BATON ROUGE, La. – Six former LSU players have an opportunity to participate in the 2026 Major League Baseball Playoffs that begin on Tuesday.
The former LSU stars who are eligible to appear on MLB playoff rosters are third baseman Alex Bregman and right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman of the Chicago Cubs, right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies, catcher Hunter Feduccia and right-handed pitcher Paul Gervase of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and right-handed pitcher Grant Taylor of the Chicago White Sox.
Since 1990, a total of 46 former Tigers have been a part of MLB playoff teams, and 16 former LSU players have been members of World Series Championship teams in that span (1990-2025), including Bregman, who claimed World Series rings with the Houston Astros in 2017 and in 2022.
Beginning with Bregman in 2022, LSU has had a former player win a World Series ring in four straight seasons, including infielder Josh Smith with the Texas Rangers in 2023, Feduccia with the Dodgers in 2024, and Gervase with the Dodgers in 2025.
Philadelphia will meet the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series at 1 p.m. CT Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta. The While Sox will open an AL Wild Card Series against the Astros at 4 p.m. CT Tuesday at Daikin Park in Houston, and the Cubs will face the San Diego Padres in an NL Wild Card series beginning at 9 p.m. CT Tuesday at Petco Park in San Diego.
The two-time reigning World Champion Dodgers received a first-round bye and will begin playoff action on Saturday in the best-of-seven Divisional Series, after the Wild Card Series winners have been determined.
The NL West champion Dodgers will face either the Phillies or the Braves in an NLDS beginning on Saturday.
Bregman, along with being a two-time World Series champion and four-time AL pennant winner during his nine seasons with the Astros (2016-24), is a three-time All-Star and the 2018 All-Star Game MVP. He was the No. 2 overall selection by Houston in the 2015 MLB Draft.
After playing last season with the Boston Red Sox, Bregman is in his first season in Chicago, where he batted .265 in the regular season with 33 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 93 RBI and 92 runs.
Gausman is in his 14th MLB season and his first with the Cubs, whom he joined on August 2 when he was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays. He is 4-2 with a 4.83 ERA in nine starts for Chicago, recording 11 walks and 57 strikeouts in 50.1 innings.
Gausman, a 2023 American League All-Star, helped lead Toronto last season to the AL pennant, and the Blue Jays narrowly fell to the Dodgers in a thrilling seven-game World Series. He was a 2021 National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants, and he was the first-round selection of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 MLB Draft.
Nola, a 2018 NL All-Star, helped lead Philadelphia to the National League pennant in 2022, and this season he has recorded seven wins and a 4.67 ERA with 177 strikeouts in 175.1 innings.
In 2022, he registered the most strikeouts (235) with fewer than 30 walks (29) in Major League Baseball History. Nola, the Phillies’ first-round draft choice in 2014, is in his 12th MLB season in Philadelphia.
Feduccia, the Dodgers’ 12th-round draft choice in 2018, made his MLB debut with Los Angeles in July 2024. He played most of the 2025 and 2026 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, but returned to the Dodgers on August 3 in a trade between the clubs.
Feduccia has appeared in 33 games for the Dodgers this season, collecting two doubles, one homer and seven RBI.
Gervase, who made his MLB debut in June 2025 with the Tampa Bay Rays, was traded to the Dodgers on July 31 of last season. He has made four relief appearances this season, posting a 2.35 ERA and eight strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
Gervase was the 12th-round selection of the New York Mets in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Taylor was the White Sox’s second-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, and he was promoted to the Major League roster in June 2025. He has made 60 appearances (four starts) for Chicago this season, recording a 7-3 mark and a 2.25 ERA with 10 saves.
Taylor has pitched 84.0 innings this season, posting 30 walks and 106 strikeouts with a WHIP of 1.071.
