LSU Baseball: The 2023 Recruiting Class, No. 3 in America
Baseball America Magazine ranks the Tigers No. 3, Fall Ball underway for the Tigers.
* ZACK NAGY3 HOURS AGO

LSU is No. 3 in the 2023 Baseball America magazine recruiting poll released this week, marking the Tigers’ second Top 5 recruiting class designation this fall.
The 2023 class, featuring 20 talented newcomers that have joined the program this fall, was rated No. 5 in the nation last month by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
The class includes 13 freshmen, six NCAA Division I transfers and one junior college transfer. The new members of the LSU ball club have been engaged in conditioning drills and individual workouts with the Tigers’ returning veterans, and the first full-squad fall practice session will take place on Thursday with an intrasquad scrimmage that begins at 7 p.m. CT in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

This fall’s polls mark the second straight Top 5 recruiting finish for LSU coach Jay Johnson, the 2023 National Coach of the Year who led the Tigers to the College World Series title in June. Johnson and his staff produced the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2022.
The Tigers are in the Top 10 of a recruiting ranking for the 16th time in the past 17 years.
Listed below are the members of LSU’s 2023 signing class:

Kade Anderson, LHP
Madisonville, La. (St. Paul’s HS)
• Ranked as the No. 2 overall player in Louisiana by Perfect Game for Class of 2023
• Ranked as the No. 19 left-handed pitcher and the No. 130 overall player in the nation by Perfect Game.

Mac Bingham, OF
San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS/Arizona)
• Transfers to LSU after four seasons at Arizona (2020-23)

• Earned 2023 All-Pac 12 recognition after hitting .360 with 68 runs scored, 20 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 51 RBI and a .573 slugging percentage
• Selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 40th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

Michael Braswell III, INF
Mableton, Ga. (Campbell HS/South Carolina)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons at South Carolina (2022-23)

• Played in 51 games for the Gamecocks in 2023 making 37 starts … collected eight doubles, two triples, a home run and 23 RBI
• Voted to the 2022 Freshman All-SEC Team.

Jake Brown, LHP/OF/1B
Sulphur, La. (Sulphur HS)
• Ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game.

• No. 18 ranked left-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game
• Voted the 2023 Gatorade Louisiana Baseball Player of the Year … posted a 10-2 record on the mound with a 1.71 ERA, surrendering just 39 hits in 73.2 innings pitched while striking out 118 batters … also batted .336 with seven home runs, 26 RBI and 20 stolen bases

• Selected by the Texas Rangers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Griffin Cooley, OF
Kinder, La. (Kinder HS)
• Ranked as the No. 11 outfielder in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game
• Voted 2023 First-Team All-State in Class 3A, batting .462 on the year.

Dallas Dale II, OF
Apopka, Fla. (Mount Dora Christian Academy)
• No. 9 ranked outfielder and No. 54 overall player in Florida by Perfect Game for Class of 2023
• Ranked nationally as No. 61 outfielder by Perfect Game
• Batted .400 in 2023 with 32 hits, 33 runs, nine homers and 29 RBI.

Luke Holman, RHP
Sinking Springs, Pa. (Wilson HS/Alabama)
• Pitched the past two seasons (2022-23) at Alabama, where he made 31 appearances (15 starts) and posted a 4.05 ERA with 111 strikeouts in 100.0 innings.
• Worked as Alabama’s No. 1 starter in 2023, recording a 7-4 mark and a 3.67 ERA in 81.0 innings with 87 strikeouts and a .186 opponent batting average … finished No. 2 in the SEC in WHIP (1.05) and No. 3 in the league in opponent batting average and hits per nine innings (6.00).

Cam Johnson, LHP
Upper Marlboro, Md. (IMG Academy)
• Ranked nationally by Perfect Game as the No. 2 left-hander pitcher and the No. 11 overall player
• Selected in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals
• Ranked as the No. 42 overall prospect entering the 2023 Draft by MLB Pipeline.

Gage Jump, LHP
Aliso, Calif. (JSerra Catholic HS/UCLA)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at UCLA
• Did not pitch in 2023 due to injury … made seven appearances as a true freshman in 2022, including three starts ... finished the year with a 1-1 record, two saves, 3.86 ERA, .172 opponent batting average and 22 strikeouts over 16.1 innings
• Ranked as the No. 1 left-handed pitcher in the state of California as a high school senior.

Ryan Kucherak, INF
Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS)
• The No. 2 ranked shortstop in Arizona by Perfect Game for the Class of 2023
• Ranked as the state of Arizona’s No. 15 overall prospect by Perfect Game.

Trenton Lape, RHP
Bossier City, La. (Parkway HS)
• Ranked as the No. 5 third baseman and the No. 132 overall player in the nation by Perfect Game
• No. 1 ranked third baseman and No. 3 ranked overall player in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game
• Earned 2023 Class 5A All-State recognition.

Ashton Larson, OF
Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
• Ranked nationally as the No. 13 outfielder and the No. 78 overall player by Perfect Game
• The No. 1 ranked overall player in the state of Kansas by Perfect Game
• Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Justin Loer, LHP
Lakeville, Minn. (Lakeville South HS/Xavier University)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at Xavier
• Made 29 appearances (one start) for Xavier in 2023, posting a 6-2 record, a 1.89 ERA and seven saves in 57.0 innings with 63 strikeouts and a .182 opponent batting.

• Earned 2023 Second-Team All-Big East honors and helped lead Xavier to the Big East Conference Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

Steven Milam, INF
Las Cruces, N.M. (Centennial HS)
• Ranked nationally as the No. 32 shortstop and the No. 119 overall player by Perfect Game.

• The No. 1 overall player in the state of New Mexico, according to Perfect Game
• Voted the 2023 Gatorade New Mexico Player of the Year after batting .627 with 52 hits, 50 RBI and 65 runs … also drew 42 walks and only struck out eight times over 30 games.

Derrick Mitchell, OF
Plano, Texas (John Paul II HS)
• No. 5 ranked outfielder and No. 18 ranked overall player in the state of Texas by Perfect Game.

• Ranked nationally as the No. 33 outfielder by Perfect Game.

Austen Roellig, INF
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Etiwanda HS)
• No. 11 ranked shortstop and No. 37 ranked overall player in the state of California by Perfect Game
• Ranked as the No. 51 shortstop in the nation by Perfect Game.

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