That’s not to say it felt like it every day of last season. One year removed from a College World Series title, Johnson’s Tigers were 3-12 in conference play after a brutal five-series stretch that came against six eventual NCAA tournament teams, including eventual national champion Tennessee.

But Johnson had built a team better than the record showed. A 10-5 second half to league play and a run to the SEC tournament title game prevented the Tigers from missing their first NCAA tournament since 2011. LSU got a tough regional draw in Chapel Hill, N.C., fell into the loser’s bracket and then battled its way back before being eliminated in the title game.
“I’m proud of the team,” Johnson says. “I will say that the loss in Chapel Hill was one of the most difficult losses of my career.”

Johnson built that team around a pair of elite starting pitchers in Gage Jump and Luke Holman and a cast of talented relief arms. While it’s not clear if there’s a Jump or Holman in this bunch, Johnson has assembled a deep staff filled with talented newcomers and a lineup that includes several potential all-Americans and maybe even a national player of the year.

Expectations will be high again. Can the Tigers deliver?

“I feel really good about our roster and our team. … We only have 12 players that actually played in a game for us last season,” Johnson says. “We were fortunate with the high school players we brought and were fortunate with the transfer portal additions that fit well with our style of play and our team.”

THE LINEUP
That potential player of the year is first baseman Jared Jones, a 6-foot-4, 246-pound slugger who has mashed 42 home runs and slugged .703 over his two years at LSU. Jones, the No. 119 overall prospect heading into last year’s MLB Draft according to MLB Pipeline, spurned pro ball for another year in Baton Rouge.
“I think what I appreciate the most about him is, he’s competitive but he’s really smart,” Johnson said. “There were some really good improvements from freshman year to sophomore year and sophomore year to this fall, and I see that extending into the season. … He’s one of the better power hitters in the country and a very underrated defensive first baseman.”

The company in the infield potentially makes it the nation’s best.

Johnson landed one of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal when he got Daniel Dickinson, MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect for the 2024 draft. Dickson walked on at Utah Valley where his all-around game stood out: his hit tool ranks as his best, but he also set school records for home runs (18) and stolen bases (32) last season.
“He’s very talented. He can impact the game in just about every way, whether that’s offense, defense, or on the bases,” Johnson says. “I gave him No. 14 because he kind of reminds me of Pete Rose in terms of his style of play. That’s my favorite player of all time. I’m really happy to have Danny; he has an attitude and a skill set that maybe last year’s team is lacking.

Steven Milam, who’s probably LSU’s opening-day shortstop, manned second as a true freshman. Johnson noted that Milam—the No. 105 prospect per MLB Pipeline for the 2023 draft—had a difficult time adjusting to collegiate pitching in his first fall on campus, but Milam came around and hit a respectable .265/.348/.412 in league games and earned first-team freshman all-American honors. Johnson considers him to be the team’s best defender.

“In my opinion he was one of the most impactful freshman players in the country last year,” Johnson says. “He’s a great defender. In my opinion, he’s the best defender on our team. Really good switch hitter. When the game’s on, that’s when he’s on.”

That would likely move former South Carolina shortstop Michael Braswell Jr. over to third. Braswell hit .310/.410/.420 in the SEC last year and begins his fourth year as a starting SEC infielder. He came on at season’s end, making the all-SEC tournament team as well as the all-regional squad in Chapel Hill. Braswell improved his walk-to-strikeout ratio from .50 as a sophomore to .74 last year and took his name out of last year’s MLB Draft to return to LSU.

Things are less settled elsewhere on the diamond, but the Tigers have elite depth where there’s uncertainty.

LSU has a three-way competition at catcher, further complicated by the fact that all are right-handed hitters.

The most logical candidate seems to be 6-foot-1, 190-pound Indiana State transfer Luis Hernandez, who hit .314/389/.548 with 32 home runs over 661 plate appearances there. Hernandez was a first-team all-Missouri Valley pick last season and also made the league’s all-defensive team, committing just two errors last season.

“Really good balance of offense and defense. … Maybe the surprise, or maybe the unknown, was how good he was being the plate,” Johnson says. “He’s a very seasoned player. Very experienced player. Pitchers want to throw to him. He brings a lot to the table.”

But two other newcomers should see time behind the plate, and probably at DH, as well.
One is prized recruit Cade Arrambide (“Air um BEEDY”), Texas’s Gatorade Player of the Year who ranked as the No. 115 overall prospect for the 2024 draft according to MLB Pipeline.

“Really good balance of offensive ability and defensive ability,” Johnson says. “He’s got tremendous power, great throwing arm. … I wanna say hit around .360 in the fall, showed some power, did a really good job catching in the two outside games we played against Samford and Louisiana-Lafayette.”

Blaise Priester, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound JUCO transfer, returns to Baton Rouge, where he signed out of high school before departing after not playing as a freshmen.

“I think he led our team in home runs in the fall, seven or eight home runs,” Johnson says. “He’ll get plenty of opportunity as well.”

Things are similar in the outfield, where a glut of talent clouds the pecking order.

“Outfield is a position, in my opinion, at a school like ours that should have depth, should have competition. I feel like our recruiting success is reflected in the outfield. … There’s some sorting out to do,” Johnson says.

“I think what I like about it is, it’s going to present some versatility that was not there last year,” Johnson continues. “We were too right-handed, we were too power-over-hit and offensive skill.”

Returning sophomores Ashton Larson and Jake Brown are obvious candidates for playing time after starting 22 and six games, respectively, in SEC competition last season.

Larson came to LSU after being drafted in Round 20 by the Twins two years ago. He showed immediate skill, hitting .337/.424/.542 in 83 at-bats of SEC regular-season play.

“Really good freshman season,” Johnson says of Larson. “Very good, solid hitter—the type of hitter who’s been successful on teams I’ve coached, whether it’s here or at Arizona. Hit, and then develop into power, and that’s kind of what he’s doing. Had a really good summer in the Cape Cod League. You know with him, he’s going to be the most prepared guy on the field. Just really mature.”

Brown, who was also considered a pitching prospect in high school, was the 93rd-rated prospect at MLB Pipeline for the 2023 draft. He chose LSU despite being picked 471st overall by Texas but struggled to adapt to SEC pitching (.143/.143/.250 in 21 at-bats).

“I really like Jake a lot,” Johnson says. “A lot of athleticism. Probably had the best fall of any of the position players on the team.”

Holdover Josh Pearson is the most experienced returnee, hitting. 256/389/.451 with 20 home runs over a 166-game, 596-plate-appearance LSU career. Pearson struggled (.235/.324/.357 over 98 at-bats) in SEC games last season.

“I don’t know that there’s anybody in college baseball, going into 2025, that’s taken as many high-leverage at-bats as Josh Pearson. … His numbers haven’t always maybe been there, but I have a lot of faith and trust in Josh as a player.”

Derek Curiel (pronounced “CURE ee el”) was MLB Pipeline’s No. 117 prospect for the draft out of California’s Orange Lutheran High School, where he hit .314 with 10 doubles and stole 19 bases as a senior.

“Hard to imagine there’s a freshman that’s as skilled as Derek that’s showing up on a college campus,” Johnson says. “Needed to add some strength. He’s done that. He’s added about 12-13 pounds since he’s been here this fall and had a tremendous fall.
The Tigers added athleticism in Auburn transfer Chris Stanfield, who hit .278/.365/.401 in 409 plate appearances there spanning 102 games. Stanfield manned both center and left at Auburn.

“He will definitely be making an impact on this team,” Johnson says. “We’ve kind of overhauled some things offensively, similarly to what we did with Michael Braswell.”

Dalton Beck, who didn’t get an at-bat at Kansas State in 2023, had a breakout year in right field Incarnate Word last season with 41 extra-base hits over 264 plate appearances. He led the Southland Conference in hits, home runs and RBIs last season.

Dayton transfer Edward Yamin IV played first base, catcher and both corner outfield spots over summer-league stops spanning three teams in the Cape Cod and Perfect Game Collegiate League, but struggled to hit.

Returnee Mic Paul, a medical redshirt last season, could see some outfield time. He hit .111/.200/.111 over 12 games (nine at-bats) for the Tigers in 2023.

Transfer Tanner Reaves, a fourth-year collegiate who was a regular on Blinn Junior College’s national title squad, could see some time spelling Dickinson at second.

First-year player Mikey Ryan could also see some time as a reserve.

“We believe he’s gonna be a great shortstop here in the future and is great defensively,” Johnson says.

THE PITCHING

Johnson notes that the Tigers had nine pitchers drafted in 2024. He’ll coach a staff that’s got at least that many pro prospects this year.

Once again, the glut of talent seems to make roles unclear heading into 2025. Johnson says he’s preparing eight guys for starting roles.

“You’re obviously not going to have eight starters but usually when you do that, you kind of get an uptick in the stuff and it helps you in the bullpen,” Johnson says.

Six-foot-8, 252-pounder Chase Shores—MLB Pipeline’s No. 38 prospect for this year’s draft—could be the starting rotation’s headliner. Shores posted a 1.96 ERA in 18.1 innings as a freshman in 2023 before an injury ended that season as well as his next as he had Tommy John surgery in April 2023. MLB Pipeline grades Shores’ fastball a “70” and notes that it’s touched 100, while giving his slider a “55” and his change-up, a “50.”

“That really hurt us last year, not having him available. … I’m excited for Chase. He’s a great kid, very talented, very focused right now.”

Six spots behind Shores on MLB Pipeline’s 2025 list is draft-eligible sophomore Kade Anderson, the lone lefty among LSU’s starting candidates. He gets plus grades for a fastball, curve, slider and change-up. However, Anderson struggled against SEC teams, allowing 10 earned runs in 3 1/3 EC innings last season. Baseball America ranks him as the No. 97 prospect for this summer’s draft.

“He’s got great makeup, great pitch ability, he made some really good strides this fall.”

Pearl River (Miss) JUCO transfer Conner Ware has grown just 32 collegiate innings, but his stuff is so good that he’s ranked the No. 66 player for the 2025 draft by MLB Pipeline.

“Best pitcher on the staff … “Maybe he fills that Griffin Herring role from last year or maybe he pushes into the starting rotation,” Johnson says.

The top pro prospect on the staff, however, is freshman William Schmidt, the highest-ranked recruit to ever make it to LSU. Schmidt ranked 16th on MLB Pipeline’s final 2024 draft list and that service graded his mid-90s fastball at a “60” and his curve, a “70.”
“Getting a guy like William to show up is very uncommon,” Johnson says. “We lost four high school recruits in the draft last year. That was a big lift for us. … a potential first-round pick, a signing bonus of three, three-and-a-half million dollars he probably walked away from to play at LSU.

“I think the story is, you have a kid that grew up a quarter of a mile from the pitcher’s mound at the Box that, at six and seven years old, is wearing LSU-purple-and-gold pajamas to bed. … What I saw in the fall was a guy that’s very confident in his abilities. He throws his pitches with a lot of conviction. He throws a ton of strikes. He throws multiple pitches for strikes, has a ton of pitch-ability.

“He will make an impact right away with this team this year and certainly has the makings of a top-of-the-rotation pitcher on a really good team. When that happens, not quite sure yet because we have some other guys and I want to be smart about how we kind of move him through his process, not just this year but for three years, to take care of him and protect him as well.”

Wofford transfer Zac Cowan has a 4.35 career ERA over 155 1/3 innings, which included a inning-and-a-third at Auburn in 2022. He led the Southern Conference with 124 strikeouts last season.

“Had a ton of success last year, kind of a different style of pitcher,” Johnson says.

UC San Diego transfer Anthony Eyanson was a second-team all-Big West pick last year and brings 111 innings of Division I experience with a 341 ERA and 119 strikeouts. He’s the 83rd-ranked prospect for the 2025 draft, according to Baseball America.

“A lot of pitch-abiltiy, a lot of feel, really has come into his own in his college career,” Johnson says.

Gavin Guidry has just one career start at LSU over 53 innings. But his effectiveness in those—78 strikeouts, a 3.23 ERA, six saves—could prepare him for a bigger role.
“Really important pitcher to our success here,” Johnson says. “We’re won 97 games the last two years, he’s pitched in a lot of those at very important times. Really excited about what he can do.”

Guidry has six career saves, so he could easily project as an end-game guy.

Nicholls State transfer Jacob Mayers, who led the Southland Conference with 106 strikeouts last year and allowed just 4.97 hits per nine innings, could also be suited for a relief role.

“Has started for two years, his stuff really plays up in short stints,” Johnson says.

Mayers was the NCBWA’s national freshman pitcher of the year in 2023, when he had a 2.02 ERA over 75 2/3 innings.
Casan Evans, a top-100 recruit in the 2024 class, should see relief innings. 
“Electric arm, plus-plus change-up, great athlete, great competitor, will be ready to roll right now,” Johnson says of Evans.

Six-foot-9, 252-pound freshman Mavrick Rizy, the top prospect in Massachusetts last year, will, and Cooper Williams, who pitched at Nolan Ryan’s alma mater of Alvin (Texas) High, should also see chances.

Third-year lefty DJ Primeaux should see a bigger role after being lost in Johnson’s talented staffs the past two seasons.

South Florida transfer Chandler Dorsey was Johnson’s first portal addition last summer. Dorsey allowed just 6.0 hits per nine innings and was the Bulls’ primary closer.

A wild card is the talented Jaden Noot, who was Milwaukee’s 19th-round pick as a high-schooler in the 2022 draft. Noot’s first collegiate action came last year in mop-up duty of a 13-3 loss to Vanderbilt.

“He pitched about 80% of the fall, I think the last weekend he had the flu or some kind of illness that prevented him from making his last start,” Johnson says. “But he was able to withstand the fall in terms of arm health for the first time. Says he feels really good throwing the baseball right now. This next January or February will be important to see where he’s at going into the season and can push himself into the mix of those other good pitchers.”

POTENTIAL STRENGTHS

The top and middle of the order, with Jones, Dickinson, Milam, Hernandez and whoever else wins a job, is tremendous. Few teams can likely match LSU’s top-end pitching talent and the potential of rotation depth. Even where the Tigers don’t have clear answers, the overall roster talent is so overwhelming that there seem to be enough options to figure out whatever needs to be figured out. LSU also has one of the country’s most successful coaches in Johnson and an experienced pitching coach in Nate Yeskie who’s had success at many stops. And with one of the country’s most rabid fan bases, the Tigers will be tough to beat at home—where they’re an outstanding bet to be playing two postseason weekends.

POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES AND CONCERNS
For all the Tigers’ pitching depth, no player on the staff has much experience being an SEC weekend guy. And while it’s nit-picky, the Tigers don’t have an outfielder who’s given a star-level performance for a full season. How long will it take a reconstructed defense to gel? And will the numbers game be an issue? With so many transfers likely accepting reduced roles, and a number of other newcomers passing up big money to come to LSU, how will those passed-over players accept lesser roles and will that affect the locker room?

FINAL ANALYSIS

Barring an absolute disaster of injuries or chemistry, there’s too much talent and winning pedigree to expect anything less than the program’s 20th College World Series appearance (all since 1986), where the Tigers might well win it all.