When Chris Stanfield Gave Jay Johnson A Note From His Doctor, It Was Time To Play Him

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

When it’s time to open the Southeastern Conference baseball season, suddenly players often get healthy again.

The No. 13 Tigers (13-5) open SEC play Friday night at Vanderbilt (11-7), and LSU may have one of its best weapons locked and loaded. If not Friday (6 p.m., SEC Network+), he could be in the lineup on Saturday (7 p.m., SEC Network) or on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN2).

LSU Gets Grand Slam By Omar Serna Jr. And Strong Bullpen For Win Entering SEC; Chris Stanfield Returns

Senior left fielder Chris Stanfield, a vital cog on the Tigers’ national championship team last year, played Tuesday night for the first time since injuring his hand sliding into home in the second game of the season. And he could be in the lineup Friday or soon, after delivering a note from his doctor to LSU coach Jay Johnson this week.

“It’s kind of a funny story,” Johnson said Thursday.

During a team meeting about two weeks ago, Johnson was telling all the players what he needed from each of them.

“And I looked at Stanfield, and I was like, ‘I need you to go to the doctor and bring me a not that says you can play.'”

Fast forward to a Tuesday afternoon practice before the Tigers played Creighton that night at Alex Box Stadium.

“He walked in with a note that said, ‘Coach, I can play,'” Johnson said.

And, sure enough, it was signed by LSU trainer Isaac Trujilo. Stanfield should have also had John Fogerty’s “Center Field” played over the loudspeakers with the refrain, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play today.”

Stanfield went in as a pinch-runner in the fifth inning and moved on to left field – his new position this season after playing center last year. Derek Curiel played left last year and has moved to center. Stanfield caught three outs in left. He struck out, but was cheered anyway in LSU’s 8-4 win.

It was his first action after missing 15 games.

“They’re facing a lot of guys that couldn’t make it in the SEC, yet they’re not getting hits.”
-Todd Walkerhttps://t.co/5P4wHkHBgo

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 11, 2026

“It’s just uplifting, because he’s such a positive person,” Johnson said. And his team needed something after losing two straight and four of the previous five with what Johnson called a “Vanilla” offense without Stanfield, who hit .298 with a .414 on-base average last season in 67 starts with 15 doubles, five stolen bases, two triples and a home run.

“His skills are something this team has been lacking,” Johnson said. “It’s just good we were able to get him out there. You glance up and see him out there when the ball’s hit, and you know the play’s going to be made. It was a good feeling.”

Stanfield took a full swing for the first time late last week since the injury.

“We’ll see,” Johnson said when asked if Stanfield will start Friday. “Just got to be game speed. I don’t think it’s out of the question. I don’t know that it’s a certainty. I don’t think it’s out of the question.”

Stanfield often batted lead-off last season and could return to that spot.

The Tigers are expected to start the same pitching rotation they have all season on weekends. That’s sophomore Casan Evans (1-0, 4.66 ERA, 30 strikeouts, 19.1 innings), junior transfer Cooper Moore (3-1, 2.25 ERA, 31 strikeouts, 24 innings) and sophomore William Schmidt (3-1, 2.45 ERA, 33 strikeouts, 22 innings). Vanderbilt’s starters had not been posted yet as for Friday night.

Vanderbilt is expected to start junior Connor Fennell (2-0, 3.80 ERA, 30 strikeouts, 21.1 innings) on Friday. Sophomore Austin Nye (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts, 10 innings) may start Saturday, but he has been dealing with an injury. If not, 6-foot-6, 242-pound freshman Wyatt Nadeau (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 11 innings) possibly will start. Nadeau is a top 300 prospect from Gorham, Maine. The Sunday probable starter is sophomore Nate Taylor (0-3, 4.91 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 18.1 innings), a transfer from Georgia.

“It’s Vanderbilt. A flagship program in the country,” Johnson said. “It’ll be a good series.”

And Johnson says not playing at home for the first weekend of the SEC may actually help his struggling offense, which has featured some players trying to do too much. Sometimes, a raucous crowd at Alex Box enhances that. Because the best hitters tend to slow things down.

“I think for this team, going on the road this weekend, can be a positive for us,” he said.