By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – Jay Johnson’s 43-minute Tuesday afternoon press conference – probably the longest since his introductory presser when he was hired as LSU’s head baseball coach in June 2021 – became an unofficial State of his Tigers address.
He made it clear he’s not interested in the Texas head coaching vacancy despite rumors he’s at the top of the Longhorns’ wish list.
“I have not been contacted,” said Johnson, who has more wins (137) than any LSU head baseball coach in history in their first three seasons after the defending national champion Tigers rallied for a 43-23 finish, almost advancing to a Super Regional they would have hosted. “Contractually if I was to be contacted, (LSU athletic director) Scott Woodward would be the first person that knows because that’s what it says in my contract.
“And I’m very, very thankful to be here . . . I think I’m built for this job incredibly well because you’re just going to face a lot of bullets coming at you. There was nobody better positioned to help us get through what we did (winning the last 21 of 28 games despite a 3-12 start in SEC play) than me, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m not saying it’s because of me, but I feel like I’m very well positioned to help LSU and players that commit and stay at LSU to be really successful.”
Johnson also said he’s changing his recruiting philosophy because of mass roster defections caused by the NCAA’s transfer portal and LSU’s proclivity for producing many major league draft choices.
After LSU had 13 players drafted last season (players are first eligible to be drafted as high school seniors and then as third-year college players), Johnson figures anywhere from five to 11 Tigers could be taken in the upcoming draft in July. So far, nine LSU players on the 2024 roster including a junior, three freshmen, two freshmen redshirts, and three sophomores have entered the transfer portal.
“I want the guy that (five-time national championship LSU head coach) Skip Bertman was able to redshirt and then get in there in some type of role and then elevate that role,” Johnson said. “And then become, a player that everybody around here remembers.
“My specialty is developing a program, that’s like my wheelhouse. But we’re in a different landscape now. I don’t think it’s about building a program anymore. It’s now about building your team one year at a time. We have to adapt and adjust to overcome that.
“I have a blueprint in my head (of the 2025 roster/playing rotation) of probably 12 or 13 position players that are really going to contribute, 9 to 11 pitchers and the rest of the roster needs to be able to do something really well and be completely bought into what we’re doing at LSU.”
Since arriving back in Baton Rouge last Tuesday after a heartbreaking 4-3 10-inning season-ending loss to host North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional championship game, Johnson dived headfirst into roster management.
His exit interviews with his players started to determine which underclassmen wanted to return to LSU or enter the transfer portal. He told players eligible for the major league draft that they were welcome to return to LSU if they weren’t drafted or were unhappy with their draft position after being selected.
Reliever Griffin Herring and first baseman Jared Jones are draft-eligible Tigers with remaining eligibility at the top of Johnson’s wish list to return.
“I know their value to LSU baseball and value they could create (by returning to LSU) for themselves next year is really high and they have a platform here to do that,” Johnson said. “If they were to return for a third year, they could leave here as one of the best pitchers and one of the best hitters ever to play here.”
Johnson sees the four Tigers who combined for 130 starts as true freshmen this past season – second baseman Stephen Milam (60 starts), outfielders Ashton Larson (40) and Jake Brown (21) and pitcher Cade Anderson (9) – as the 2025 squad’s building block as well as redshirt pitchers Chase Shores (sophomore) and Jason Noot (freshman) returning from Tommy John arm surgery.
Johnson can’t predict how many signees in his No. 2 nationally freshman signing class he’ll lose to MLB after the draft.
But he has signed five junior college players, led by junior college Division 1 national champion Blinn (Texas) College infielder Tanner Reaves. He hit .563 with 13 RBI and 14 runs scored in the NJCAA Division 1 College World Series.
Johnson understands day-to-day roster management is a fluid situation.
“You’ve got to be uncomfortable with uncertainty,” Johnson said. “Three days last week, a player would look me in the eye, say they were returning, and then call me and said they’re not returning.
“I’ve got to be OK with that.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com