By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
The LSU baseball team has perhaps strengthened its weakest link in the 2026 baseball season – pitching.
LSU coach Jay Johnson has received a commitment and signee out of the NCAA Transfer Portal from Gonzaga freshman right-handed relief pitcher Landon Hood (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), who was 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA and five saves for the Bulldogs last season.
Hood, a native of Goodyear, Arizona, who went to Canyon View High School, was the West Coast Conference freshman of the year last season as he struck out 78 and walked 21 in 16 appearances with four starts. Gonzaga finished 35-19 and won the WCC with a 22-5 mark but did not receive a bid to an NCAA Regional. The Zags finished at No. 57 by the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) after going two and out in the WCC Tournament.
Hood was the first player in Tiger Rag’s listing of five LSU portal targets to watch on Thursday.
Johnson and LSU pitching coach Nate Yeskie’s pitching staff had problems throughout the season.
The Tigers’ 2026 staff finished with the most walks in the Southeastern Conference at 289 – just four from breaking the school record of 292 set in 1988 in the only season in which coach Skip Bertman did not reach the NCAA postseason. And LSU finished with the worst ERA in the league last season at 5.72, which was not far from the school record worst of 6.08 in 1981.
The Tigers (30-28, 9-21 SEC) lost more SEC games in 2026 in the history of the program, which began play as a charter SEC member in 1933. And the defending national champion Tigers did not reach NCAA postseason play this past season for the first time since 2011.
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