(photo credit: @LSUBaseball on X)
By Chris Marler
Victory splashes in a minor league ballpark’s lazy river? Oh, college baseball is so back!
WINNERS. pic.twitter.com/aALzFOHRix
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 3, 2025
Entering the weekend, 15 of the 16 teams had either one or no losses on the season. That number got slashed, but it was still a good week for mostly everyone in the conference not named Missouri, South Carolina or Texas A&M.
LSU, Auburn, and Tennessee all went undefeated in preseason tournaments in the state of Texas, the Longhorns have won nine in a row, and 11 teams are undefeated or still have only one loss.
Star Power is as Bright as ever
There’s a new Lebron that everyone needs to know and very few will actually hate. Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron may be the best player in the country and he’s only a sophomore. Despite being a year away from draft eligibility, Lebron may be the best prospect regardless of age.
The sophomore is second in the country with eight home runs and is leading the nation with 28 RBIs. He’s hitting .383 and has an absolutely absurd OPS of 1.462. He’s on pace for a casual 40 home runs, 140 RBIs, and 100 runs scored this season.
A few notes on @AlabamaBSB‘s @JustinLebron15…
Leads the @SEC, 2nd in nation with 8 home runs.
Leads the nation with 28 RBI.Leads the @SEC, 2nd in nation with 0.67 HR/gm.
Leads the nation with 2.33 RBI/gm.Tied with @will_hodo for @SEC lead with 20 runs scored. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/yDHTuD2jjx
— Roger Hoover (@Roger_Hoover) March 3, 2025
Jared Jones may actually break a baseball this year
Physics aside, would anyone be surprised if the LSU first baseman actually destroyed a baseball? LSU played four games this week in the state of Texas, and it’s safe to say Jones has a new favorite state other than Louisiana or his home in Georgia.
ICYMI: LSU 1B Jared Jones had a HUGE week in Texas.
In 19 At Bats he had 9 different balls with over 100 mph exit velocity (Via @LSUBaseballData ) 🐻🤯
Read: https://t.co/hwyCRqpEat pic.twitter.com/lhf6F2zJ04
— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) March 3, 2025
In the Tigers four games in the Lonestar State, Jones had 19 at-bats. According to LSU Baseball Data, he had an exit velocity of 100 mph or more in nine of those 19 at-bats. He finished the week hitting .421 and an average exit speed of 109.6 mph on those nine balls he put in play. That’s terrifying to think of considering it hasn’t even warmed up yet.
Who should be No. 1?
The answer is multiple choice, and the only two answers should be LSU or Tennessee. Both went to Texas for early season tournaments against Power Four competition. Who had the better weekend? One could argue that it was Tennessee after they beat two ranked opponents. The lineup seems to always rake, and the pitching this year seems scary good as well with Liam Doyle leading the way.
Before anyone whines about Tennessee playing in a bandbox, let’s look at some facts.
One, they absolutely do play in a bandbox, so that’s valid. However, not only have they hit 31 home runs this season, but they also hit 10 this weekend in an MLB ballpark including one that left the entire stadium.
Vols Lead.
📺 https://t.co/HVNnJpRJZF#GBO // #BeatArizona pic.twitter.com/2DgmvWV9tp
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 2, 2025
Both are great teams. In regards to who should be No. 1, the defending national champions who haven’t lost a game and have outscored their opponents by 106 runs so far through 11 games should get the nod.
