LSU Baseball Wins Big As Logan Schmidt Chooses Tigers Over Cleveland Guardians

LSU Baseball landed a massive recruiting victory on Saturday as left-handed pitcher Logan Schmidt announced that he will honor his commitment to the Tigers after turning down the Cleveland Guardians, who selected him with the No. 59 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Schmidt was widely regarded as one of the top high school pitchers in the country and had been considered one of LSU's biggest draft-signability battles this summer.

The 6-foot-4 California native features a fastball that has touched the upper 90s along with swing-and-miss secondary pitches, giving Jay Johnson another potential frontline arm for the future. Instead of beginning his professional career, Schmidt will head to Baton Rouge, where he'll have the opportunity to develop under one of college baseball's premier coaching staffs before becoming draft eligible again.

Schmidt's decision is another enormous recruiting win for Johnson and his staff. Holding onto a player of his caliber after he was selected in the second round is no small feat, and it further strengthens what is now widely viewed as the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2026.

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