LSU Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
Sixteen months ago, LSU was in search of its 2025 catcher.
Luis Hernandez was a slugging designated hitter from Indiana State. Eddie Yamin had played all over the place at Dayton. Cade Arrambide was a freshman adjusting to big time baseball. Blaise Preister was back at LSU from JUCO.
Hernandez won the job and never gave it up. He played rock solid defense and provided some extremely timely offense in the postseason. His two homers against Little Rock in the regional championship game were huge, and the double he smoked to left field against Arkansas in Omaha is one of the legendary swings in LSU history.
Now he moves on, and it’s time for Arrambide to assume the backstop duties.
WHAT WE KNOW
Arrambide was the top prep catcher in the country to go to school in the 2025 class. The professional ranks scouted him hard in the draft process, and he spurned them for three years of college.
There’s a reason the scouts liked him. He’s got the full toolbox. He can run, throw and hit for power with his 6-foot-3 and 210 lbs. frame. Last year he got 19 starts under his belt, mostly catching Anthony Eyanson. He hit .242 with four homers and 14 runs driven in.
Cade launches his second homer of the season 🚀@ArrambideCade | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/4jplqQxsIe
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 19, 2025
Over the course of the season, his defense improved as he made the adjustment to catching a staff full of 96 mph fastballs and power breaking stuff. You don’t get a lot of that in high school.
In the fall, Arrambide led LSU in hitting which was a massive positive.
Speaking of massive, Omar Serna next in line of talented Texas catchers to skirt the draft. Serna is 6-foot-2 and 245 lbs. Massive. He’s got prodigious power in his bat. Saturday afternoon to smoked a home run into the bleachers in left field.
Serna’s defense needs to improve. He’s in the same spot Arrambide was a year ago. He also will swing and miss against these elite arms. But there may not be a more powerful bat in LSU’s program currently.
Yamin adds depth to the position. He used last year as a redshirt season after hitting .342 with 14 homers at Dayton in 2024.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
Arrambide is the clear-cut starter at the position.
The ceiling and the floor here are worlds apart. The sophomore is talented enough to hit in the heart of the order and post a .325, 15 homer season. He’s also not proven that and could be closer to a .260 hitter that struggles with strikeouts like he did in SEC play last year when he struck out in eight of his 13 league at bats.
I think he’s ready.
I expect a lot of doubles and potentially double-digit home run power from Arrambide, so I think he hits near the middle of the order, maybe fifth or sixth. His defense has been very, very good in the preseason. There’s no reason to believe that won’t carry over.
👀 DO IT ! pic.twitter.com/HHAnfiUzxa
— Josh Jordan (@CoachJordan2) January 22, 2026
Should Arrambide miss time, and he did leave Saturday’s scrimmage after fouling a ball off his foot/lower leg, Serna is probably next up. He’s not ready to play defense at this level currently, and that would be a concern. He’d probably strike out a lot in SEC play.
For those that have not seen Serna play, you won’t miss him. He’s just huge especially for a freshman. Before his time is done at LSU, he profiles as one of the best power hitters in the SEC. Between Arrambide and Serna, this is the most talent LSU has had at catcher in decades.
That doesn’t mean their production will trump Brad Cresse (it won’t) or Micah Gibbs. But when you look back at guys like Alex Milazzo, Hayden Travinski, Hernandez, Hunter Feduccia, Michael Papierski, etc, Arrambide and Serna are the most gifted of the bunch.
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