Growing pains come to almost every athlete who moves up to the collegiate level, but the ones faced by SEC baseball players are arguably the most difficult.
“I’ve gone through like four different windups this year,” LSU freshman pitcher Reagan Ricken said.
Fortunately, help is close by. No one around Ricken understands the process of facing top competition quite like his dad, Ray, who played six seasons in the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres minor league systems, as well as three years in independent leagues.
“Right now, he’s just that kid that wants to play baseball every day, and he just wants to play being a freshman at LSU,” his dad said. “That’s hard sometimes because you don’t get to play all the time. So he’s starting to be able to process that a little bit.”
His dad helps give different perspectives on pitching mechanics when needed. It’s a set of fresh eyes that has seen Ricken’s entire athletic upbringing.
A lot of what the two discuss is the mindset of being an athlete at a level that Ray compares to the minor leagues.
“It’s amazing having a baseball dad too, who understands everything,” Ricken said.
The two think similarly about the game. Though the dominant outings aren’t coming as often as they did in Ricken’s hometown of Temecula, California, both agree that he is doing pretty well with the pressure.
“He’s got that similar ‘I hate to lose’ attitude that I used to have when I played,” Ricken’s father said. “He demands perfection.”
Ricken is able to get past the pressure and less-than-ideal outings by just looking to his next opportunity and recognizing the jump in competition he’s facing. But it’s not always certain when that next opportunity will come.
Ricken has gone from knowing when he’s going to pitch for his whole life to now being ready for each game, unsure if he will get called to the mound. It’s one of the many adjustments he’s had to make this year, balancing it with improving his mechanics and pitch execution.
With the help of coaches like a head coach Jay Johnson, pitching coach Nate Yeskie and Director of Player Development for Pitching Jamie Tutko, Ricken said he has improved his secondary pitches. His slider in particular has seen positive change.
“His movement on all his pitches has increased a ridiculous amount,” his dad said. “And I think that’s probably what makes it harder on him, because he’s got to make that adjustment to be able to control that movement.”
Ricken’s strike percentage is a hair below 60%, with the collegiate average being about 60 to 65%. He said that he has seen more favorable results over the last two weeks as he gets more comfortable with his new mechanics.
Ricken has appeared in two SEC games. He allowed a run while striking out two against Vanderbilt, and against Texas A&M, he had a rougher outing where he let up a double and a home run without recording an out.
Adversity was bound to happen as he got to the biggest stage of collegiate baseball.
“You realize that your kid’s playing at the No. 1 college baseball program,” Ricken’s father said. “Which is a crazy thing that you never thought would happen when you have little guys running around the house in diapers.”
Ricken’s twin brother, Ryan, is also a freshman at LSU, which helps bring more of home life in California to Baton Rouge.
Both father and son said that the twins starting school at LSU together has helped them adjust to a new state and lifestyle. They live in the same apartment building, help each other with school and occasionally go fishing.
The twins both played football at Great Oak High School. Ryan played on the offensive line, blocking for Reagan, who threw for nine touchdowns and ran for four more as the team’s starting quarterback.
“I think playing football benefited me a lot,” Ricken said. “Honestly, I think it made me a better athlete. Me and my dad were talking about how we think throwing the football for four years probably made my arm stronger for baseball.”
Ricken’s fastball is sitting around 93 to 96 mph. Some of the pitch development resources that LSU has are new to him and helped him learn more about his game, making improvements come quicker.
“I had a lot of trouble with my slider early in the year, so Trackman helped me with that,” Ricken said. “Just looking at the numbers and seeing how I need to get on top of the ball for it to move which way. It’s been pretty helpful.”
The resources help add to the draw of LSU for Ricken, whom Perfect Game ranked as the No. 13 high school right-hander in the nation in 2025.
“He always thought, ‘Man, this would be a cool place to play,’ but I don’t know if it ever hit him until he got recruited to come here,” Ricken’s father said.
Once recruiting opened for Ricken, he got about 55 phone calls from schools. He mainly caught eyes at Area Code Games, and some schools recruited him as a two-way player because of his skills at catcher.
Ricken also wrestled with the thought of going to the MLB Draft. That thought didn’t last too long, though, with his commitment at LSU looming. On July 11, he withdrew his name from the draft.
“[Johnson and Yeskie] made it super easy for me to come here and leave the draft,” Ricken said. “High school baseball is so much different than pro ball. I guess it’s hard to make that jump … I wanted to come here and develop more for three years.”
Johnson said after Ricken’s first appearance that he will be “in the thick of this thing” for three more years, emphasizing the commitment to his development and longevity with the program.
Ray and his wife, Aimee, met while both were athletes at Michigan. Both knew the value of college from athletic, academic and growth aspects.
“As parents, we wanted that [college experience] for him,” Ricken’s father said. “But when you’re an 18-year-old kid and people are talking about millions of dollars, your attention kind of perks up a little bit.”
Through conversations with his family and the coaching staff, Ricken followed through on his commitment and made it to campus.
His first appearance came on Feb. 18 against Nicholls where he went three hitless innings. Ricken’s first start came three weeks later.
The first inning of that game featured the quick retiring of three batters. The next saw an error and run allowed, and Ricken was taken out before recording another out. Still, he said he was able to learn from it quickly.
“The next day I’m just looking at the video with Jamie and coach Yeskie, and it’s just about slowing things down, slowing the game,” Ricken said. “This is my year to learn and really get better at things I need to get better at going into next year.”
One teammate that has helped him improve his game and experience at LSU is redshirt junior pitcher Jaden Noot. The Californians share a bullpen and many of the same hobbies. Through golfing at Santa Maria Golf Course and University Club and a few fishing trips, the two have grown a strong relationship.
“He’s actually really good at golf, though. It kind of makes me mad,” Ricken said.
Ricken’s focus for his future at LSU is earning a starting spot, something that could be the next step to him eventually becoming a pro baseball player and making the major leagues. If he reaches the pinnacle, he’d be getting a welcome step up on his dad.
“You always want your kids [to] do better than what you did,” Ricken’s father said.
Ricken wasn’t nervous when he played his first game at LSU, but it definitely wasn’t just another day at the yard. Walking out to “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice certainly helped keep him focused, and he said he often sings the words in his head while coming out of the bullpen.
A good tune and good performances can help win over a fanbase, which Ricken has started to do. He recognizes how special LSU is.
“[I’m] pretty much just trying to learn deeper into the culture of this program,” Ricken said. “Playing in front of [the fanbase] for the first time was kind of crazy.”
The freshman has been figuring out what it takes to be an LSU pitcher. Johnson, Ricken’s family and the fanbase alike, see a player that has the ability to live up to the championship expectations of LSU as he grows.
