Junior infielder Danny Zardon and sophomore infielder Grayson Byrd are transferring from the LSU baseball program, according to reports from NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and The Advocate.
Zardon and Byrd – two of the Tigers’ most experienced position players – are leaving in the midst of an almost complete roster turnover. While LSU has a top-15 recruiting class coming in, per Perfect Game, coach Paul Mainieri must replace eight players in his most-used lineup.
Zardon, who finished the season batting .288, was used sporadically as a designated hitter in the latter half of the season but was expected to compete for a permanent spot in 2016. Byrd, who had just five total starts, was in a similar position as Zardon but had an opportunity to replace either first-round draft pick Alex Bregman at shortstop or fifth-round draft pick Jared Foster at second base.
Both NOLA.com and The Advocate are indicating that Zardon will transfer to Division II Nova Southeastern while Byrd’s decision is still uncertain.