LSU Baseball is coming off a national championship season and hopes are high coming into the new season.
Unfortunately, the team lost 10 players to the draft. To combat that Head Coach Jay Johnson brought in many transfers and nine freshmen.
Five of the those nine freshmen landed in the top 100 college freshmen for the 2026 season. Those five were: William Patrick, Omar Serna Jr., Reagan Ricken, Ethan Clauss, and Marcos Paz.
William Patrick is a player that has received a lot of praise from the LSU coaching staff. He has received praise for his athleticism and high ceiling.
Assistant Coach Josh Jordan says that he sees similarities to Ethan Frey in Patrick.
“And there’s not a guy who’s got a bigger ceiling than William Patrick,” Coach Jordan said. “And I say he’s no different than an Ethan Frey.”
Next, Catcher, No. 15 ranked Omar Serna Jr.. Serna has also been talked about as a physical specimen at the catcher position. Serna brings big power and explosiveness at the plate.
“I get to work with him a lot because obviously a catcher, I coach our catchers, I’m with him everyday,” Coach Jordan said. “He’s going to be, have a big impact on this year’s team.”
On the infield, Johnson brought in two highly ranked recruits in Ethan Clauss and Jack Ruckert.
Clauss is a shortstop and Coach Jordan raves about his arm and his potential.
“Defensively, got a lot of range, maybe has the best arm of anybody in our infield as a freshman,” Coach Jordan said. “So, when you combine those tools, and again I think the job Coach Johnson will do with him working in the infield, that guy is going to be an impact guy for us.
Jack Ruckert is comes from just down the street from Catholic High so Coach Johnson has seen a lot of him and he loves to have him on his squad.
“Jack Ruckert, very steady player from Catholic,” Coach Johnson said. “One of those guys that you can tell will do all the small things well and you know winning caliber player.”
What seems to be the crown jewel of this years class is pitcher Marcos Paz. He has drawn comparisons to top draft pick Kade Anderson from the coaches.
“And then the ball jumps out of the hand, he’s going to be upper 90’s,” Coach Jordan said. “And the slider is really good, just, and really good pitch ability. So yeah, you know to reference kind of what Coach Johnson said is maybe treat him a little bit like Kade Anderson.”
Coach Johnson is very grateful that LSU was able to land a player like Paz.
“If he didn’t have an injury, he would not be at LSU right now,” Coach Johnson said. “Very much like, Kade Anderson. So we’re excited about him.”
Like Patrick, Coach Jordan believes Paz has the potential to be a star.
“I think everybody in this class has a chance to be a really impactful 21-year-old in this program and get drafted really, really high,” Coach Jordan said. “And Marcos Paz might be the highest of them all.”
We won’t see Paz for a while this Fall as he is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but all other freshmen are expected to make appearances this fall.
No starters are set, but fans can expect to see these freshmen make an impact when the spring season comes around.
Coach Johnson is not afraid to lean on this freshmen as we saw last year.
Freshman Derek Curiel was the leadoff hitter for a large majority of the season.
Freshman pitcher Mavrick Rizy led the team in appearances and Freshman pitcher Casan Evans played a massive role in the college world series for LSU.
You can catch the new tigers and the rest of the LSU Baseball team in action during Fall Ball. The next open practice is Thursday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. CT in Alex Box Stadium.
