John “Tre” ’Morgan was regarded as the best high-school hitter in the New Orleans area and was a standout on the summer circuit with the MLB Breakthrough Series Organization prior to arriving at LSU. His junior season in high school, Morgan batted .483 and struck out only three times. He was selected as First Team All-District, All-Metro and All-State in 2019. However, a scary injury would alter the course of his college recruiting process.
“The night that injury happened it hit me hard,” Morgan said. “But me and my dad talked about it. We knew we had to get back to work to get back to the player that I was and that I needed to be to compete at this level.”
An elbow injury that occurred while pitching in a scrimmage before the start of his senior season in high school, Morgan was nationally ranked the 220th player coming out of high school in 2021. He was the seventh-ranked first baseman in the country, first-ranked position player in the state and the third-ranked player overall in the state of Louisiana.
Tests later revealed he had partially torn his ulnar collateral ligament, which required a Tommy-John surgery. Doctors placed a brace on his elbow because he did not need complete reconstruction surgery. Although Morgan had received an offer from Alabama in eighth grade and committed to LSU in his sophomore year of high school, recruitment interest and his draft stock plummeted after his injury.
Morgan began training two weeks after the surgery and looked forward to his freshman year of college. Former Head Coach Paul Mainieri never doubted Morgan’s potential and, once his elbow was healed, made sure he knew his scholarship spot on the team was waiting.
“LSU was the best fit for me because it was close to home, which meant my parents could come and watch me play whenever they wanted,” Morgan said. “I also chose LSU because of its prestigious history and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Tre, a nickname given to him by friends, is a product of Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. Morgan played football and baseball while in high school and credits Brother Martin’s baseball program in preparing him for the physical demands of college baseball.
Off the diamond, Morgan said his Catholic upbringing has made his transition to college life easier and has allowed him to have a healthy spiritual life.
“It’s a big part of my game,” Morgan said, “I speak to God in the locker room before every game. I just put my trust in him.”
Morgan’s low national ranking coming out of high school due to his injury motivated him to prove to his teammates he was good enough to play for LSU.
Without throwing a single ball in fall practice, Morgan impressed Mainieri enough to give him the starting spot at first base.
In his nearly 40 years of coaching, Mainieri said he hasn’t seen many players who can make a difference on the defensive end at first base like Morgan.
Before the start of the 2021 season, Mainieri said, “Morgan is someone to really be excited about, I love this kid. I had no idea he was this good when we recruited him, but he is a tremendous ballplayer.”
In his freshman season, Morgan batted .357 (89-249) with 16 doubles, four triples and six home runs. He also had 42 RBIs, 64 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. He received Freshman All-American, Second-Team All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC honors. He was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team and finished second in SEC Freshman of the Year vote count. Morgan received SEC Freshman of the Week twice, was named ABCA All-South Region First Team, and was named LSWA First-Team All-Louisiana.
New Head Coach Johnson has echoed what Mainieri believed when he retired.
“He’s a real hitter. I dropped the Tony Gwynn-like comparison, like that was the first guy that came to mind, and I’m talking relative to the college level,” Johnson said. “But he’s our best, most consistent guy right now.”
Morgan attributes these accolades and his success so far at LSU to the way his dad held him to such high expectations growing up. Recently, his dad has helped him secure NIL deals from attorney Gordon McKernan, food delivery service Waitr, and his own clothing line called Stretchman with 500Level.
“Stretchman would not be a thing without [his dad.] He taught me everything I know about the game,” Morgan said. “He is the biggest reason I am in the position I am today.”
In the off-season, Morgan was named Preseason Second-Team All-American by both Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball. Morgan was ranked eighth by Perfect Game on its Top-100 College Sophomores List, one of six Tigers on the list and one of three ranked inside the top-10. LSU baseball and Morgan’s future looks bright thanks to Mainieri’s faith in his last recruiting class.
