By Hunt Palmer
LSU never scored on Conner Ware in the fall in 2024.
Intrasquad scrimmages came and went, and Ware continued to hang zeros. I was told by a source inside the program that Ware was a good a pitcher as LSU had on the staff in the fall.
No. 2 Impact Juco Pitcher @LSUbaseball‘s Conner Ware.
Physical build at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds the left-hander works 91-94 with his fastball and high-spins a 2800 rpm slider. Likely starter for the Tigers this spring.
Top 50 Impact Juco Transfer Pitchers ⬇️… pic.twitter.com/Vw2Bdo90zL
— David Seifert (@DSeifertD1PBR) December 5, 2024
In his first two outings, a relief stint against Southern and a start against Dallas Baptist, Ware worked a total of seven innings and allowed just one hit and an earned run. He struck out eight and walked one.
That’s the guy I expected to see all season.
Over the final 13.1 innings of his season, he allowed 12 earned runs and 17 walks. Things came to a screeching halt at South Carolina in the final regular weekend. Ware waked four and hit another in a disastrous one-inning start.
He never appeared in the postseason.
Ware is still a 6-foot-4 left hander with a low 90s fastball and multiple offspeed offerings. His ERA was under 2.00 in both of his junior college seasons.
He’s draftable, and he could help LSU next year. He simply has to throw more strikes in either setting. His batting average against was just .171 this year.
Ware won’t be selected in the first five rounds, but he could garner a six-figure signing bonus just beyond that.
That may be more than he can cash in on NIL dollars in Baton Rouge. It may not be. Then there’s Ware’s desire to play minor league baseball or give the college game another go. His brother, Bryson, is in the Phillies organization, so Conner will have a real perspective of what the minor league lifestyle is like.
IF HE STAYS
I think Ware would help. He doesn’t need to increase velocity or develop a third pitch. His stuff is good enough. He needs to throw it over the plate more consistently.
I think he joins the mix of potential starters with Casan Evans, Zac Cowan (potentially), William Schmidt, Cooper Williams, Danny Lachenmayer and perhaps a member or two of the high school signing class.
If he loses out on that, he can be a reliever who can be counted on to get more than three outs late in games.
IF HE GOES
Jay Johnson and his staff have addressed the need for left-handed pitching in the portal. Lachenmayer, Santiago Garcia and Ryler Smart join Williams and DJ Primeaux from the left side. That’s enough even if Briggs McKenzie, Jonah Aase and Ethan Plog don’t make it to campus from the signing class.
The more left-handed arms you can hoard, the better, but Ware doesn’t leave much of a hole thanks to the work already done in the portal.
This feels like a truly 50-50 proposition at the moment. Ware will set a number and likely field phone calls during the draft. If a team meets it, he’ll jump. If not, he’s welcome back at LSU.
My educated guess is that he’ll move on, but I do not believe that to be anything close to a lock.
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