being hunted, you’re kind of on defense. We’re not doing that. We’re attacking 2024 and this opportunity.”
Johnson can sell that vision in the Tigers’ locker room and dugout, but the rest of college baseball isn’t buying it. LSU is ranked No. 2 in the Baseball America preseason top 25 and No. 4 by D1 Baseball.
“I love it (being the hunted),” said LSU grad student and designated hitter/catcher Hayden Travinski, an Airline High School alumnus. “I don’t know what else you would do if you didn’t want to be in that position. The point of it is to win and to have people give you their best shot. I love every aspect of it.”
Junior third baseman Tommy White, a consensus first-team All-American last season when he batted .374 and led the nation with 105 RBI after transferring from North Carolina State, is LSU’s lone returning starting infielder.
White, who hit the two-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning to propel LSU over Wake Forest and into the CWS championship series, didn’t participate in fall practice. He underwent shoulder surgery immediately after the CWS but said he’s now good to go.
“My shoulder popped out of place probably 20 times last season,” White said. “It popped out in the (CWS finals celebratory) dogpile. I’m excited to finally play healthy.”
The Tigers’ major position adjustment in the off-season was moving starting junior left fielder Josh Pearson to second base, a spot he played at times for West Monroe High.
“It’s kind of all coming back to me now,” Pearson said of playing second base. “I don’t have to do anything extra out there. Just field the ground ball and get the out. Make the play whenever the ball is hit to me.”
Braswell, who batted. 271 and had just 9 errors in 347 fielding chances in 105 games (91 starts) at South Carolina the last two seasons, transferred to LSU because he wanted to become a full-time starter again as he was as a freshman.
“LSU has always been my dream school,” Braswell said. “When I got the call (from Johnson), I teared up. I never thought I had an opportunity to play in a program like this.”
Sophomore Jared Jones, a freshman All-American last year when he batted. 304 starting 34 games at first base while regular starter Tre’ Morgan started in left field while healing nagging injuries, takes over at first.
“Tre’ Morgan played an amazing first base,” Jones said. “He was a great mentor and he helped me out tremendously.”
Arizona senior transfer Mac Bingham, who batted .318 in 190 games for the Wildcats where he played in his first two seasons for Johnson, is slotted as the starting center fielder.
“I knew if when I didn’t get drafted, coming to the SEC and LSU is as close as you can get to major league baseball,” Bingham said.
Sophomore Paxton Kling, who entered the transfer portal before Johnson persuaded him to return, will start in right field while freshman Jake Brown may get the nod in left field.
Sophomore Brady Neal returns as starting catcher after missing most of last season with a back injury. Travinski and fellow grad student Alex Milazzo are backups, though Travinski is ticketed as the starting designated hitter because “he’ll be one of the most dangerous hitters in college baseball this year,” Johnson said.
At the top of the starting pitching rotation heap are junior Holman (7-6, 4.05 ERA in 31 games with 15 starts for Alabama), returning junior Thatcher Hurd (8-2, 5.68 ERA in 23 games including 11 starts, 2-1 in CWS, 2.25 ERA), and redshirt sophomore transfer Gage Jump (1-1, 3.86 at UCLA two seasons ago, missed last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery).
Loer (8-3, 2.43 ERA in 44 appearances for Xavier) and returning sophomore Gavin Guidry (3-0, 3 saves, 3.77 ERA in 35 appearances) lead a bevy of bullpen options.
“All of these new guys are very talented and are going help us in a big way,” Hurd said. “It’s a good blend of experience and new talent.”
Johnson hopes the Tigers’ returnees can educate the new faces on what it takes to stay on a positive path to Omaha.
“If you value the work you put in every day and know that you’ve put maximum effort towards preparation and readiness to execute your job to help the team win, then you can play with a bunch of peace of mind,” Johnson said.
“Also, failure is not fatal unless you allow it to be from a mindset standpoint. If you keep your eye on the ball, no pun intended, you get through things. We’re going to have to do that. The only thing I can ever guarantee in a college baseball season is adversity.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com