LSU Baseball: Jay Johnson Opens Fourth Of July Weekend With A Bang – No. 15 Portal Player Angel Loya Of Oregon

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Apparently, LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson still has some portal money to spend.

Johnson opened the Fourth of July weekend with a bang on Friday with a commitment from one of the top players remaining in the transfer portal – ESPN’s No. 15 ranked overall transfer Angel Laya, an outfielder of Oregon.

Laya (6-foot-3, 206 pounds) hit .296 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs for the Oregon Ducks in the 2026 season as a freshman. He added 10 doubles and stole five bases in seven attempts. He also made no errors in the outfield, usually playing right field.

PORTAL COMMIT: @LSUBaseball lands the top portal player on the market in former Oregon outfielder Angel Laya, he announced. Laya was also heavily considering Texas and Arkansas. He finished 2026 with a .296 average, 14 homers and 47 RBIs.

D1 PROFILE: https://t.co/uqNpTrvX5H… pic.twitter.com/1kTHDyE42e

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) July 3, 2026

Laya was the No. 12 freshman in the nation last year by Perfect Game and No. 6 outfielder when he signed with Oregon out of Eastlake High in San Diego, where Johnson was an assistant coach at the University of San Diego from 2006-13 before becoming a coach at Nevada and Arizona before LSU in 2022.

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Laya is the fourth top 15 portal player added by Johnson, according to the ESPN rankings. Johnson previously got the No. 5 player in outfielder Bino Watters of Notre Dame, the No. 8 prospect in pitcher Landon Hood of Gonzaga and the No. 10 portal player in infielder Dawson Park of Texas State.

Johnson has eight portal additions in all.

LSU TRANSFER PORTAL PLAYERS (with 2027 class):

-Sophomore Landon Hood, right-handed pitcher, Gonzaga

-Junior Dawson Park, shortstop, Texas State

-Junior Bino Watters, outfielder, Notre Dame

-Senior Cade Kurland, second baseman, Florida

-Junior Jason Wachs, outfielder, Tulane

-Sophomore Diego Velazquez, right-handed pitcher, USC

-Junior Kaden Smith, right-handed pitcher, South Florida

-Sophomore Angel Lay, outfielder, Oregon