LSU baseball’s run to an eighth national championship in 2025 was spurred on by outstanding starting pitching.
The whole staff posted a 3.73 ERA, a best under head coach Jay Johnson, thanks in large part to the incredible tandem of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson.
Similar success will be vital if the Tigers are to win their ninth championship in 2026. With Anderson and Eyanson departing by way of the MLB Draft, LSU needed to reload and develop in order to recreate the pitching magic from a year ago.
Johnson did just that, retaining and developing pitchers with high starting potential and adding plug-and-play pieces from the portal.
Perhaps the most critical piece of the LSU pitching puzzle that is sticking around in 2026 isn’t a player, but pitching coach Nate Yeskie.
Regarded as one of the best pitching coaches in the country, Yeskie signed an extension over the summer to remain at LSU through 2028.
Since taking the job in Baton Rouge ahead of 2024, 14 pitchers from his pitching staff have been drafted, and LSU led the country in strikeouts at season’s end in both years. This track record of development is vital for an LSU staff that will lean on returning players taking a step forward.
However, the look of the Tigers’ rotation in 2026 remains murky.
Returning right-hander Casan Evans is the consensus pick for the Friday starting job. It gets less clear for the Saturday and Sunday gigs; Johnson will likely give the ball to righties Zac Cowan and Cooper Moore.
The Houston native logged three starts in 19 appearances in 2025. He made a name for himself when he threw multiple multi-inning relief appearances in the postseason, allowing just three runs in three appearances.
The relief efforts in high leverage signal high potential for Evans as a starter.
“Being in those roles kind of helped me deal with the nerves,” Evans said about his time in the bullpen. “I tell a lot of people I was more nervous on Opening Day when I came in after Kade than I was in the College World Series.”
Entering the season as a second-team All-American, the sophomore added a curveball to his pitch mix and has worked on his fastball’s command over the offseason. The movement on all of his pitches is amplified by a funky delivery that is hard to pick up.
That non-standard delivery may limit him as a starter because of how taxing it is on the body. Evans said that he, Yeskie and Johnson have worked on his longevity this offseason.
“Seeing how I handle going through the lineup two or three times, that’s the main thing right now,” Evans said.
“I’m not worried about [Evans] getting himself ready to compete and to win, and a model player in that regard,” Johnson said about Evans taking the next step.
Cowan made two starts across 22 appearances for the Tigers in 2025. In those games, he pitched to a 2.94 ERA. He carries some starting experience, starting 17 games in 2024 as a sophomore at Wofford.
“We were very lucky to get him back,” Johnson said about Cowan returning for his senior season.
Stuck behind options in front of him, he stayed in the bullpen for most of 2025, but shined in the opportunities he got as a starter, pitching into the sixth against Arkansas in the College World Series and only allowing one run.
With Anderson and Eyanson gone, Cowan should return to a starting role for his senior season.
Moore enters his first season as a Tiger after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Kansas. He logged 14 starts in 2025 as the Jayhawks’ Friday night starter and posted a 3.96 ERA.
“He’s going to be at the front of this thing, he’s gonna pitch a lot of innings,” Johnson said about Moore’s role at LSU. “He’ll be really successful here.”
Expect a starter-by-committee for midweek games. Midweek regulars William Schmidt and Jaden Noot may return to that role, but don’t be surprised if Johnson gives the nod to high-potential freshmen like Reagen Ricken and Marcos Paz.
Redshirt junior Gavin Guidry could also make a bid at a starting job. The scope of his role will depend on how he returns from a back injury that had him miss all of 2025.
While all of these names are strong candidates for starting jobs, the final determination of who will start when from Johnson is yet to come.
“Two and a half weeks is a lifetime, and Game 10 is a lifetime from Game 1,” Johnson said about his wait-and-see approach to naming a rotation.
“Coach Bertman, I think his line was tax day,” Johnson said. “You set it, you go with it. We’re a long way from tax day.”
