Jay Johnson previews LSU's regional, preparation for postseason

LSU received the No. 6 national seed on Monday afternoon and got its regional draw for this weekend which included Dallas Baptist, Rhode Island, and Little Rock. Head coach Jay Johnson had already begun preparing for various opponents, but now it’s set in stone and he’s ready for his team to put it all together for a run to Omaha.

Here is everything he said in his press conference at the selection show, from his team’s preparation to LSU’s draw and more.

Opening statement on LSU’s draw…

Yeah, I’m proud of our team. I think to be a national seed is a tremendous accomplishment. I think a little over 300 teams play baseball, and so to be one of those eight is awesome and not to be taken for granted. I think we were very deserving—very consistent throughout the regular season—well-positioned to play well. We obviously love playing here, so I feel good about all those things.

I don’t really have any thoughts on the draw. If you’re one of 64 out of 300 playing, then you’re a championship-caliber team. And that’s what we have in our path, and that’s what every team has in their path. So, excited to have the opportunity to continue to play baseball, and excited that it’s going to be here at The Box.

Does the DBU game from a few months ago help out at all?

“Feels like a billion years ago—even though it was two months ago. It’s a great team. Just kind of looking through it, I had it boiled down to about four or five teams that might come here as a two seed. They were one of them, so not really a surprise. They’re in the postseason every year—one of the best programs in America. Ton of respect. I know they’ll be prepared.

But I’ve been in regionals where you may not play someone you think you’re going to play—because you didn’t win, or they won, or we won, or they didn’t. So, yeah, it’s a great program, great team. And like I said, that’s kind of all you’re going to see.

Maybe it helps a little bit just having seen them before, but the players change day to day, let alone month to month—that’s true of any team.

How different do you feel like you guys are now compared to back then?

“As I said, I think we’ve been consistent in our approach. At different times of the year we’ve done different things well. We were really swinging the bat well at that point in the season. That was a really good week for us offensively, and we pitched well in that game.

Connor, Cowan, and Evans, all were key parts of our team, and they threw the ball well that night. I was glad they brought up our defense on the selection show, especially infield defense. That’s something we’ve brought to the field every game this year. With the way those top guys throw the ball for us, it gives you a chance to be in every game. Then it just comes down to execution, and we’ve been excellent at that at times too.

I feel good about where we’re at relative to that time. And you get tested so much—I feel like we’ve seen just about everything we can see.”

How big of an advantage is it that the road to Omaha has to come through Baton Rouge?

“Statistically, obviously, it’s an advantage. It’s tournament play, so it’s a little bit different routine-wise. I don’t think you can draw too much from it. But I love playing here, love our fans, love how our team has played here this year. Those are all positives.

But ultimately, whoever comes out of it will be the team that plays the best this weekend. So we’ll focus on helping us be that team.”

There are still a handful of guys who were on that LSU title team. How much of an advantage is it that they know what it takes?

“Yeah, I think it can be helpful. The difference is all those guys are in a little bit different roles than they were back then. But they’ve been through the prep before, from literally how to watch the selection show, to what we’re doing today. You’re in the postseason m you stay in the postseason, we’re going to have a steak dinner at least once a week from this point forward. That’s tomorrow night.

Today’s about what individual needs guys have. There are three groups of players on our team who need something different today. So we want to address that. Tomorrow we’ll practice late morning to simulate being ready for a Friday day game. Same thing Wednesday and Thursday.

There are mandated practice times they give you. Coaches have a lot of work to do—preparing for three teams. That’s one reason I like preseason tournaments: they force you to prepare like you would for a regional.

It’ll be a good day around here. Good week. And having some of those players who have been through it helps. Last year was different—going on the road after five games in five days in the SEC Tournament. It took us two days to recover from Hoover before we could really get going. By that time, we were already on a plane. So, yeah—it’s a lot different now.”

How are you approaching this week in terms of who starts—Kade or Anthony? Are there specific things you’re looking for?

“I just found out who we’re playing, so I haven’t looked at any of the teams yet. But two of them won their conference tournaments, and we know DBU is a great program—I believe they won the regular season title in Conference USA. So, three championship-caliber teams.

We’ll look at that and decide what we’re going to do. Don’t ask me again this week—we won’t announce a starter for Friday. Everybody who knows me knows that Jaden’s a possibility too. But we won’t announce a starter until Friday.”

Has your perspective on the last 15 innings or so with the offense changed at all after reviewing the tape?

“I think it’s a new season now. There are different challenges that come at you, like going on the road two weeks in a row. Auburn was the second of those weekends, our biggest struggle. Like I said, this team played consistently, and that weekend was one of those rough ones.

We went to South Carolina, then came home, then bussed over there. I think that was the right decision. But there were a lot of elements in play. Credit our opponent — they threw the ball really, really well. It’s clear why they’re a national seed too.

We just need to keep working and doing better. The good thing is, I think that’s the first time we were shut out. You all probably know that better than me. We’ve had games where we weren’t great, then bounced back. We beat Mississippi State 2–1, then scored 17 the next night. We scored 13 against Arkansas not long ago. Seven and eight runs on the road in the last SEC series.

So I don’t think it’s anything we haven’t seen or had to respond to. As frustrating as it is, the SEC prepares you for that. Eight regional hosts and we’ve played several of them. It’s a different animal. But the positive is, you go through that stuff, and you know how to come out the other side. It’s about doing what we do and getting back to work mentally.

Like I said the other day, I thought it was a great question—whether it’s a holistic thing or individual. To me, it’s guy-by-guy. That’s the focus today, start with that and move forward with a complete reset.”

What’s your thought on a league getting eight national seeds?

“Honestly? I think that’s the minimum. I really believe that. And you don’t know it until you live it. I feel educated enough to speak on it because I’ve won two Super Regionals against SEC teams before, and you go, “Okay, you can do that.”

Well, when you do it 10 weeks in a row, and then you try to go play in Hoover, and you’re walking around the hotel—and the head coaches and players are just trying to get through it—it’s a real deal.

It reminds me of Boise State football. They’d upend somebody in a New Year’s bowl game—but if they had to do it over and over again, 10 weeks in a row, it’s a different challenge. A different animal. I think it’s very worthy. I mean, there’s a team left out of the tournament that I think could win a national championship. That tells you how tough this league is.”