re: LSU Baseball 2026 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread

He pointed out that on paper some of our portal players were more proven than theirs.

I agree that counting on the portal is not the way to go. There is a degree of hit or miss with every player. How often do first round picks in every sport bust? That's with big money evaluating them.

I personally would have smaller high-school classes than Jay and rely a little more on the portal but regardless of the method you use, development plays a big part. We were counting on sophomores Evans, Schmidt, Williams and Rizy to be more than they were this year.

There is no full proof way of evaluating and like Project points out, development isn't linear. We all assume players will progress on a steady line and that isn't the case. It's a jagged line.

So luck plays a role. I do know that Jay is intelligent and will put forth his best effort. His coaches and players will put forth their best efforts. Money will play a role in our talent level. Luck in the draft plays a role as well.

Things were not going well for us and then key injuries just derailed us. It is what it is. I'm already excited about the draft and next year.

Everybody talks about the portal but we've tried to play sophomores and failed too. Kling/Neal in 2024. Rizy/Williams/Evans/Schmidt this year.

Everybody talks money. The only guy we really didn't get who would have changed things is Ace Reese. And we had him at a high figure and State more than doubled it. Sure, we recruited Mack and Volchko but we got Cooper Moore. Those guys are what and what. It would have been hard to get more than 1. This staff had plenty enough talent. They just didn't perform.

A lot of this season's failures were just chance and luck and injuries and small sample size. People don't like to hear those things.

For the transfer portal, offensively I'd prefer stick to guys who've put up stats at the P4 level. The stats below that don't matter. I can do without the project transfers as well. I'd prefer retain more guys we got out of high school. This team would have been better with the guys who transferred out in place of the guys who transferred in.

Pitching is different. Get anyone with velo/spin rate. That translates regardless of level. You can figure out who can pitch and should get innings after you get them.

I agree. Dardar was a good take. Louisiana guy. Didn't cost much. Produced in the Big 12. Played several positions. Produced this year, just wasn't healthy throughout.

Give me Larson and Mikey Ryan over Yorke and Simpson though. And hopefully find the money to buy an Ace Reese, Tommy White, Jacob Berry type over a Trent Carraway project.

Again, I don't know what else they could have done with the pitching staff. Just gotta stay healthy, develop, and pitch better.

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Moore may or may not be back

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Didnt Jay already say he would be back? Elaborate on the maybe?

Jay says a lot of things in absolutes in hopes that he can make them come to fruition. That doesn't make them 100% certain. Moore could still go pro. Hopefully not between his injury and relatively lower velocity.

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DRock88

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Thoughts on 2027 Jackson Dugan from Jesuit? Looks like he's on our radar.

Really good athlete. Can play anywhere and is also good on the mound. I wonder if we like him as a position player or on the mound or both.

He does everything pretty much plus but I didn't see anything plus plus. I have a hard time evaluating/projecting juniors, though. 8th-10th are pretty easy because you see the frame and skills against the older kids. Seniors are pretty much where they're going to be, even though you can project some development. You just never know if juniors have peaked or will blow up.

ETA: I find that juniors show one way or the other in the summer before senior year so I'll pay attention to him this summer.

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I have thought about this and it has me wondering where were guys like Yorke and Simpson in regards to their pro prospect rankings?

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Just checked the final BA 500 for the 2025 draft, Yorke was 212, Simpson not listed at all. (Caraway at 175)

Dickinson was getting top 50 in class draft hype after his freshman year at UVU.

Dickinson is probably my favorite transfer we've ever taken. Was pretty much the last guy added to the UVU roster because Eddie Smith's connections in the Seattle area, and was a walk-on. He was otherwise going to an NWAC JUCO. Starts from the beginning of his career, blows up as a draft prospect, and never loses the walk-on mentality.

He sees all the LSU memorabilia in Eddie Smith's office all the time and decides to hit the portal and we signed him. (Eddie Smith also left for Washington, but not until after Dickinson committed to us) And then he just does all the winning baseball stuff. Defense, bunting, base running, playing injured. Just an absolute dirt bag. He's a unicorn.

We have pulled more talented guys in the portal, but from a position player standpoint, he's been my absolute favorite.
VBetween him, Stanfield, and Hernandez, that transfer class of position players was about as team oriented as you could possibly get.

Yeah, I saw he hadn’t pitched in about a month so I figured there was an injury. They have a junior pitcher that stepped up for them and was going 8 or 9 innings in conference starts and throwing well. I think he’s starting to get some draft buzz though. Marrianeaux is the junior, though I’m nearly certain I did not spell it correctly.

When will we see class of 2028 recruits pop up?

Also where do you get your information from? As far as Jackson Dugan or Dylan Champagne