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Jay Johnson admits LSU is 'behind a little bit' in recruiting after national championship

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh06/25/25griffin_mcveigh
Final D1Baseball Top 25
Jun 22, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Jay Johnson hoists the trophy after winning the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Jay Johnson just won a national championship with LSU on Sunday. The parade in Baton Rouge has not yet even taken place, scheduled for Wednesday night. Tiger fans are ready to celebrate the 2025 season and everything the program accomplished. However, Johnson is already moving on to next season and has to catch up to the rest of his peers.

The NCAA transfer portal has been flowing in baseball for a while now. And while other schools have been connecting with targets, LSU has still been on the field. Johnson admitted they are “behind a little bit” when it comes to roster building for 2026.

“With the age of the transfer portal, more players are leaving one school and going to the next,” Johnson said via MLB Central on MLB Network. “You can almost get behind a little bit, which is a little counterintuitive. You’ve got Major League pitcher after Major League pitcher that we’re rolling out there. So, you’d think the pitchers would look at that and go, ‘Hey, I want to be a part of that.’

“But you’re not spending as much time as other schools talking to them while you’re winning a national championship. It’s definitely a balance. I wouldn’t trade those championships for anything and we’ll be alright. But there’s certainly been a little catching up these last couple of days.”

As Johnson mentioned, trading some ground in the transfer portal for a national championship is one every coach in America will take. Even so, Johnson later mentioned not fully being able to enjoy the payoff of taking his team to Omaha and being the final one standing.

Pitching appears to be Johnson’s biggest concern. After all, replacing Kade Anderson is going to be no easy task. Anderson was one of the top pitchers in college baseball this past season and has a chance to be the No. 1 overall selection in a few weeks. Finding somebody to step in for the guy who threw a complete game shutout in the College World Series is not easy.

When LSU won the national championship in 2023, the following season did not live up to expectations. As much fun as winning is, Johnson lives in a world where he wants to make sure next year’s squad is just as talented. A downside to the modern ecosystem of college athletics, having to already worry about the transfer portal before even hoisting the trophy.