LSU’s Head Baseball Coach Jay Johnson spoke with the media ahead of his team’s game vs. Little Rock to open the 2025 Baton Rouge Regional.

The Tigers enter as large favorites to win the Regional, which includes the aforementioned Little Rock, as well as Dallas Baptist and Rhode Island. It’s the second time in Johnson’s four seasons as head man that the Tigers have hosted a Regional, with the first being the National Championship winning team in 2023.

“It’s a privilege to play baseball this week,” Johnson said. “I think it’s something that great programs like LSU take for granted sometimes.”

This is the 28th time that Alex Box Stadium will host a Regional, and the 13,000 fans that pack “The Box” look to give LSU a push towards Super Regionals and beyond.

Speaking about the atmosphere, Johnson said “Not all of them [host teams] have what we have while we’re hosting.”

After their performance in the SEC Tournament, LSU looks to come back home and assert their dominance behind the pitching staff. A starter has not yet been confirmed for Friday’s game, but in the previous three Regional openers, Jay Johnson put his ace on the mound, most notably throwing Paul Skenes against Tulane in 2023. With that in mind, it is likely that one of the ace duo of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson will pitch against the Trojans.

Johnson was also complementary of several bullpen pieces, including Junior Jacob Mayers, who is coming off the best outing of his LSU career, with 2.1 shutout innings along with four strikeouts against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.

“I bet he’ll be one of the top 10 guys drafted in his class,” Johnson said of the righty.

With all these pieces in place, LSU begins their quest for an eighth National Title at 2 p.m. Friday against Little Rock.