The initial portal rush is in the rearview, but names are surfacing every day as college baseball programs shift focus to 2027.
Only eight teams remain, and they’ll fly to Omaha on Wednesday.
The rest are searching for talent, and there is a lot of it in the transfer portal this cycle. LSU has added a high-level pitcher and a middle infielder in Landon Hood and Dawson Park. There are still needs to be met, and the Tiger staff was hosting visitors over the weekend and on Monday.
LOOKING FOR LEFTIES
Jay Johnson learned from Augie Garrido that the best teams are built around left-handed hitting and left-handed pitching. His 2027 roster doesn’t feature much of either.
Right now Casan Evans, William Schmidt, Cooper Moore, Marcos Paz and Hood are the likely weekend options. They’re all right-handed. Mason Braun and Jack Ruckert are the only left-handed bats in the projected lineup.
Bino Watters from Notre Dame is the highest profile lefty bat in the portal, but there is a ton of Texas buzz around him right now. The Longhorns are expected to win out.
Southpaw and Louisiana native Brody Trosclair visited LSU first but has picked Tennessee despite the Vols’ lack of a pitching coach.
Who else is out there?
Cayden Suchy is probably the top lefty arm on the board at this point. The UConn hurler was Big East Pitcher of the Year and posted a 105-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 89.1 innings with the Huskies. He makes a ton of sense for LSU but will come with a large price tag because of the lack of lefties on the market.
All appears fairly quiet on the left-handed hitter market.
OUTFIELD ADDITIONS
LSU absolutely needs outfielders. William Patrick is the only sure returner, and even typing that Derek Curiel or Jake Brown could returns feels ridiculous. And it probably is.
There are very good outfield options remaining in the transfer market.
Jackson Hotchkiss from Washington is still out there. He hit .368 with 18 homers for the Huskies this year and played some left field.
Jake Souders had a great year for Samford, hitting .356 with 11 homers and 17 stolen bases. He played 25-plus games in left and right field as a freshman in 2025 and was the right fielder in 2026.
(**UPDATE: Souders committed to Mississippi State on Tuesday morning)
Sawyer Solitaria jumped in the portal on Monday. He visited Alex Box Stadium with Kent State in February and went 2-for-5 with a mammoth home run off the left field scoreboard. That was after he’d homered three times at Southeastern on opening weekend. He followed that South Louisiana heater up with a pair of double in a series win at Tennessee. Solitaria is 6-foot-5 and bashed 16 homers in 2026. He played right field for the Golden Flashes and stole 11 bases. Johnson has a history of recruiting players he’s scouted like Zac Cowan, Chris Stanfield, Michael Braswell and Danny Lachenmayer.
Hotchkiss and Souders have had some time to assess options since jumping in the portal. Solitaria was a Monday entrant, so his timeline is likely a bit slowed.
Reminder, Zach Yorke and Trent Caraway both committed to LSU on July 15 last year. It’s still early June. There is plenty of time for this to shake out.
