The fall before baseball season, the LSU coaches decide who they want as captain, earning the coveted No. 8 jersey. This year it’s Gavin Guidry.

The tradition started with Mikie Mahtook in 2009. Mahtook was an outfielder from Laffayette, Louisiana. He wore the jersey until his junior season, beginning the tradition of the lifetime.

Mahtook began the ’09 season as a reserve outfielder before becoming instrumental in LSU’s run to the College World Series Title. He was named to the 2010 SEC All-Tournament Team, 2011 first-team All-SEC, 2011 first-team All-American and many others.

The first player chosen by Paul Mainieri and his coaching staff to wear No. 8 was Mason Katz in 2012 after Mahtook was drafted in the first round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Katz, from Horahan, Louisiana, was chosen to wear the No. 8 jersey his junior season and continued to wear it into his senior year. Along with the No. 8 jersey, Mahtook seemed to pass on the clutch gene.

In the 2012 NCAA Super Regional versus Stony Brook, Katz hit two home runs and then a walkoff single in the bottom of the 12th to give the Tigers a 5-4 victory.

Following Katz, Alex Bregman was given the famed jersey in 2014. Bregman was the first player to be chosen for the jersey that was not from Louisiana or an upperclassmen, he quickly proved why.

As a sophomore, Bregman was awarded NCAA All-Regional Team, SEC All-Tournament Team, second-team All-SEC and several other awards. His junior season, he was a Golden Spikes finalist, was named a first-team All-American, a part of the ABCA Gold Glove Award Team.

Bregman went on to become one of the highest paid athletes on the Houston Astros, further solidifying the appreciation behind the name of LSU’s No. 8 jersey.

After Bregman, a long line of athletes followed Mahtook’s tradition of being chosen to wear No. 8: Jake Farley (2016), Cole Freeman (2017), Antoine Duplantis (2018-19), Daniel Cabrera (2020), Matthew Beck (2021), Gavin Dugas (2022-2023), Hayden Travinsky (2024) and now Guidry.

Being chosen by the coaches as the person to wear No. 8 at LSU shows the trust the staff has in the athletes ability to live up to the legacy, be a good representation of LSU baseball and create a name for themselves while doing it.

Being compared to Mahtook, Katz and Bregman is no small feat. Guidry will have to prove it this season.