Mr. Johnson Goes To Washington With His National Champion LSU Baseball Team On Monday

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

If anyone could stop President Donald Trump’s federal government shutdown, could it be LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson?

Johnson and his reigning 2025 national champion Tigers are tentatively scheduled to be honored for winning that crown last June at the White House possibly with Trump on Monday, Johnson confirmed during an appearance on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night.

The shutdown will be heading into its fourth week by then. Who knows, maybe Johnson can try to remake the “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” classic movie starring Jimmy Stewart in 1939.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) was released 85 years ago today. Pictured below are stars Jimmy and Jean Arthur behind the scenes on the Columbia lot during filming. pic.twitter.com/93fLvQw174

— Jimmy Stewart Fans 🎃 (@MrJimmyStewart) October 17, 2024

“All right, Jay, I expect the federal government will be back open on Tuesday after your visit on Monday,” Louisiana Radio Network news/sports director Jeff Palermo told Johnson as his appearance ended on Tuesday night.

“Yeah, we’re going to get everybody in line,” Johnson said in jest. “That’s what we’re going to do.”

LSU Baseball Dominance Part Deux Arrives!https://t.co/yzFBgE9eGo

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 22, 2025

LSU beat Coastal Carolina, 5-3, on June 22, to win the best-of-three national championship series, two games to none, at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, for Johnson’s second title in three years at LSU. It was the Tigers’ eighth overall since 1991 – five by coach Skip Bertman and one by coach Paul Mainieri before Johnson.

“We’re excited to go and proud of the team for the accomplishment,” Johnson said.

The visit has not been officially announced yet, however.

“We have not not yet been given authorization by the White House to make an official announcement,” LSU associate sports information director Bill Franques told Tiger Rag on Wednesday.

Tiger Rag reported last week that a visit was in the works.

“From a personal standpoint, I remember growing up and being a kid and a 49ers fan and a Lakers fan, and that was the thing,” Johnson said Tuesday night.

Johnson, 48, grew up in Oroville in northern California and is a San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Lakers fan.

“The 49ers would win the Super Bowl, and we’d get to see Joe Montana at the White House and Magic Johnson,” Johnson said. “And so, it’s pretty awesome. We won the national championship, and we’re going to the White House. I’m fired up for our guys. It is on Monday.”

Johnson is particularly excited because his 2023 national champion Tigers did not get such a trip after being told they would.

“I don’t know what happened,” Johnson said Tuesday night. “I really don’t know. I know I did bring it to somebody’s attention. Like I said, it’s a very rare opportunity. I saw that the women’s basketball team did go. They had won the championship before us.”

LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey in just her second season with the Tigers won the 2022-23 national title with a win over Iowa and Caitlin Clark on April 2 of that year. They were honored at the White House while Joe Biden was president.

“I was told that we would, too, and I don’t really have an answer, other than it just didn’t really materialize,” Johnson said.

Not every single college sports national champion is honored every year, however.

“Yeah, I get it,” Johnson said. “There’s a little bit of an entire world that has to be operated through that place. So, I’m just happy they’re honoring the 2025 national champions in baseball.”

Bertman’s first national championship team in 1991 went to the White House that summer and was honored, though Bertman had to miss it because of hip surgery. His next four champions were not honored at the White House. But Mainieri’s 2009 national champions were so honored.

LSU’s national championship football teams in the 2003, ’07 and ’19 seasons all went to the White House to be honored. USC, which won the Associated Press poll national title for the 2003 season while LSU won the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title, was also honored at the White House with LSU in 2004.

LSU-Shreveport is also scheduled to be honored with the LSU baseball team at the White House on Monday. The LSUS Pilots won the 2025 NAIA national championship on May 31 to complete a 59-0 season.

“That’s awesome,” Johnson said. “What a season that was! To go undefeated in baseball at any level is something really special. I think it’s pretty cool that we both get to share in that together. They had a great team.”