Ethan Frey Fell Into Jay Johnson’s Lap, And The Coach Never Even Had To Go To Rosepine

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

There have not been a lot of LSU athletes from Rosepine, Louisiana – a former lumber hub of about 2,000 people that is an hour north of Lake Charles.

“I have not been to Rosepine,” LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, a native of Oroville, California, near Sacramento, said last week. “I still need a GPS driving around here.”

But Rosepine, as in junior slugger Ethan Frey, came to Johnson and has been one of LSU’s top hitters all season. He leads the Tigers (42-13, 19-11 Southeastern Conference) in batting average at .356 and has 40 RBIs and 11 home runs as LSU prepares for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The No. 3 seeded Tigers play Friday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network) against an opponent to be determined after receiving a double bye by finishing in a tie for third place.

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LSU remained No. 1 in the nation on Monday in the Baseball America and D1Baseball polls after taking of two of three games against South Carolina and former LSU coach Paul Mainieri over the weekend on the road to finish the regular season.

The Tigers are No. 8 in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and in line to receive a national top eight seed for home field advantage throughout NCAA Regional and Super Regional play next month. D1Baseball has LSU projected as the No. 7 national seed and hosting at Alex Box Stadium against No. 2 seed Arizona, No. 3 seed Miami and No. 4 seed Miami of Ohio.

Frey went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run in LSU’s 8-1 win Friday.

Frey, a catcher, pitcher and quarterback at Rosepine High, happened to be at an Area Code baseball tryout for elite high school players at Alex Box Stadium in the summer of 2021 before his senior year just after Johnson replaced the retiring Mainieri.

“I’m in the office like 19 hours a day the first month,” Johnson said. “And I’m recruiting, evaluating, meeting people, this and that.”

So, he stepped outside to watch the prospects.

“And this dude comes up, and he’s just blasting balls over our scoreboard,” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want to look at this guy.’ And I didn’t even know it was him at this time.”

Johnson checked, and Frey, 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, had already committed to Mainieri in 2019 as his sophomore year at Rosepine was starting.

“Yeah, we’re going to hang out for a while after this tryout,” Johnson said to himself. “He was committed, but let’s just say we were doubling down on making sure he was going to stay in tune.”

Johnson texted immediately.

“He was here, and messaged me,” Frey said before LSU went to South Carolina. “We met up the next day, and it’s been great ever since. I could tell he was knowledgeable and that he coached a lot.”

But Frey was close to Mainieri.

“I loved him when he was here,” Frey said. “It was cool. I was pretty young (when he committed). It was a good moment for me.”

And he was a little suspicious of Johnson – this former Arizona coach who coached at Nevada and was an assistant at the University of San Diego.

“West Coast coaches – most people don’t love them down here, but I guess it’s working for us, so I’m not going to complain,” Frey laughed. “He’s a great coach. I’m super thankful he’s given me the opportunity.”

Johnson was patient with Frey, who hit .263 in 19 games as a freshman in the 2023 national title season after arriving as Mr. Louisiana in baseball in 2022. He led Rosepine to back-to-back Class 2A state titles in baseball in 2021 and ’22.

In 2024 at LSU, Frey dropped to .228 in 34 games, but a dislocated shoulder that required surgery slowed him.

He exploded this season and has not let up. Despite going 0-for-5 Saturday in LSU’s 7-3 win at South Carolina, the right-handed hitting Frey remained at the top spot in batting average for the Tigers at .356 (47 of 132). The 11 homers and 40 RBIs led LSU’s non-regular starters. He has played in 49 of LSU’s 55 games so far with 33 starts – 32 at designated hitter and one in right field.

In 27 SEC games with 22 starts, Frey hit .296 (24 of 78) with five home runs and 16 RBIs.

Frey kills lefty pitchers at .373 and is .343 versus righties.

“He’s the man,” Johnson said. “I mean, he’s literally handled everything – success, failure, injury, his role – about as good as you possibly can. With that kind of maturity, that talent, I wouldn’t even call it a breakthrough, because I’ve always had a high opinion of him. Success was coming. He’s the best. I have high opinions of a lot of our players, and none higher than Ethan.”