GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
With the NCAA Transfer Portal, there may never be another Fab Five in college basketball. Not like in the early 1990s when Michigan started five highly recruited freshmen in the 1991-92 season with forward Chris Webber, center Juwan Howard, small forward Ray Jackson and guards Jimmy King and Jalen Rose. They reached the national championship game in 1992 and ’93.
LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson started his Fab Five on Saturday night in the second game of a doubleheader against South Carolina. And the highly recruited freshmen quintet led the Tigers to a 7-3 victory in the nightcap.
LSU is all smiles after sweeping doubleheader from South Carolina.https://t.co/0rJ01DbmwW
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) May 3, 2026
That was after a 6-1 win in the opener for a twin-bill sweep on the heels of nine straight SEC losses.
Here is how Johnson’s Fab Five performed in game two:
(Rankings By Perfect Game)
-1B MASON BRAUN (6-0, 213), Penn High near South Bend, Indiana – No. 1 first baseman, No. 20 overall, No. 1 prospect in Indiana … Braun went 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, one walk and a sacrifice bunt in the 7-3 win.
-DH OMAR SERNA JR. (6-2, 245), Lutheran South Academy, Houston – No. 4 catcher, No. 28 overall, No. 1 catcher in Texas … Serna went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
-2B JACK RUCKERT (6-1, 192), Catholic High, Baton Rouge – No. 32 shortstop, No. 14 overall, No. 1 prospect in Louisiana … Ruckert went 0-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
-RF WILLIAM PATRICK (6-2, 209), St. Frederick High, Monroe – No. 26 outfielder, No. 77 overall, No. 2 prospect in Louisiana … Patrick went 1-for-4 with two runs scored.
-P MARCOS PAZ (6-2, 228), Hebron High, Carrollton, Texas – No. 22 right-hander, No. 33 overall, No. 3 right-hander in Texas … Paz allowed one earned run on one hit in five innings with eight strikeouts, three walks and zero wild pitches for the win.
“I mean, at least since I’ve been here, we haven’t run out a lineup of five freshmen out of 10 players,” Johnson said. “And they sure played well tonight. I’m proud of those guys. They’re playing with the right frame of mind – a winning frame of mind and they’re growing. And it’s good to be picking up some wins as we’re doing that. Marcos – tremendous start. I mean, that’s what’s going to happen here for the next three years. That was excellent.”
Braun, Serna, Ruckert and Patrick also started the first game. Braun went 1-for-2 with three walks and two runs scored. Serna went 1-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and a walk. Ruckert went 0-for-3 with a walk. And Patrick went 2-for-4.
Johnson likes what he sees from his newfound youth movement along with the veterans. Junior Steven Milam went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game. Sophomore Cade Arrambide with 1-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game.
Arrambide went 3-for-5 in the second game with a home run and three runs scored. Senior Kansas State transfer Seth Dardar went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double.
The veteran pitchers were also dominant as sophomore starter William Schmidt threw as many as six innings for the first time in his career in an SEC game in the first game. He allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He got the win to improve to 5-4.
“He controlled the count,” Johnson said. “When he got behind, he was able to get back and get some swings and weak contact.”
Then senior Grant Fontenot got his third save of the season, limiting South Carolina to one hit and no runs over three innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
LSU also used only two pitchers in the second game as sophomore Deven Sheerin relieved Paz and got his fourth save by allowing one earned run on three hits with one walk in four innings
“Yeah, that’s the best day this team has had and proud of them for competing,” Johnson said. “Really clean brand of baseball pitching and mostly defensively. We had a couple of mistakes. Offensively, very fundamentally sound. Very team-oriented and the standard at which we want to operate, so it was a good day. And need them to get some rest tonight and be ready to go Sunday.”
So, bring on the final seven SEC games right?
The Tigers (27-21, 8-15 SEC) go for the series sweep against South Carolina (22-26, 7-16 SEC) at 2 p.m. Sunday. If senior right-hander Zac Cowan (2-3, 4.40 ERA) doesn’t start, he will likely relieve. And look for junior left-hander Santiago Garcia (1-1, 5.23 ERA, 2 saves) to pitch.
“We’re not where we necessarily want to be in overall record or SEC record, but the season is not over,” Johnson said. “We have another opportunity on Sunday. Just the mental growth of players to be able to slow the game down and play winning baseball and play as they’re trained is great.”
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