LSU’s Mr. Substitution Man, Jay Johnson, Was In Full Force Through 4-0 Start

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

The No. 1 LSU baseball team opened the 2026 season with a revolving door of players at second and third base, designated hitter, catcher and left field over the previous four days going 4-0.

And look forward to more of that throughout most of the season for coach Jay Johnson and on Wednesday when the Tigers (4-0) host Nicholls State (0-3) at 1 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium.

“We have a lot of depth, and that will be one of the strengths of our team,” he said.

That means a lot of substitutions, some platoons and a plethora of pinch-hitter options. Johnson handled all that expertly last season, and it was important for the Tigers as they won the national championship. Johnson also kept his roster happy, and virtually all of it returned for this season.

Through the three-game sweep of Milwaukee on Friday through Sunday, 15-5, 5-3 and 21-7, and the 10-7 win over Milwaukee on Monday, Johnson used five second baseman, four designated hitters, three third baseman, three catchers, three left fielders and 15 pitchers.

Senior transfer Brayden Simpson of High Point was the opening day second baseman, but senior Kansas State transfer Seth Dardar started game two and four with junior Oregon State transfer Trent Caraway starting game three.

Backing up at second in all four games was true freshman Jack Ruckert of Catholic High in Baton Rouge. Dardar and true freshman Ethan Clauss of Las Vegas also saw reserve duty.

True freshman Mason Braun of South Bend, Indiana, started game one and game four at designated hitter with sophomore regular catcher Cade Arrambide taking a turn at DH along with true freshman catcher Omar Serna.

“Swollen and bruised,” Jay Johnson says of left fielder Chris Stanfield’s status for Nicholls State Wednesday. “Pain tolerance will determine return.”https://t.co/42YjIHgK38

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) February 17, 2026

Caraway will be the regular third baseman and started three of the first four games there. He moved to second in game three when sophomore John Pearson started at third. This was because Simpson started in left field for injured regular left fielder Chris Stanfield, who bruised his hand sliding into home in game two. Braun later replaced Simpson in left. Senior Tanner Reaves played left in game four. Reaves also saw backup action at third in game one as did Caraway in game three.

Serna started game two at catcher. Arrambide started the other three there. Junior Dayton transfer Edward Yamin IV backed up Arrambide at catcher in game three.

Senior transfer Zach Yorke of Grand Canyon started all four games at first base and did not come out. He went 4-for-11 (.364) with two home runs and three RBIs.

Jake Brown Hits Homers In 3 Consecutive At-Bats From Sunday To Monday; Tigers Beat Kent State

Junior returnee Jake Brown started all four games in right field and hit a team-high .529 with four homers and 10 RBIs, including a grand slam and six RBIs in game two. He had eight home runs all last season. Brown also became the first Tiger since Jared Jones in 2023 to hit two home runs apiece in back-to-back games in games three and four. Over those two games, he also hit three home runs in three at-bats.

“Hard to say anybody is off to a better start in the country than him,” Johnson said. “Jake is the leader of this team, there’s no question about that. I’m very thankful that he’s a Tiger. And I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best players in the country this year.”

Also coming in hot was Arrambide, who was 7-for-17 for a .412 average with a home run and five RBIs in four starts. Dardar was 4-for-10 for .400 with two home runs and six RBIs in four starts. Caraway hit .385 (5-for-13) with a triple and a double and six RBIs in four starts.

Sophomore Derek Curiel started all four games in center field and was 6 of 13 with a double and four RBIs. Braun hit .300 (3-for-10) with a home run, a double and three RBIs in three games and two starts. Junior shortstop Steven Milam hit .267 (4-for-15) with two doubles and five RBIs.

Of the 15 pitchers used in the first four games, five pitched twice. Those were all relievers – redshirt junior Gavin Guidry (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 save, 10 strikeouts, 1 hit, 0 walks in four and a third innings), sophomore Mavrick Rizy (0-0 0.00 ERA, 4 strikeouts, 0 hits, 1 walk in 2 and two-thirds innings), redshirt sophomore Deven Sheerin (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 strikeouts, 0 hits, 0 walks in 1 and two-thirds innings), sophomore Iowa Western transfer left-hander Ethan Plog (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 strikeouts, 1 hit, 1 walk in 1 inning) and senior Grant Fontenot (0-0, 27.00 ERA, 1 strikeout, 3 hits, 0 walks in two-thirds innings).

“We really like our bullpen,” Johnson said. “Gavin is the best closer in the country, and what’s remarkable is we won the national championship while he was out with an injury (back).”

No. 1 LSU Beats Milwaukee, 5-3, Behind Transfer Cooper Moore’s Career High 11 Strikeouts

Junior Kansas transfer Cooper Moore had the best opening start in game two as he allowed four hits and one run with 11 strikeouts and zero walks to go to 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA.

“He was our best performing pitcher in the fall, so it was not a surprise to us that he had this type of outing,” Johnson said. “Cooper has great self-belief, and I think those guys that have that are special. And we really need that. He pitches like he needs to win, and we certainly saw that. He’s really good. He’s got exceptional pitch-ability. He has a lot of ways to get you out.”