By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU opened its six-week fall practice period Thursday afternoon as the defending national champions return 19 players and have added 20.
“We have a lot to do and not ready to play a game yet, by any stretch,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “So, I’m excited to get out there and put in all our system process and get to see players competing.”
Team bonding is particularly important this time of year when the games obviously do not mean as much as during the real season, which opens on Feb. 13 against Milwaukee.
“I’ve always felt you have to be intentional about helping them become good teammates as much as you do making a good pitcher, a good hitter, a good defensive player,” Johnson said.
Johnson confirmed what he told Tiger Rag Radio over the summer – sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel will play center field in 2026 after playing left las season.
“That was always the plan,” Johnson said as he didn’t expect 2025 center fielder Chris Stanfield to return for his senior season.
Stanfield will move to left field. Junior Jake Brown will play right field again.
“I made the decision not to (play Curiel in center last season), because it’s a heavy lift to come into this program in this league and bat first or second in 67 out of the 69 games, run the bases aggressively, and impact the game in all phases and play center,” Johnson said. “So, I just decided that would be a little something I wanted to take off his plate, because I knew we needed so much out of the other parts of his game.”
Curiel is ready.
“I take a lot of pride in getting to be this year’s center fielder, so I’m super happy that coach Johnson made that decision,” he said. “I’m going to work hard to make sure I can compete my butt off every day.”
Johnson insisted that Curiel take the summer off from playing in the Cape Cod League and gain weight and get stronger after he lost six pounds during the season. Curiel has gained 20 to get to 194.
“I’ve just been getting a lot stronger. I can feel it in my swing,” he said. “Not having to try as hard to do exactly what I did last year is very helpful.”
Curiel is bench pressing 225 pounds now after 155 last year while eating four or five meals a day to keep putting on weight.
FALL GAMES
-Samford, Sunday, Nov. 2, Keesler Federal Park, Biloxi, Mississippi, 11 a.m. (three 7-inning games)
-At Southeastern Louisiana, Nov. 9, 1 p.m.
LSU will also be scrimmaging against itself throughout the fall.
GAVIN GUIDRY COMEBACK
LSU reliever Gavin Guidry, who missed all of the 2025 season with a back injury, is due back to pitching soon.
“The target date for him in the scrimmages is right around the first in November, maybe the end of October,” Johnson said. “And then he’ll throw either three or four times competitively. And then we’ll move into that period between that and gearing up for the season.”
Guidry, a redshirt junior from Barbe High in Lake Charles, was 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA and three saves in 2024 with 36 strikeouts in 24 and a third innings. In 2023, he was 3-0 with a 3.77 ERA and three saves with 42 strikeouts in 28 and two-thirds innings.
… Freshman left-handed pitcher Jonah Aase of Ferndale, Washington, will most likely not throw for the entire season, Johnson announced.
WHITE HOUSE VISIT
The Tigers’ visit to the White House to be honored for winning the 2025 national championship is being finalized.
“We’re close, but they’re still some engaging between officials up there and LSU people,” Johnson said. “We should have an announcement on that pretty soon.”
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