Jay Johnson makes pitch for LSU to potential pitcher recruits: 'There's no better place for a pitcher in the entire country'

LSU, winners of the Baton Rouge Regional and Super Regional, is heading to the 2025 Men’s College World Series for the first time since it won the National Championship in 2023. The Tigers, which earned the No. 6 national seed, are the second-highest remaining seed in the field of eight behind No. 3 Arkansas.

Head coach Jay Johnson, who is making his fourth trip to Omaha as a head coach (third at LSU), discussed just what is so special about the whole experience and how he keeps his players from getting overwhelmed by it at Thursday’s Men’s College World Series Media Day Press Conference.

“That’s a good question and something we’ve definitely talked about and paid attention to because there’s only eight of those guys that were on the national championship team in 2023 that are still here,” Johnson said. “I actually don’t think that’s a small number in the current landscape, but most of our team, this is their first time here.”

“I think it’s just about being mature and being professional. And I want them to enjoy themselves. One of the coolest parts when you land the plane and you drive over here and you walk in, and they walk out, and seeing them smile and there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears put in the bucket to get here. I want them to enjoy that.”

The Tigers are led by junior first baseman Jared Jones, sophomore shortstop Steven Milam, freshman right-handed pitcher Casan Evans and sophomore left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson. Evans and Anderson, both underclassmen, have emerged as two of the most dominant young arms in all of college baseball this season.

Johnson gives his pitch to potential recruits

Head coach Jay Johnson wrapped up his press conference on Thursday by giving his pitch to potential pitching recruits. He made it clear LSU is the place to go.

“When I came here from Arizona, we were going to have Dylan Crews for two years. That was a massive appeal for taking the job. But we had a lot of work to do of constructing a College World Series or national championship-caliber pitching staff. I feel like we’ve had that the last three years. It does take a lot. When a Casan Evans is visiting your five biggest competitors that are at the frontline of the sport, and you have to find a way to get him to say LSU is the spot, that’s really competitive.”

“Chase Shores was committed somewhere else and ended up committing to us. You get him on campus, get him through the draft, guns blazing for 19 innings as a freshman and then has Tommy John. That’s a thunderbolt because it was so hard to get him in the first place. So I’m very proud of that, and I think there’s a lot of reasons for that. I think we’re at the forefront of developing pitching in college baseball. If you look over the last three years in terms of draft picks, statistics, national championship, back at Omaha, you can’t argue that.”

“There’s no better place for a pitcher in the entire country to come right now and develop to be a major leaguer than LSU.”

The Tigers open play in the Men’s College World Series on Friday at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET against fellow SEC foe Arkansas. LSU won the regular season series between the two programs in May.