REPORT: Jay Johnson to become country’s highest-paid coach

By Hunt Palmer

It pays to win two national titles in three seasons.

According to Wilson Alexander’s report from The Advocate, LSU is set to make Jay Johnson the highest-paid coach in college baseball.

Alexander writes that Johnson’s salary will be north of $3 million annually and run through the 2032 season. Johnson’s raise, along with pay bumps for assistants Josh Jordan and Josh Simpson, will be put before the LSU Board of Supervisors on Friday.

Jordan, LSU’s Director of Operations and Recruiting Coordinator, was a prime candidate for the head coaching position at Duke, his former employer, but chose to return to LSU. Johnson said last week that Jordan “turned the job down”.

Alexander’s report says that Jordan will make an average of $450,000 over the next three seasons. Simpson will make an average of $255,000 through the 2027 season.

LSU’s baseball program is run at an elite level. Paying coaches more shows a commitment to continuing that.

Top assistants have left LSU after Johnson’s first three seasons to accept head coaching jobs.

Pitching Coach Jason Kelly left to become Washington’s head coach in 2022. Recruiting Coordinator Dan Fitzgerald was hired by Kansas where he has become the Big 12 Coach of the Year. A year later, Wes Johnson took the job at Georgia.

Directors of Operations Brent Harig left after 2024 to assume head coaching duties at Nicholls, and Terry Rooney, Director of Player Development, joined Paul Mainieri’s staff at South Carolina.

Following the 2025 national title, Johnson’s staff is essentially returning intact.