Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
BATON ROUGE, La. – Pitcher Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays and pitcher Paul Gervase of the Los Angeles Dodgers have the opportunity to enhance LSU’s World Series legacy as Game 1 of the Fall Classic opens at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Gausman and Gervase are each seeking to become the 19th former Tiger to earn a World Series ring. All of the World Series games will be televised by FOX.
Gausman, a member of Toronto’s starting rotation and a 13-year MLB veteran, will make his first career appearance in the World Series. Gervase, who is in his first MLB season, is currently on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and is eligible to be assigned to the 26-man World Series roster.
A right-hander in his fourth year with the Blue Jays, Gausman posted 10 wins in the 2025 regular season with a 3.59 ERA and 189 strikeouts in 193.0 innings. He has made four appearances (three starts) in the 2025 playoffs, logging a 2-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in 18.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and a 1.06 WHIP.
He was voted to the 2023 American League All-Star team, and he helped lead Toronto to a playoff berth that season by recording a 12-9 mark with a 3.16 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 185.0 innings.
Gausman, a native of Centennial, Colo., who pitched at LSU in 2011 and 2012, was a 2021 National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants, recording a 14-6 mark with a 2.81 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 192 innings. He was selected in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
Gervase, who made his MLB debut in June 2025 with the Tampa Bay Rays, was traded to the Dodgers on July 31. He made his first appearance with Los Angeles on August 20 against the Colorado Rockies, working 2.0 innings.
Prior to joining the Dodgers, Gervase, a right-hander from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., pitched 6.1 innings in five appearance this season for Tampa Bay, recording six strikeouts. He pitched at LSU in 2022, and he was the 12th-round draft choice of the New York Mets that season.
Eighteen former LSU Tigers have played for, managed, or coached World Series championship teams on 22 occasions, beginning with infielder Alvin Dark of the New York Giants in 1954. Catcher Hunter Feduccia became LSU’s most recent World Series champion when he played for the Dodgers last season.
A total of 45 former Tigers have been a part of MLB playoff teams since 1990, and 15 former LSU players have been members of World Series Championship teams in that span (1990-2024).
Following is the list of the former LSU players who became World Series champions:
MLB World Series Champions from LSU
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INF Alvin Dark, New York Giants – 1954 (Player); Oakland Athletics – 1974 (Manager)
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1B Joe Bill Adcock, Milwaukee Braves – 1957
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Third-Base Coach Connie Ryan, Milwaukee Braves – 1957
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LHP Mark Guthrie, Minnesota Twins – 1991
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LHP Eddie Yarnall, New York Yankees – 1999, 2000
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LHP Randy Keisler, New York Yankees – 2000
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RHP Russ Springer, Arizona Diamondbacks – 2001
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RHP Curtis Leskanic, Boston Red Sox – 2004
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RHP Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants – 2010, 2012
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INF Mike Fontenot, San Francisco Giants – 2010
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LHP Brian Tallet, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011
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INF Ryan Theriot, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011; San Francisco Giants – 2012
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RHP Louis Coleman, Kansas City Royals – 2015
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3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros – 2017, 2022
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RHP Will Harris, Houston Astros – 2017
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OF Andrew Stevenson, Washington Nationals – 2019
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INF Josh Smith, Texas Rangers – 2023
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C Hunter Feduccia, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2024
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