LSU lands four on D1 Baseball Top 50 Transfer Hitters list

BATON ROUGE, La. — Four LSU players are listed among the Top 50 Transfer Hitters for the 2026 season by D1Baseball.com.

The list includes LSU senior infielder Brayden Simpson (No. 9), junior infielder Trent Caraway (No. 13), senior infielder Seth Dardar (No. 23) and senior first baseman Zach Yorke (No. 35).

Simpson, a product of Moseley, Va., played three seasons (2023-25) at High Point, batting .323 (171-for-530) with 46 doubles, two triples, 37 homers, 136 RBI, 143 runs and 29 stolen bases

He was voted 2025 NCBWA Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big South Conference after hitting .389 (91-for-234) with 24 doubles, 22 homers, 78 RBI, 75 runs and 14 stolen bases. Simpson finished among the Top 10 in the nation last season in doubles (24), slugging percentage (.774), total bases (181) and RBI (78).

Caraway, a native of Dana Point, Calif., batted .281 (88-for-313) in two seasons (2024-25) at Oregon State with 20 doubles, 14 homers, 57 RBI and 67 runs

He was voted the 2025 NCAA Corvallis Regional Most Outstanding Player, and he hit a total of six home runs in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, marking the most in Oregon State history.

Dardar, a product of Mandeville, La., and Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, batted .326 (60-for-184) in 2025 at Kansas State with 18 doubles, 13 homers, 45 RBI and 39 runs.

He was sidelined during the 2024 season due to injury, but played two seasons (2022-23) at Columbia, where in 2023 he hit .299 with 11 doubles, one triple, eight homers and 32 RBI.

Yorke played three seasons (2023-25) at Grand Canyon, batting .328 (199-for-606) with 32 doubles, two triples, 32 homers, 157 RBI and 127 runs. The product of Campbell, Calif., holds the Grand Canyon career records for most homers (32) and RBI (157) in the school’s NCAA Division I era.

Yorke started 48 games in 2025 (44 at first base, four at DH), batting .339 (59-for-174) with 10 doubles, one triple, 13 homers, 46 RBI and 36 runs.

Preparation for the 2026 season is underway, as the Tigers are engaged in conditioning drills and individual workouts. The reigning National Champions begin their six-week, full-squad fall practice period on Thursday, October 9.

The 2026 season opens on Friday, February 13, when LSU plays host to Milwaukee in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

2026 Schedule Preview

he Tigers’ 2026 non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., where LSU will participate on February 20-22 in the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic. The Tigers will take on Indiana, Notre Dame and UCF at VyStar Ballpark, home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Miami Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate.

The 30-game Southeastern Conference slate begins with a weekend road series at Vanderbilt on March 13. The Tigers will also travel for SEC weekends at Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Georgia.

LSU’s SEC home-opening series begins on March 20 versus Oklahoma. The Tigers will also play host to league foes Kentucky, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Florida.

Dates for some SEC games could change once the league determines its television schedule.

Preparation for the 2026 season is underway, as the Tigers are engaged in conditioning drills and individual workouts. LSU begins its six-week, full-squad fall practice period on Thursday, October 9.

Along with its customary intra-squad scrimmages, LSU will engage in two scrimmages this fall against other schools. The Tigers meet Samford at Noon CT on Sunday, November 2, at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi, Miss., and LSU will face Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, November 9, at Alumni Field in Hammond, La.