LSU Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
No spot on the LSU roster or in the Tiger program took a bigger step forward in 2026 than catcher.
Luis Hernandez started 49 games for LSU in 2025 including every NCAA Tournament game. He was a solid defender and produced a .270 batting average with nine homers including two huge regional blasts in game seven against Little Rock.
That allowed Cade Arrambide to ease in with 19 starts while he adjusted to catching and hitting college pitching. Arrambide made a big jump in the fall and showed up in the spring ready to play. Meanwhile Omar Serna showed up as the second straight high-profile Houston high school catcher to show up on campus in as many years.
Those two formed a catching duo light on experience but immensely high on talent.
CATCHER
WHO IS GONE?
NONE
WHO CAN RETURN?
Cade Arrambide, Omar Serna, Eddie Yamin IV
THE OUTLOOK
Arrambide exploded to hit everything in sight over the last two months. The four-home game against Tennessee was the highlight, but he hit two more at Mississippi State and one at Georgia. He produced another multi-homer game against Florida and finished with a team-high 18.
The sophomore drove in 51 runs and finished with an OPS of 1.063 which was better than Micah Gibbs in 2010 (1.050) when he hit .388 with 10 homers. It was a monster season for Arrambide, but that was on the radar in February.
Serna was not. At 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, Serna already looked the part, but he didn’t hit a ton in the fall. That changed. Serna finished 50 games with a .308 batting average, .395 on base and .935 OPS. He bashed nine homers and 10 doubles while improving on defense.
OVERVIEW
Moving into 2027, Serna and Arrambide will hit in the top four of the lineup and share catching duties. Those defensive duties will be important. Way, way, way too many wild pitches and passed balls for LSU in 2026. Those need to be cut in next year with a big help from a new pitching staff.
Eddie Yamin IV has been in the program for two seasons and has another year of eligibility left. He did participate in Senior Day which could indicate his leaving the program.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Jay Johnson dip into the portal for a defensive catcher who can spell these two in the late innings and maybe on a Tuesday. When you’re counting on a catcher for massive offensive production, it helps to get him off his feet a good bit. Daniel Jackson at Georgia is the exception, not the rule.
It’s not overly ambitious to pencil Serna and Arrambide in for 35 homers next year. While question marks swirl at plenty of other positions, catcher may be in the best position it’s been at LSU in decades.
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