Pittsburgh Pirates select LSU 1B Jared Jones in 2025 MLB Draft

LSU star first baseman Jared Jones was selected with the No. 263 pick in the ninth round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jones was an integral part of LSU‘s National Championship winning teams in 2023 and 2025.

The Marietta, GA native was phenomenal in his final season in Baton Rouge, as he was named Second Team All-SEC and a Baseball America Second Team All-American. In 68 games played this season, Jones posted a .323 batting average with 15 doubles, 22 home runs, 76 RBI, a .414 OBP% and a .613 SLG%.

“I spent so much time and effort in through this sport throughout my life,” Jones said during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. “My parents have sacrificed so much to get me to this point. I’m just super grateful for it all. And wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jones is the 19th player to be selected in the MLB Draft from LSU‘s historic 2023 National Championship squad, led by 2023’s No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes and No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews.

What MLB Draft experts are saying about Jared Jones

Jones leaves LSU with 64 career home runs, which ranks third in program history behind Eddy Furniss (80) and Brad Cresse (78). His defining moment this season came in the Tigers’ Men’s College World Series victory over Arkansas on June 18, as his walk-off single sent LSU to the CWS Final against Coastal Carolina.

“The 6-foot-4, 246-pound Jones has plenty of strength and leverage in his right-handed stroke, generating top-of-the-scale raw power and exit velocities,” MLB.com’s scouting report reads. He’s doing a better job of understanding that he can hit the ball out of any park from foul pole to foul pole without selling out for home runs. Strikeouts always will be part of his game, but he’s employing the opposite field more often and doing more damage against breaking balls.

Jones has lost a little weight and is moving a little better as a junior, but he still has well-below-average speed and athleticism that hinder his value outside of the batter’s box. While he does feature impressive arm strength, he’s a limited defender who lacks range at first base and may wind up as a DH in pro ball. He caught in high school and briefly as a freshman, and he has seen sporadic action at third base as a junior, but neither position is a viable option.