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USA Today
21-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Projecting LSU baseball's starting pitching rotation for the 2026 season
After leading LSU baseball to a College World Series title, star pitchers Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson are off to the professional ranks. The duo was arguably the top pitching tandem in the country. Anderson threw 119 innings with a 3.18 ERA. He led college baseball with 180 strikeouts and capped his LSU career with a complete game shutout vs. Coastal Carolina in the College World Series final. Eyanson was equally impressive. He tossed 108 innings to the tune of a 3.00 ERA. He struck out 152 and walked 136. Anderson and Eyanson leave big shoes to fill. That's 227 quality innings out the door. But LSU has the talent to reload. The 2026 season is a long way away, but we'll take a look at what LSU's 2026 rotation is expected to look like. LSU will once again expect to compete for a CWS title with a top-notch rotation. The Ace: Casan Evans Evans was a true freshman in 2025 and didn't waste time emerging as one of LSU's top relievers. Evans' stuff was electric, earning him high leverage innings early in the year. Evans was so good that Jay Johnson decided to give him a chance as a starter after Chase Shores began to struggle as LSU's Sunday arm. Evans impressed, but with LSU needing help in the bullpen, Evans returned to his relief role in the postseason. With LSU's season on the line, Evans was dynamite out of the pen in Game 7 of the Baton Rouge Regional. He struck out nine straight batters at one point in that game. Evans finished 2025 with a 2.05 ERA in 52.2 innings. He averaged 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which put him among the nation's elite arms. Evans has the stuff to be an SEC ace, and if his 2025 NCAA Tournament was a preview of things to come, LSU is in a good spot. Evans is the heavy favorite to win LSU's Friday night pitching job in 2026. Saturday: Cooper Moore With LSU losing the experienced arms of Anderson and Eyanson, the Tigers took a look in the transfer portal. Jay Johnson secured a starter with Power Four experience in Cooper Moore. Moore, a right-hander, comes to LSU after spending two years at Kansas. Moore was one of the best available arms in the portal, and LSU had to battle programs like Tennessee to earn his services. Moore only walked 1.9 batters per nine innings. That ranked No. 3 among all Big 12 starting pitchers. He only issued 19 walks all year. Moore finished 2025 with a 3.96 ERA in 88.2 innings pitched. Expect Moore to take another step forward as he now gets to work with LSU resources and Nate Yeskie, one of the best pitching coaches in the country. Transfers pitchers have seen their draft stock skyrocket after transferring to LSU in recent years. Moore is looking to get the same boost in Baton Rouge. Sunday: Zac Cowan Zac Cowan transferred to LSU ahead of the 2025 season after excelling as a starting pitcher at Wofford. Cowan assumed a bullpen role with LSU and emerged as one of the top relievers in the SEC. Cowan announced his plans to return to Baton Rouge for another season, but his exact role is unclear. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Cowan start on Saturday, start on Sunday, or continue in the closer role. But right now, Cowan is the third-best arm on LSU, and he's capable of taking on a starter workload. We saw him do it at Wofford, and we saw him do it in the College World Series, where he pitched 5.1 fantastic innings vs. Arkansas. If that's the version of Cowan LSU will get in 2026, it's hard to justify keeping the right-hander in the bullpen. Cowan finished 2025 with a 2.94 ERA in 52 innings. He struck out 60 and walked 12.
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ranking the 10 best moments from LSU baseball's national championship run and CWS win
LSU baseball added to the trophy case on Sunday, winning its eighth national championship in program history. LSU completed a College World Series final sweep of Coastal Carolina, winning 1-0 on Saturday and 5-3 in Game 2 on Sunday. For head coach Jay Johnson, it's his second national title in the last three years. Johnson, who arrived at LSU for the 2022 season, is the fastest coach to win multiple national championships at the same program. LSU is the standard in college baseball. LSU's title run wasn't without drama -- there was plenty of it. The Tigers' season looked to be in doubt as LSU trailed Little Rock 5-1 in Game 7 of the Baton Rouge Regional. LSU came storming back to punch a ticket to the Super Regional. LSU swept West Virginia and made the trip to Omaha. In the College World Series, LSU had to beat Arkansas twice and overcome a weather delay that forced LSU's meeting with UCLA to occupy two days. Here are the 10 best moments from LSU baseball's postseason run. 10. Luis Hernandez ties it up vs. Little Rock in the Baton Rouge Regional Down 5-1 to Little Rock, LSU was on the verge of being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in college baseball history. Little Rock had a losing record in the regular season but won its conference tournament to earn a bid to the Big Dance. LSU being eliminated at the hands of the Trojans would have been cause for a meltdown in Baton Rouge. Luis Hernandez made sure Little Rock didn't etch its name in the history books. As LSU clawed back from the deficit, Luis Hernandez tied the game with a solo home run to left field. A fastball was left over the plate and Hernandez blasted a no-doubter. From there, the Tigers would roll to a 10-6 victory. Hernandez homered again later in the night and finished the game with three hits and three RBI. 9. Chase Shores gets the final out of the College World Series LSU pitcher Chase Shores returned to the rotation in 2025 after missing all of 2024, recovering from Tommy John Surgery. But after some bumps, Shores was moved to the bullpen in mid-April. Shores struggled to adjust to the new role, but as the postseason arrived, LSU needed someone in the pen to step up alongside Casan Evans. That man proved to Chase Shores. In Game 2 on Sunday, I thought Jay Johnson was expected to turn to Evans out of the pen, but Evans wasn't needed with Shores pitching 2.2 scoreless innings to close it down. Shores' final pitch hit 100 on the radar gun, forcing a double-play to end it. For Shores, it was the highlight of his career after a rocky three years in Baton Rouge. Shores' stuff is electric, and it was on display in the College World Series. 7. Jared Jones put LSU in front with home run vs. UCLA After LSU beat Arkansas to open their College World Series run, the Tigers faced UCLA with a chance to move to 2-0 in Omaha. A critical step towards reaching the final. Anthony Eyanson was shaky in the first inning vs. the Bruins, allowing three runs. LSU was in an early hole, but it didn't last long. In the bottom of the first, LSU slugger Jared Jones put LSU up with a three-run homer. Jones got just enough to drive it out the opposite way. The homer gave the momentum right back to LSU, and the Tigers led the rest of the way. The game was suspended a few innings later and had to be completed the next morning. We'll see Jones again later on this list. 6. Double-grand slams vs. West Virginia The LSU lineup was feeling it in Game 1 of the super regional vs. West Virginia. The Tigers exploded for 16 runs thanks to Steven Milam and Josh Pearson smashing grand slams. Milam's grand slam in the fifth inning made it 7-1 and put LSU in control of the game. West Virginia began to mount a comeback in the sixth inning, but Pearson's grand slam in the bottom of the sixth put the game out of reach again. When the lineup was revealed that day, some were surprised to see Pearson in the lead off spot. He did not play a big role for LSU down the stretch of the regular season, but Johnson trusted the veteran in a big spot and Pearson got it done. 5. Jared Jones home run ties the game vs Arkansas LSU's second College World Series meeting with Arkansas was an all-timer. It was a pitcher's duel for most of the night, but the lineups began trading blows late in the game. With LSU down 3-2 in the 8th inning, Jones made it back-to-back games with a home run. The ball got over the right-center wall and made it 3-3. Jones went 0-5 with five strikeouts in LSU's first contest vs. Arkansas, with Razorback pitcher Gabe Gaeckle getting the best of the LSU slugger. But Gaeckle made a mistake, leaving a fastball over the plate and it was Jones' turn to have some fun. This was the final home run for the man who ranks No. 3 on LSU's all-time home runs list. There was more drama to come in this one. 4. Luis Hernandez comes through in the ninth vs. Arkansas After Jones tied the game at three, Arkansas responded and went up 5-3 in the ninth inning. It looked like the Hogs were on the verge of forcing another game. Then Luis Hernandez got his say. Hernandez smoked a ball to left field and Razorback outfielder Charles Davalan got a bad read on it. Davalan couldn't recover and the ball got to the wall. Two runs came in to score and the game was tied. Hernandez, an Indiana State transfer, was a steady veteran presence for LSU throughout the season. When Hernandez came to the plate with runners on base in the NCAA Tournament, he wasn't phased by the pressure. 3. Casan Evans strikes out nine straight vs. Little Rock With LSU needing a win vs. Little Rock to advance to the super regional, Zac Cowan got the start for the Tigers. But the script didn't go to plan. Cowan allowed four earned runs and didn't get out of the second inning. With the season hanging in the balance, Johnson called on Casan Evans. Evans was nails out of the pen, stabilizing the game and giving the LSU offense a chance to come back. At one point, Evans struck out nine straight Trojans. The game was on easy mode for the true freshman pitcher. From the second out in the fourth to the first out of the seventh, Evans was unhittable. These proved to be some of the most important innings of LSU's 2025 season. Evans played a critical role in LSU's title run. 2. Kade Anderson throws a complete game shutout vs. Coastal Carolina LSU will take its chance vs. anyone with Kade Anderson on the mound. The sophomore lefty led the country in strikeouts and entered the conversation to be the MLB Draft's No. 1 overall pick. Anderson's best performance of the year came in his biggest start of the year. In Game 1 of the College World Series final vs. Coastal Carolina, Anderson threw nine shutout innings. Anderson issued a career-high five walks and had to pitch through traffic, but Anderson responded every time. Coastal Carolina only tagged Anderson for three hits -- all singles. Even with shaky command, the Chanticleers were struggling to put the bat on the baseball. Anderson's outing put LSU in control of the series and in position to win the title on Sunday. 1. Jared Jones hits walk-off single vs. Arkansas Jared Jones coming up with clutch hits was a theme for LSU in Omaha. It was a week full of memorable moments, but Jones' walk-off single vs. Arkansas was the biggest of all. After Luis Hernandez tied the game with a double, Jones' single to center scored Hernandez to walk it off and win the game. It was a 2-1 count and Jones got just enough air on a line drive to get the ball out of the infield. LSU capped off its 3-0 run through bracket play and punched its ticket to the College World Series final. This wasn't Jones' first walk-off vs. Arkansas in 2025. In the regular season, Jones hit a sac fly to score Ethan Frey and down the Razorbacks. If Jones doesn't come through there, LSU would have had to play Arkansas again the next day. LSU's pitching was wearing thin and even if LSU won the third round, the Tigers would have been at a disadvantage vs. Coastal Carolina in the final.
USA Today
19-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jared Jones sends LSU to the national title with a walk-off vs. Arkansas in CWS
Jared Jones sends LSU to the national title with a walk-off vs. Arkansas in CWS LSU and Arkansas were destined to meet again in Omaha. After LSU beat the Razorbacks on Saturday, the Hogs worked their way through the loser's bracket and earned another date with the Tigers. LSU needed just one win to earn a trip back to the College World Series Final, while Arkansas would have to beat LSU twice. The Tigers handles business as LSU came back from a 5-3 deficit to win 6-5 and advance to the final. Zac Cowan got the nod for the Tigers in this one. It was his first start since the Baton Rouge Regional, where he had a rough outing against Little Rock. If LSU wanted to save the pitching staff, they needed Cowan to have a good day. For the Razorbacks, Landon Beidelschies got the start on the mound, his first start since facing LSU on May 11th. On that day, he was chased from the mound after allowing three runs on four hits over two innings. This game would not have that same fate. Both pitchers were locked in as this game was scoreless through three innings. Part of that was due to exceptional defensive play. Steven Milam flashed his defensive prowess once again as he made a great play at the top of the first. In the top of the fourth, Arkansas broke the tie with a solo homer to take a 1-0 lead. That was the one mistake Cowan made all afternoon. He would stay in the game until the top of the sixth inning. After giving up a single, he was pulled for Jaden Noot in the top of the sixth. Noot would get the Tigers out of the inning unscathed. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ethan Frey started LSU off with a double and a pitch hit Milam to put runners on first and second with no outs. Arkansas would then make an interesting decision as they called on Gabe Gaeckle out of the bullpen. If you are wondering, yes, this was the same pitcher who threw a no-hitter against Murray State earlier this week. Luis Hernandez would hit a sacrifice bunt to move Milam to second base and put runners on second and third with one out. Jared Jones struck out for out number two. Josh Pearson was intentionally walked to bring up Jake Brown, who was pinch-hitting for Chris Stanfield. Brown then hit a two-RBI double to left-center field to give LSU their first lead of the ball game. Brown would then get in a rundown between first and second base while the Tigers sent Pearson home. Brown was tagged before Pearson scored, and the inning ended with LSU leading 2-1. Noot retired the first hitter he faced to start the seventh inning and was then pulled from the game in favor of Chase Shores. Shores came in and struck out back-to-back hitters to send us to the bottom of the seventh inning. Dickinson would lead off the inning with a double to put a Tiger in scoring position with no outs. Braswell was then asked to lay a bunt down to get Dickinson to third, but he popped the bunt up for out number one. Curiel struck out for out number two. Frey struck out for out number three. The Hogs would start the inning with a single and then a fielder's choice to put a runner at first with one out. Another single would then put runners on second and third with one out. Shores hit the next batter to load the bases as the Tigers were clinging to a 2-1 lead. A high chopper to Braswell at third would get an out at second, but Jones could not hold onto the ball at first, and the ball would get away from him, and another run would score to make it 3-2 Razorbacks. A groundout would result in out number three, and the Tigers would trail 3-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jared Jones would step into the batter's box with two outs, and he would hit a BOMB to right-center field to tie the game 3-3. Pearson would hit a single, and Brown would walk to put runners on first and second with two outs. Dickinson would strike out to end the inning. Shores remained in the game for the ninth inning. He got a groundout for out number one, but a single put the second runner on with one out. A double would then put runners at second and third with only one out. Jacob Mayers would then enter to pitch. He would be greeted by a two-RBI single to give Arkansas a 5-3 lead. The next hitter would strike out for out number two, but the runner would go from first to third as the throw from Hernandez got away from Milam. A strikeout would get the third out and send us to the bottom of the ninth with the Tigers trailing 5-3. John Pearson would pinch-hit for Braswell to start the bottom of the ninth. He worked a full count before striking out. Curiel would then single and advance to second on an errant throw. Frey would walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Milam would then ground into a fielder's choice for out number two. Hernandez would then step into the batter's box. Hernandez would hit a ball to left field that was misplayed, and once again, we were tied. The Hogs would go to the bullpen as LSU had the winning run on second with two outs and Jared Jones due up. Jones would hit a linedrive to the second baseman, and it caram'd off of his glove, and Hernandez came around to score, and the Tigers won the game. LSU now advances to play Coastal Carolina for the National Title. The series will begin Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT.
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LSU baseball erupts for 16 runs to beat WVU in Game 1 of super regional
LSU baseball erupts for 16 runs to beat WVU in Game 1 of super regional After surviving the Baton Rouge Regional, LSU baseball welcomed West Virginia for the Baton Rouge Super Regional. Needing two wins to punch a ticket to Omaha, LSU scored 16 runs to take down the Mountaineers in game one 16-9. Kade Anderson got the start for LSU in Game 1. After both teams worked a scoreless first inning, West Virginia got on the board in the top of the second after a single caromed off Anderson's arm on the mound. Kade would stay in the game and finish the inning as we headed to the bottom of the second with LSU trailing 1-0. Both pitchers got in a rhythm, and the bats went quiet until the bottom of the fourth inning. After Luis Hernandez and Daniel Dickinson were hit by a pitch, Derek Curiel hit a three-run homer to give the Tigers their first lead of the ballgame at 3-1. In the bottom of the fifth inning, LSU broke the game wide open as the Tigers scored seven runs. Stephen Milam hit a grand slam, Curiel hit an RBI single, and Chris Stanfield hit a two-RBI single to increase the Tigers' lead to 10-1! When you give a pitcher like Anderson a 10-1 lead entering the sixth inning, you feel pretty good about your odds. If you have not been keeping up with this West Virginia team, you would not know that they went 3-0 in the Clemson Regional, but they had to come from behind to win all of those games. In the top of the sixth inning, West Virginia cut into the LSU lead as they plated four runs against Anderson to cut the lead to 10-5. Just like that, the Mountaineers were right back in the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Jared Jones led off the inning with a double, Milam walked, Hernandez reached on a fielder's choice, and Dickinson got hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Curiel and Ashton Larson would walk to score two more runs to increase the lead to 12-5. Josh Pearson stepped into the batter's box and he would hit ANOTHER grand slam to make it 16-5 Tigers! In the top of the seventh inning, West Virginia hit a two-run homer with two outs to cut the lead to 16-7. Anderson's day was finished after seven innings of work. He gave up seven runs on nine hits, seven strikeouts, and two walks. The seven runs he gave up today were the most runs he has given up in a single game all season. DJ Primeaux entered to pitch for the Tigers. After getting one out, Primeaux was pulled from the game, and William Schmidt entered. Schmidt gave up a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to cut the lead to 16-9. Mavrick Rizy then entered to pitch. Rizy got the final three outs, and LSU won game one! With the win, LSU is now one win away from advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Game Two will be played Sunday at 6 PM.
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LSU baseball star goes No. 1 overall in latest MLB.com mock draft
LSU baseball star goes No. 1 overall in latest mock draft After a strong outing in the Baton Rouge Regional, LSU baseball pitcher Kade Anderson continues to fly up the draft board. In latest mock draft, Anderson is the No. 1 overall pick, heading to the Washington Nationals. "The lefty is athletic, throws strikes and has a legit four-pitch mix. With all of his stuff ticking up in the Regional, it looks like he still has plenty in the tank, checking off the durability box. Oh, he'll also have just turned 21 before the Draft as a sophomore-eligible prospect," wrote Jonathan Mayo. Anderson has been projected as a first-round pick all year and became a consensus projected top-10 pick in April. Now, Anderson is in the discussion to be the top overall pick. If Anderson goes No. 1, he'll be the second LSU pitcher in three years to do so. In 2023, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked Skenes with the top pick. The same year, the Nationals picked LSU outfielder Dylan Crews No. 2 overall. Anderson would have a chance to join Crews in Washington. In 96 innings, Anderson has a 3.28 ERA to go along with 156 strikeouts. Anderson is a draft-eligible sophomore and is enjoying a breakout year after working as a releiver in 2024. After Anderson, Mayo slotted Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle going No. 2 overall. Anderson's next outing is expected to come on Saturday in Game 1 of the Baton Rouge Super Regional vs. West Virginia, though LSU has not officially announced its rotation.
