By Hunt Palmer
Baseball season is rapidly approaching. Jay Johnson’s 2025 team is ranked in the top five no matter where you look. The incoming portal class was ranked No. 1 by multiple outlets, and the freshman class earned that honor as well.
The force that was a 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation is gone, and so is the thunderous bat of Tommy White. But some familiar faces return as well, and, as usual, the anticipation around the program is ratcheted up this time of year.
Let’s continue a look around the roster for this 2025 LSU baseball team with starting pitching.
WHO’S GONE: Luke Holman, Gage Jump, Thatcher Hurd, Javen Coleman, Sam Dutton
WHO’S BACK: Chase Shores, Kade Anderson, Gavin Guidry
WHO’S NEW: Anthony Eyanson, Zac Cowan, Casan Evans, William Schmidt, Conner Ware
Oddly, the last two national champions have not settled on a strong starting rotation.
LSU overcame that with an elite offense and the most dominant starter the sport had ever seen. And then Ty Floyd found lightning in a bottle. Tennessee also featured a star-studded offense and enough quality arms to patch games together.
Still, I’ll take a lethal 1-2 punch as the best ticket forward in the NCAA Tournament. That’s why many people thought LSU had a real shot last year.
Holman and Jump road a heater down the stretch that propelled LSU into the Field of 64. LSU won six of Jump’s last seven starts and five of Holman’s last six. They were nails.
That productivity is gone, and so is Hurd. All those in purple and gold will thank him for his final outing of 2024 and most importantly his last outing in 2023. The rest was a mixed bag of potential and pitiful. But that Game 3 start in Omaha will live forever.
LSU has stretched out eight arms in the month of January to assess starting options.
Anderson leads the way right now. When he was good in 2024, he was really good. In two early outings versus Rice and Southeastern, he totaled 10 innings and 20 strikeouts against three walks without giving up an earned run.
Florida, Southern, Tennessee and Auburn knocked him around a little bit. Those four outings resulted in 13 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He did not yield a run in his last four appearances, though, and his two regional appearances were nasty. In 2 1/3 innings against North Carolina and Wofford he struck out six while allowing just three hits and no runs.
His fastball is sitting 93-96, and that bender is filthy when he commands it.
Shores and Guidry round out the returners.
Shores has only pitched in seven college games. That’s easy to forget because he’s been in Baton Rouge for two and a half years. He’s still 6-foot-8, and he still throws 97 mph. His fastball got really heavy usage as a young reliever in 2023. That can’t be the case as an SEC starter, so he’ll have to make strides with the slider. His fall and preseason have been a little shaky at times, but that doesn’t at all take away from the potential.
Guidry has been a reliever from Day 1, and he’s going to get a chance to change that. He’s throwing a little bit harder, up to 94 mph, and he’s doing a pretty good job of holding that velocity for three innings at a time. And the curveball is elite. Guidry has been working on a changeup, and the development of that pitch will probably determine where he slots into this staff.
Eyanson was the best pitcher for UC-San Diego last season. He’s a really good athlete who excelled as a high school basketball player. Last year, as a sophomore, he led the Tritons in innings pitched (82.0) and strikeouts (85). He took over as the Friday starter midway through the season, ranked fourth in the Big West with a .190 opponent batting average and fifth in runs allowed (29), fifth in hits allowed (55), second in home runs allowed (2) and eighth in total strikeouts. His out pitch is very clearly the slider. It’s got a ton of depth to it tunnels well with the fastball which is firm but not overpowering.
Cowan is a pitchability guy who is looking to go from SoCon ace to SEC contributor. He can sink it, cut it, spin it, etc. Not much is straight. He struck out 124 hitters last year to lead the SoCon, but I liked the fact that he also led strikeout-walk ratio. He throws a ton of strikes. That worked great last year, but he never faced a Power Conference team. Wofford held him against LSU in the Chapen Hill Regional opener, and then he threw seven shutout innings against Long Island the next day. Cowan has proven himself to be a strike thrower and an innings eater. There’s probably a role for him.
Schmidt and Evans are the freshmen who have made the biggest move, though Cooper Williams has a bright future. Evans throws damn near 100 mph, and Schmidt had the best breaking ball in the 2024 draft among high schoolers. Both guys have some physical maturing to do and an adjustment to the college game to undergo. Their talent is immense.
And then there’s Ware who has been LSU’s best pitcher since October. The JUCO lefty has dazzled nearly every time out with a firm fastball and a pair of elite breaking pitches. Only Ware and Anderson are lefties among this group. Williams, Dalton Beck and DJ Primeaux are the only other southpaws unless you count Jake Brown.
HUNT’S TAKE: Anderson and Eyanson are going to start next weekend, and I think Ware is headed for the stopper role.
I fully expect the non-conference to have a lot of trouble with Anderson. The question will come when league play sets in. That’s where he struggled some last year. While Shores tries to figure it out and the youngsters grow up, Anderson is LSU’s best chance at a legitimate ace. It’s not hyperbole to suggest he’s the most important piece to this team right now.
I think Eyanson looks the part of an SEC starter, not necessarily an ace. Ty Floyd, Jared Poche, AJ Labas, Eric Walker. Those aren’t great comps for Eyanson’s stuff, but those guys were very clearly Robins to the Batmen named Lange, Skenes, Marceaux, etc. I don’t think Eyanson is quite on the level of Holman or Jump, either. But he has good stuff and a real out pitch. If someone grabs the ace role, Eyanson likely slots in nicely behind them.
I don’t have a feel for the third slot. I could see Guidry getting it as an experiment. I could also see Guidry getting the last five outs on Opening Day in a close game. If you asked me the most likely Sunday starter for LSU’s first conference weekend, I’d probably go with Shores because erring on the side of ceiling early in the season is wise. Give Shores every chance to earn that spot.
Keep in mind, LSU was awful in Game 3s in the first half of league play last season. Most remember that. Does anyone remember the pitchers LSU faced during that stretch?
Jurrangelo Cijntje, Mississippi State: 97 mph fastball, 15th overall pick
Jac Caglianone, Florida: 97 mph fastball, 6th overall pick
Brady Tygart, Arkansas: Elite slider, 12th round pick
Carter Holton, Vanderbilt: Pitched lots of Friday nights, 2nd round pick
Zander Sechrist, Tennessee: Started Game 3 of Championship Series
LSU ran up against some of the most talented arms in America in third games. Those weekends can be long. Guys can be frustrated, tired after two long days at the ballpark with a flight home coming later that day. How about going to Shores in that spot? Here’s 97 mph from a 6-foot-8 arm slot. Don’t be surprised if Jay Johnson is thinking along those lines.
I’m high on Evans and think he plays a role early. I think Schmidt still needs some seasoning, but he could break out late. Zach Hess did that as a freshman who could air it out for 35 pitches and break off nasty sliders. That may very well be the role for either or both of these guys.
NEXT UP: Relief Pitching
