GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
The LSU baseball team’s first seven losses to the NCAA Transfer Portal since the beginning of this month were not significant, based on impact and games played, which was minimal.
But the eighth one is. Sophomore outfielder Ashton Larson, whose three-run, pinch-hit home run on April 17 ignited a rally from a 5-1 deficit to an 11-6 win over Alabama, has entered the portal.
Larson hit .256 in just 39 at-bats on the season, but he was a key lefty pinch-hitter and reserve for the Tigers as he hit two home runs with 12 RBIs. As a freshman in 2024, Larson started 40 games with 33 in right field and hit .298 with 16 RBIs and three home runs. He led LSU in its 30 Southeastern Conference games with a .337 average. Then Larson was named the MVP of the Cape Cod League last summer after hitting .316 with nine doubles and 18 RBIs in 31 games.
An injury slowed his 2025 season as did the development of sophomore right fielder Jake Brown, who hit .320 with eight homers and 48 RBIs in 64 games and 46 starts. But what hurts about Larson’s potential departure is that LSU is losing senior outfielder Josh Pearson, who hit .289 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in 55 games with 40 starts. Pearson usually played right field.
The Tigers could also lose junior center fielder Chris Stanfield to the Major League Baseball Draft in July and possibly junior designated hitter/outfielder Ethan Frey.
LSU does return freshman backup outfielder John Pearson and starting left fielder Derek Curiel. LSU has not yet added an outfielder via the portal.
Larson conceivably could just see what is out there in the portal as far as landing spots and NIL pay, nd then decide to stay at LSU. But that would be a rarity. Most players transfer after entering the portal. He was the No. 13 outfielder in the country and No. 78 prospect overall by Perfect Game coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Overland Park, Kansas, before the 2024 season.
Previous portal losses by LSU this month were outfielder Mic Paul, catcher Blaise Priester, infielders Mikey Ryan and David Hogg, and pitchers Kade Woods, Chandler Dorsey and Dylan Thompson.
LSU’s TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS
The Tigers recently added two left-handed pitchers via the portal as sophomore ace left-hander Kade Anderson will be leaving and is expected to be the first player taken in the July 13 MLB Draft, or be in the top three.
LSU has added Ryler Smart (6-foot-4, 236 pounds) from Tennessee and Danny Lachenmayer (6-3, 195) from North Dakota State. Smart did not pitch last season for the Volunteers as he sat out the season with an arm injury. He was the No. 25 left-hander in the nation out of Pearland High in Pearland, Texas, near Houston in 2024 by Perfect Game. He will be a redshirt freshman.
Lachenmayer was 2-4 with a 2.37 ERA as a reliever with nine saves in 24 appearances last season as a freshman. He struck out 56 in 38 innings. He went to Eagan High in Eagan, Minnesota.
Previous LSU incoming transfers were first baseman/second baseman Seth Dardar of Kansas State and first baseman/third baseman Brayden Simpson of High Point.
Decision made, see you in Baton Rouge! 💜💛 @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/LdKVpg0XXz
— omar serna (@_omarserna26) June 27, 2025
TIGERS LAND TOP PREP CATCHER
LSU has already replaced junior backup catcher Blaise Priester, who recently entered the transfer portal. The Tigers have received a commitment from one of the top high school catchers in the nation in Omar Serna of Lutheran South Academy in Houston. Serna was the No. 132 overall prospect for the MLB Draft next month, but has taken his name out of the draft.
Serna will compete with Cade Arrambide, a top signee in LSU’s class of 2025, for the catching job next season as starter Luis Hernandez was a senior.
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