By Hunt Palmer
Jaden Noot may have been an afterthought on LSU’s talented pitching staff last fall.
He wasn’t this spring.
Noot made five starts for the Tigers and worked in three postseason games as a key right-handed depth piece for pitching coach Nate Yeskie and LSU.
Noot’s fall positioning on the staff was never due to lack of ability. The 6-foot-4, 228 lbs., redshirt sophomore was once the top prep right-hander in the state of California. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the 19th round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
He tore his UCL prior to the 2023 season and only made one appearance in 2024. That’s a long time essentially out of baseball.
Noot regained his high school form this season and made strides as a complete pitcher. He regularly hit 94 mph on the radar gun and features a plus changeup that allowed him to rack up strikeouts.
Though his first three starts came in the midweek, his most impressive work was holding down a potent Ole Miss lineup in the SEC Tournament. He struck out seven Rebels in four innings while allowing just one earned run on three hits.
He also worked a perfect inning against Arkansas in Omaha in the game LSU rallied to win to advance to the College World Series final.
Noot’s breaking ball is good but needs development. His velocity and changeup are his bread and butter. Plus, he throws strikes. Noot walked 15 in his 32.2 innings which isn’t stellar, but it’s an improvement over many of the young arms on LSU’s staff.
IF HE STAYS
Noot becomes an incredibly versatile piece to the LSU pitching staff. He can start games and probably should be given that chance early in the season, even if it’s in the midweek. If he settles in as a high-leverage right-hander, great. If he needs to come in to throw that changeup to try to get a ground ball and get out of a jam, that’s useful as well.
A lot of the projected bullpen pieces right now are left-handed–DJ Primeaux, Santiago Garcia, Ryler Smart, even Cooper Williams and Conner Ware should Ware return. Noot could balance the bullpen a bit alongside Gavin Guidry, Mavrick Rizy and others.
Noot’s offseason focus should be on the breaking ball. That needs to tighten up a little bit to play off the fastball.
He has a year of leverage to play with because of the Tommy John surgery. I do expect him to return to LSU.
IF HE GOES
LSU loses a proven arm which are in short supply. Keep in mind, LSU used just eight pitchers in Omaha. Kade Anderson, Anthony Eyanson, Chase Shores and Jacob Mayers are likely gone.
That means Casan Evans, Cooper Williams, Zac Cowan and Noot could be the only returners. And Cowan and Noot have draft options.
You saw what a huge jump Chase Shores and Kade Anderson made as they got a year further away from Tommy John in 2025. I’m not projecting that from Noot, but if he’s a tick better than he was, he’s even more draftable in 2026 and would be leaving some money on the table by bolting now.
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