GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Growing up in Madisonville, 66 miles from LSU, Kade Anderson knows all about LSU and the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Since he was 3, the Tigers have reached Omaha seven times – 2008, 2009, 2013, ’15, ’17, 2023 and ’25 – and won two national championships in ’09 and ’23. This is the sophomore left-hander’s first time, but he sure talked about the CWS as if he had been there already during Media Day on Thursday.
THE TIGER RAG PODCAST … OMAHA EDITION
In other words, act like you’ve been there.
“When you play at LSU, this is why you’re supposed to come here and win,” Anderson said Thursday at the podium next to coach Jay Johnson and first baseman Jared Jones with the “Greatest Show On Dirt” banner behind him.
No. 6 seed LSU (48-15) plays No. 3 seed and Southeastern Conference border brother Arkansas (48-13) at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN at 24,000-seat Charles Schwab Field.
Anderson (10-1, 3.58 ERA) is second in the nation in strikeouts with 163 in 103 and projected by MLB.com to be the first or second player picked in the Major League Baseball Draft on July 13. He is expected to start Saturday’s game against fellow top left-hander – junior Zach Root (8-5, 3.59 ERA, 119 strikeouts in 92 and two-thirds innings), who is projected to go as the 39th selection in the supplemental first round by MLB.com.
“It’s a great day to be alive,” as the song says. And for those at Alex Box last night, feel free to substitute night for day.https://t.co/Qq2gVfdKyy
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 9, 2025
Should Anderson become the overall first pick, it would mark the first time in LSU history that it will have two such picks in three years as pitcher Paul Skenes went No. 1 overall in 2023 to Pittsburgh after leading the Tigers to the national title.
And Johnson – ever the recruiter – needs another Skenes, Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, LSU’s junior transfer No. 1A starter (11-2, 2.75 ERA), to go with freshman No. 3 starter and ace reliever Casan Evans (4-1, 1.90 ERA, 6 saves). Eyanson is a projected late first round pick, supplemental pick or early second round choice.
“We’re going to have two pitchers (Anderson and Eyanson) drafted in the first 40 picks of the draft,” Johnson said.
And just a year ago at this time, Anderson was coming off a freshman season not to write to Madisonville about – 4-2, 3.99 ERA. And in SEC games, he was a putrid 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA through five appearances and one start with 10 runs allowed on 10 hits, including two home runs, in just three and a third innings with an opponent batting average of .600.
But pitching coach Nate Yeskie and Johnson developed him late last season and going into this one. Now, the No. 1 pick, or close to it.
“There’s no better place for a pitcher in the entire country to come right now and develop to be a Major Leaguer than LSU,” he said.
Anderson struck out 10 in five and two-thirds innings while allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk in a no-decision against Arkansas on May 9 in Baton Rouge that LSU won, 5-4, in 10 innings. Root struck out six while giving up two runs on five hits with no walks in a no-decision. The Tigers took the series, two games to one, with a 13-3, 10-run rule win in seven innings before a 7-4 loss. The Razorbacks finished second in the SEC at 20-10 to LSU’s third at 19-11.
LSU is tied for sixth in history for most trips to Omaha with 20, beginning in 1986 with three stops in the ’80s, seven in the 1990s with four national titles (1991, ’93, ’96, ’97) and 10 in the 2000s with two national crowns (2009, 2023).
LSU’s seven national championships sit second in history behind USC’s 12, but the Trojans have won zero since 1999. Arkansas is in its 12th appearance in Omaha with no national titles, but runner-up finishes in 1979 and 2018.
Jay Johnson has reached 2 national championship games and won 1, but he has never been 2-0 in Omaha, and has been 0-2.https://t.co/c6a0Gr66Nb
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 10, 2025
Johnson, 48, knows Omaha, which he says his life revolves around. He is on his fourth trip – twice as Arizona’s coach in 2016 (lost in championship game) and 2022 and twice with LSU (national champs in 2023).
“Great opponent,” he said. “It should be a great night for baseball.”
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, who was Northwestern State’s coach from 1995-97, is on his 10th trip at age 64 with two at Nebraska in 2001-02 and eighth with Arkansas since taking over in Fayetteville before the 2003 season.
“Like I said, LSU plays here often,” Anderson said. “There’s no reason for us not to be here. And this is just another week for us, realistically. Coach Johnson prepares us that way. And we’ll be ready when it comes Saturday.”
LSU arrived in Omaha on Wednesday and practiced Thursday at Schwab Field.
“One of the coolest parts when you land the plane, and you drive over here and you walk in, and our guys walk out, is seeing them smile,” said Johnson, who still seems like a kid on Christmas morning every time he arrives. “There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears put in the bucket to get here. I want them to enjoy that.”
LSU practiced at Creighton University on Wednesday.
“We locked in for 90 minutes over there, and then went to a steakhouse,” Johnson said. “Enjoyed being there. That’s one of the things in the postseason – you advance to the next round, we go eat a steak. Then you come to the practice and media day, and there’s kids wanting autographs and people in the stadium. There’s a palpable buzz. I want them to feel that. They earned that. And then to have the maturity to shift the preparation and execution at the right time. I’m confident we can do that.”
WHERE WOULD LSU BE WITHOUT KADE ANDERSON AND ANTHONY EYANSON?
And without Anderson and Eyanson, who is No. 3 in the nation in strikeouts with 142 in 98 and two-thirds innings, LSU would not have earned this trip. He also has two saves over his last four appearances in postseason, so do not be surprised if Eyanson closes at some point in Omaha.
“Yes, it’s made me very happy to have two pitchers of that caliber,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of reasons our team is here playing as one of the last eight and in the College World Series. And it starts with Kade and Anthony. They’re far more similar than different. If they’re off a little bit, they have something they can go to to remain competitive and get zeros on the board. They both have exceptional pitch-ability with four pitches they throw for strikes. They both give us the greatest chance to win.”
“You bring the good guys in,” Anderson said, acting like he’s been here before, “this kind of stuff happens.”
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