LSU Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
The transfer portal has been kind to LSU’s weekend rotation.
Paul Skenes doesn’t show up every year. But Luke Holman, Gage Jump and Anthony Eyanson have made massive impacts on the program since Skenes departed. This year’s likely emergence is Cooper Moore from Kansas.
The junior right hander dazzled in his debut Saturday, striking out 11 without a walk. He fired the first pitch for a strike 18 times in 25 hitters. To finish hitters, he relied on his vanishing straight changeup.
“I just think it’s really good,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson. “I think he’s got exceptional pitchability. By no means comparing, but it’s a similar thing to Kade Anderson. He’s really hard to plan against because he’s got a lot of ways to get hitters out. If (the changeup) is not there, he’s got a lot of other ways to get guys out. At least planning for them, those guys are the toughest to deal with.”
Over 11,000 filed into Alex Box Stadium to watch Moore pitch. Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas seats 3,000.
“I took a step back and kind of soaked it in,” Moore said. “It was pretty cool. I’ve never played in front of this many people before.”
Moore never worked to the three-ball count.
Very few questions linger about this 2026 Tiger team. One is who will fill out the starting rotation. Who will take the place of Anderson and Eyanson? Pitching Coach Nate Yeskie and Director of Player Development Jamie Tutko are tasked with getting that figured out. Their track record is pretty good.
“No doubt, 100 percent I’ve gotten better since I’ve come here,” Moore said. “A lot of it early was figuring out what I need to get better at and what I need to work on. I think Coach Yeskie and Jamie have done a great job of implementing tips and trick on how to get better.”
On Friday, Moore charted the game as Casan Evans, Cooper Williams and Gavin Guidry worked through the Panther order. If he stays in the Saturday role, he’ll get a chance to see opposing lineups once before he toes the rubber.
Johnson, Yeskie and Tutko take a large amount of pride in preparation for games.
“They do a great job of getting me ready,” Moore said. “I obviously sit in on the meetings that we have with pitchers and catchers, but doing the chart yesterday was a huge plus. I noticed when they were getting to pitches and where they weren’t getting to pitches. Ultimately, it’s executing pitches, and when you do, they don’t have as good of a chance for sure.”
Because the Tiger offense sputtered early on and didn’t really break through until the eighth inning, Moore was in a tight game for all 76 pitches that he threw. It wasn’t a Friday night in the Big 12 where Moore earned all-conference honors, but it was the largest environment he’s performed in.
“I love it. I started out in the bullpen my freshman year, and I’ve thrived off those moments of high pressure, high leverage situations, and especially when the fans get involved, it’s awesome.”
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