LSU Baseball Chases 2nd National Title In 3 Years, But Jay Johnson And Staff Must Also Multi-Task

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

If you see LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson on his phone in the dugout during a College World Series game in Omaha this weekend and over the following days and maybe weeks, he may not be calling the bullpen.

He could be calling a potential transfer. The NCAA Transfer Portal window for baseball opened last Monday and runs through July 1. The No. 6 national seed Tigers (48-15) could be in Omaha through June 22 or 23 if they advance to the championship series as they did in 2023 when they won it all.

LSU BASEBALL BEATS WEST VIRGINIA ON “SPECIAL NIGHT” IN THE BOX TO ADVANCE TO CWS

LSU plays No. 3 national seed Arkansas (48-13) at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Omaha in the double-elimination CWS that includes a separate best-of-three championship series.

TIGERS GET PRIME TIME GAME ON SATURDAY

“We lost a player because we played in the championship series of the College World Series finals two years ago,” Johnson said last week before his Tigers defeated West Virginia on Saturday and Sunday in at Alex Box Stadium in the Super Regional to advance.

“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

“He went on a visit to somebody else that wasn’t playing and canceled his visit to us during the national championship celebration,” he said. “I still don’t know how that, like, works out.”

LSU was basically punished by this prospect by reaching what everyone wants to reach.

“But we don’t need all the players at LSU, just the right players,” Johnson said.

LSU TOO MUCH FOR WEST VIRGINIA

While preparing to play West Virginia last week in the Super Regional that the Tigers won on Sunday, Johnson and staff were recruiting Kansas State first baseman/second baseman Seth Dardar after Dardar entered the portal last week. Dardar, who went to Holy Cross High in the New Orleans area, was a fourth-year junior in the 2025 season at Kansas State. He hit .326 with 13 home runs with one of those homers.

One of his home runs came off LSU ace Kade Anderson in an 8-5 loss on Feb. 28 in Frisco, Texas. Kansas State finished 32-26 (17-13 Big 12) and reached the NCAA Regional in Austin, Texas. Dardar played first base, second base and was a designated hitter last season. He sat out the 2024 season with an injury after playing in 2022 and ’23 in Columbia. LSU first baseman Jared Jones and second baseman Daniel Dickinson are both juniors and expected to be drafted this summer and move on to pro ball.

Johnson, like most coaches in various college sports, does not like the transfer portal windows conflicting with teams who play deep into postseason.

“There’s a team, and there’s a program,” he said. “My focus right now is on this team and helping this team be successful. Otherwise, there is no point in bringing them here (to the postseason) in the first place. That’s the priority. With that, we also have a program that we want to have as many bits out of the Omaha apple as you possibly can, so you can’t just ignore it.”

Though, he sounds like he’d like to, particularly over the next two days in Baton Rouge and in Omaha. Johnson took time out from his Super Regional preparation last Wednesday to make some recruiting calls. LSU has another transfer coming in for next season in junior third baseman/first baseman Brayden Simpson of High Point University.

“It’s about me and my staff prioritizing my and our pockets of time windows,” Johnson said. “And there’s not better recruiting pitch than playing on TV in the postseason. But you have to pay attention to the portal. “

In the meantime, LSU has been losing players to the portal. They can return after taking a look around and seeing what programs are interested, but most transfer to new schools.

SIX LSU DEEP RESERVES HAVE ENTERED TRANSFER PORTAL

So far, six LSU deep reserve players who did not play very much this season have entered the portal – junior catcher Blaise Priester, junior right-handed pitcher Chandler Dorsey, redshirt sophomore outfielder Mic Paul, redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Dylan Thompson, freshman infielder David Hogg II and freshman first baseman Ryan Costello.

LSU’s roster is down to 34, which coincidentally is the new NCAA roster limit for the 2026 season as scholarship limits will experience a dramatic addition from 11.7, which has been the limit since the 1980s.

Teams going to Omaha for this College World Series are allowed to bring 27 active roster players.