Jay Johnson explains why pitchers in portal should transfer to LSU

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson didn’t hold back regarding the talent the Tigers have been able to attract to the program. Especially when it comes to the pitching department.

Johnson has led LSU to two national championships over the last three years and it seems like the program breeds pitching. Home grown or transfer portal, it doesn’t matter. Heck, look at Paul Skenes coming over from Air Force and is now one of the premier aces in Major League Baseball.

So, Johnson already made his recruiting pitch for anyone in the portal. If you want to be a star and win in 2026, come to Baton Rouge.

“When I came here, it was obviously LSU, there were great foundational players in the program. Dylan Crewes, best player I’ve ever coached. You know, got to coach him for two years. Tre Morgan, those guys, but we really had to elevate the talent, pitching talent, to compete for a national championship, and we’ve been able to do that,” Johnson told Sirius XM. “So I’d say the first effort is the recruiting effort, you know, with our whole staff … and really trying to track those top guys. Then it’s, you know, a lot of programs will talk about developing but you can really point to the track record right now. (In) 2023, we broke an SEC record for players drafted.

“I think it was 13. I think nine of those were pitchers. Last year we had nine pitchers drafted again, which was also an SEC record. Yeah, the number one pick was Skenes. I think Kade Anderson’s got a great chance to be the number one pick.” 

The proof is in the pudding for Johnson and LSU. It’s not just his words and promises, it’s the action on the baseball diamond. If LSU goes onto win another title next season, in large part due to pitching, then it’s just the latest example of their pitching factory.

“You can not objectively look at it and go, like especially if you’re a transfer portal pitcher, nobody has a better plan for you for one year to get where you want to go than LSU,” Johnson said. “I think over the past 20 years, there is no argument that the best pitching coach in college baseball (is Nate Yeskie) I’ve been to Omaha with four different programs, won national championships now with two. And then we have another director of pitching development named Jamie Tutko, who’s exceptional and blends coach Yeskie’s experience … to feel for players with a lot of this New Age stuff. 

“And then, my role is just deciding who and deciding when and having a relationship with player to know how to get them on track with what they need in the game at a certain time. And I just think it’s the spot. And I really believe that doing well at LSU helps players and pitchers more than doing well at other schools, and that impacts them in the Major League Baseball draft. We like what we have going right now, and we’re looking for the next wave as we speak.”