Jay Johnson named 2025 NCAA D1 National Coach of the Year by ABCA

Following a second national championship win in three years, LSU coach Jay Johnson has earned a prestigious honor. He has been named the 2025 ABCA/ATEC National Coach of the Year in the NCAA’s Division I.

The American Baseball Coaches Association and ATEC announced the coaches of the year across all collegiate and high school divisions on Wednesday. Johnson was one of 11 coaches honored.

It’s hard to argue with the selection. LSU was elite in every phase of the game.

And to win another title just two years removed from winning one and losing 13 players to professional baseball? Well, that was a very quick reloading job engineered by Jay Johnson.

The Tigers had one of the best pitching staffs in the country. They had a lineup that could hit top to bottom.

But perhaps most importantly, LSU had chemistry. The players liked each other. They played hard. And they did what Johnson lined them up to do.

“I think it was unique. It was a new team,” Jay Johnson said. “But I think I developed a really good feel for it quickly. And it was a style of player that fit maybe the totality of my career a little bit better than what we had last year.”

Ask Johnson what went right for the Tigers in reaching the national championship again and he’ll boil it down pretty easily. It’s not rocket science, he explained.

“Guys got better,” he said. “Steven Milam got better, especially down the stretch. Jake Brown got better. Jared Jones got better.

“That’s what happens. We can’t promise that we’re going to win two titles in three years and you’re going to get to play in Omaha, especially going through the SEC. But I do promise them that they will be better players.”

It certainly worked this year for LSU. There’s a national championship banner to hang to prove it. And now Jay Johnson also has another trophy for the case: National Coach of the Year.