By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Who says the new age of college athletics means a new team every season because of the freewheeling transfer portal that requires no sitting out between schools?
LSU Baseball coach Jay Johnson joins us on statewide Tiger Rag Radio tonight at 6:30 p.m. as season opens Friday …Check local station listings in this story.https://t.co/BPRhVjLnFg
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) February 10, 2026
At LSU, winners of two of the last three national championships in baseball, coach Jay Johnson will go Old School in 2026 as he tries to become the first LSU baseball coach to win back-to-back titles since Skip Bertman in 1996 and ‘97. No college baseball coach anywhere has won back-to-back titles since Ray Tanner at South Carolina in 2010 and ’11.
No. 1 LSU begins defense of its national championship on Friday when it opens the season against Milwaukee (2 p.m., SEC Network+) at Alex Box Stadium. The series continues at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on SEC Network+.
“They looked like Rocky Balboa after fighting Ivan Drago.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) February 9, 2026
-LSU coach Jay Johnson on his young hitters facing a plethora of dominant Tiger pitchers. Season starts Friday:https://t.co/48KGCaShVn
And if LSU does repeat, no less than 15 players who had significant roles last season will be fitted for twin rings. Johnson brought in 10 players from the NCAA Transfer Portal and attracted the cream of the crop as he has a No. 1-ranked portal class. But he suffered only one significant loss to the portal from last year’s team in sophomore outfielder Ashton Larson, who hit .256 in 34 games with two home runs and 12 RBIs.
The lengthy list of returnees starts with first team preseason All-American outfielder Derek Curiel, who won the national Freshman of the Year award in 2025. Playing left field flawlessly with zero errors, he led the Tigers with a .345 batting average and with 20 doubles. He hit seven home runs with 55 RBIs and 67 runs scored.
In the Tigers’ sweep of West Virginia in the Super Regional, Curiel led the way with a .571 average. He will move to center field for his sophomore season, which was always the plan. Surprise returning senior Chris
Stanfield, who started in center last season, will move to left.
“Sometimes you just know,” Johnson said of his recruitment of Curiel out of Orange Lutheran High in West Covina, California, in the Los Angeles area. “With Derek, that’s the guy.”
A native of Oroville, California, north of Sacramento, Johnson has been recruiting Los Angeles and other California spots since he started coaching at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego in 2001 and later at San Diego as an assistant and at head coaching jobs at Nevada and Arizona before LSU.
“If I’m going to use my California connections at LSU, we need to get Derek Curiel,” he said.
“Couldn’t ask for a better freshman year at a place and a better place to be,” Curiel said. “Last season was unbelievable, and we’ll be better this season.”
Johnson had the same sense about pitcher Casan Evans as he recruited him out of St. Pius X High in Houston the last few years. Evans was a first team freshman All-American last season after going 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA and seven saves through 19 appearances and three starts. He struck out 71 in 52 and two-thirds innings with 19 walks and a .228 batting average allowed.
Evans struck out a season-high 12 through six innings with three walks, four hits and one run allowed in beating Arkansas-Little Rock to win the NCAA Regional. He got the save in the CWS opener against Arkansas and the win over UCLA.
“Other than Paul Skenes, I’ve never recruited a player harder than Casan,” Johnson said. “Phone calls, personal notes, home visit, A-plus official visit, two unofficial visits. Because he was a can’t miss. You could see the talent, but the background piece with his family was great and this special makeup of competitiveness he has. You could see it and feel it.”
Evans chose LSU over Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and TCU.
“Sometimes I can’t even believe I’m at LSU,” he said. “I mean, the powerhouse of college baseball. I’m just like, ‘This is crazy that I made it here.’”
Senior Zac Cowan is another stud returnee after going 3-3 with a 2.94 ERA and six saves last season – five in the SEC. He struck out 60 with 12 walks and a .226 average allowed in 52 innings.
Other returning starters are junior shortstop Steven Milam (.295, 11 HRs, 57 RBIs), junior right fielder Jake Brown (.320, 8 HRS, 48 RBIs) and Stanfield in left (.298, 15 2Bs, 31 RBIs).
Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide will start after hitting .242 with four home runs and 14 RBIs last season. Senior backup infielder Tanner Reaves (.262, 12 RBIs) returns with sophomore reserve outfielder John Pearson (.238, 2 HRs, 7 RBIs).
Among the slew of returning pitchers who saw a lot of action are sophomore William Schmidt (7-0,
4.73 ERA, 41 strikeouts, 32.1 innings), junior Jaden Noot (2-1, 4.13 ERA, 1 save, 44 strikeouts, 32.2 innings), sophomore Mavrick Rizy (0-0, 4.74 ERA, 29 strikeouts, 24.2 innings), junior left-hander D.J. Primeaux (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 13 strikeouts, 14 innings), sophomore left-hander Cooper Williams (0-1, 1.80 ERA, 21 strikeouts, 20 innings) and senior Connor Benge (1-1, 6.75 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 16 innings).
Schmidt mainly pitched at mid-week last season, but he is coming off a strong fall and has shined in recent scrimmages.
In addition to those 15, redshirt junior Gavin Guidry and redshirt sophomore Deven Sheerin return after missing all of 2025 with injuries. Both are expected to fulfill major roles this season.
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