Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
OMAHA, Neb.—A College World Series championship also means a late start on transfer portal visits.
Jay Johnson told the story of missing out on Nate Snead who was looking for his next stop in 2023 after a really good first season at Wichita State. While the Tigers were toting home the hardware from Omaha, Snead was committing to Tennessee and canceling his visit to Baton Rouge.
The transfer portal is open, and LSU will be active, though selective, according to Johnson. A solid core of pitchers does return, and some key bats will be back. Two transfers are already in coming, Kansas State infielder Seth Dardar and High Point third baseman Brayden Simpson.
Let’s take a look at LSU’s roster and bring next spring into focus a little bit. The possibility always exists that current Tigers will transfer out, and the MLB Draft is another beast of a hurdle for a program that recruits at the highest level.
We’ll tackle those when necessary.
OUT OF ELIGIBILITY
Position Players: Josh Pearson, Michael Braswell, Luis Hernandez, Dalton Beck
Pearson is a two-time champion with some incredible moments to his name. His locker room presence will be missed, and his flare for the moment will be remembered. He was a part time starter most of his career.
Braswell got that elusive Omaha hit and was appreciated for his defense for two seasons in Baton Rouge.
Hernandez had a fantastic year. He finished the year at .270 with nine homers and a .500 slugging percentage while giving LSU exactly what it needed behind home plate defensively.
Beck’s moment will be his single in the ninth against Tennessee that helped set up Jared Jones’s walk off blast.
Pitchers: Dalton Beck
LIKELY DRAFT DEPARTURES
Position Players: Jared Jones, Daniel Dickinson
Jones came back to be a focal point in an Omaha run. Mission accomplished. He leaves LSU third all-time in career home runs and a two-time national champion that beat Arkansas with a walk-off single in the College World Series. That’s one hell of a legacy.
Dickinson has professional aspirations and a profile that will have him drafted highly enough to see that through. He now owns the second most famous hamate bone injury in LSU history.
Pitchers: Kade Anderson, Anthony Eyanson, Chase Shores, Jacob Mayers
This group did some seriously heavy lifting in 2025, and not one of them had established themselves at this point last year. The entire group and Nate Yeskie deserve a ton of credit.
This is 56 percent of LSU’s outs recorded on the season, 100 percent of the outs in the championship series and 27 of the 30 SEC starts.
DECISIONS TO MAKE
Position Players: Ethan Frey, Chris Stanfield, Tanner Reaves
Frey broke out this year by hitting .331 with 13 homers. Both were second on the team. He’s got great size, some pop and runs better than you think. He is not a great defender anywhere including first base and left field. Athletically, he should be able to figure left field out with reps. I’m not sure those are available at LSU if Derek Curiel, Chris Stanfield and Jake Brown come back.
Frey has to consider his financial leverage by coming back. He’s not likely to receive a high six-figure bonus. But that number plummets when you play your senior year. This will come down to how Frey feels about another college season.
And Stanfield’s decision may impact Frey if it opens up an outfield spot.
Reaves could compete for the second and third base jobs in his final season of eligibility. I think he’ll be back.
Pitchers: Conner Ware, Zac Cowan, Jaden Noot, Gavin Guidry, Grant Fontenot
Cowan was so good for so long and then great when LSU had to have him. He could try to earn an SEC rotation spot, but it would cost him his leverage.
Ware’s disappearance surprised me, but he’s still left-handed with four pitches. I feel like it’s unlikely he returns.
Noot and Guidry have a redshirt year to play with, so they don’t lose leverage by coming back.
Fontenot hasn’t really grabbed a role in three power conference starts.
PROJECTED BACK
Position Players: Derek Curiel, Jake Brown, Steven Milam, Ashton Larson, Cade Arrambide, John Pearson, Eddie Yamin
That group, namely the first three, will provide a ton of line drive contact and great defense. That’s the core of the 2026 team.
As I wrote above, outfield playing time is going to be tough to come by with Brown and Curiel locked in. Larson will have to look at that and make a decision.
Arrambide has the potential to be a great catcher. This is a massive summer and fall for him. If he can take a jump like Brown did from 2024 to 2025, he’s a middle of the order bat.
Yamin could be the second catcher, and Pearson has some power potential. He struggled in those big pinch-hitting spots, but coming in facing high-end relievers off the bench is an unenviable task.
Pitchers: Casan Evans, Cooper Williams, Mavrick Rizy, William Schmidt, Devin Sheerin, DJ Primeaux
That’s a load of talent.
Evans projects as the Friday starter, and Sheerin is very likely to find his way into the rotation. He’s throwing the ball well on Cape Cade right now. Schmidt is one of the biggest variables on the projected roster. If he can command his fastball a little bit better, he’s got a great chance to make a jump.
Williams offers a left-handed option, and Rizy could be a dynamite reliever. Primeaux likely fills the left handed reliever role he occupied this year.
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