LSU Baseball Adds USC Pitcher Diego Velazquez Via Portal – Was 5-1 With 34 Strikeouts in 31 Innings In 2026

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson gained a commitment from a second pitcher via the NCAA Transfer Portal on Tuesday night, a Tiger Rag source said.

Diego Velazquez, a freshman right-hander from USC, committed on Tuesday night in coach Jay Johnson’s office. Velazquez (6-foot-1, 203 pounds) struck out 34 last season in 31 and two-thirds innings. He also walked only nine with one wild pitch – two problem areas on the Tigers’ 2026 staff. He was 5-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 15 appearances, including five starts.

Tiger Rag Radio: Jay Johnson Breaks Down New Additions with More on the Way

Velazquez went to Crespi Carmelite High in Reseda, California, in the Los Angeles area. Johnson, a native of Oroville, California, an hour north of Sacramento, has frequently tapped into the West Coast for players since coming to LSU before the 2022 season. He previously was an assistant coach at the University of San Diego before head coaching jobs at Nevada and Arizona prior to LSU.

Right-handed pitcher Anthony Eyanson signed with LSU before the 2025 season via the portal from the University of California at San Diego. He is from Lakewood – a suburb of Los Angeles. Eyanson went 12-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 108 innings in ’25 as the Tigers won the national championship – Johnson’s second in three seasons. Eyanson was 6-2 with a 3.07 ERA as a sophomore at UC-San Diego before coming to LSU. He was the 87th pick of the Major League Baseball Draft last summer in the third round as a junior by Boston.

Velazquez is the sixth portal addition for LSU and joins freshman right-handed pitcher portal signee Landon Hood of Gonzaga, another West Coast school in Spokane, Washington.

Help is on the way at last for LSU pitching:https://t.co/Us3BNFchyM

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 5, 2026

“I thought Landon was the best pitcher in the transfer portal and why we pursued him hard and fast and excited to get him,” Johnson said on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night.

Velazquez signed with USC as a two-way player and saw action at shortstop. A left-handed hitter, he played in 11 games as a position player with five starts, batting .167 (3-for-18).

LSU BASEBALL TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS (with class for next season)

-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