re: LSU SOFTBALL Adds #3, #4 and #5 2026 Recruits

Read back through all the dramatic thread exchanges and we can live with differing opinions without the senseless debate again. Same with views on why Daniel should be the starter and seems to have shown it in limited showings thus far too—albeit both competing against lesser competition than top SEC teams. But is lockstep consistent with stronger play from last season…

And before I take this last swig of whiskey, shutting the computer down and heading to bed I will note that to MeauxJeaux’s point I don’t think he/she is stating Jones may transfer because she isn’t the starting SS or 2B. The point made was “chances” or “opportunities”. I would guess that wasn’t the intent because it isn’t my suggestion either. Similar to all the other top programs including all 8 of those from the WS that either have freshmen starting, playing key roles or finding reps for them to see them compete in in-game situations. TX, FL, TN, UCLA, FSU, OU, and practically all of the other top programs take that approach and find meaningful opportunities for their freshmen. And they’ve found many of them step up and coaches discover gamers. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt a lot of those freshmen are not as good as Jones and several aren’t as good as Franklin or Harris. I personally don’t think Jones deserves to start—I think Daniel should start at 2B (see prior logic—the numbers support it). Like those other freshmen referenced, Jones has to prove herself on the big stage first but the difference is the others on the other teams have gotten more in-game opportunities and our freshmen don’t get any really. Just think we could be missing out on dormant potential/talent whereas other programs are taking advantage & have better feel for what they have in the stable.

For me its not even the topic at hand. Its the fact that LSU, who’s 8-0, was leading 5-0 against a ranked team and the first thing mentioned is something about how a freshman, two weeks into her first year will transfer… Instead of us talking good about the team, its a post that has no real insight or anything. Jones will get her chances. Last time I checked 2B and DP are both wide open. The people getting chances first are the ones who waited last season. Also in the preseason you heard the coaches talking about Walker and Laneaux, so it makes sense they’re getting first chance.

Sometimes the softball discussion on this forum gets real negative hating on the coaches and the team. Instead of actual productive discussions about the team. That’s probably why we never can get an actual LSU softball thread that sticks.

Good morning, people!! I agree that we should wait longer into the season than 2 weeks to make assumptions, but also agree that other programs seem to handle freshmen differently. I hate to see the portal being mentioned myself but I know its a new harsh reality of college sports. But the coaches know this too and I can't imagine they don't have mitigating discussions with their players, effective or not.

I'd like to see Franklin get chances too just to see what she's got. She did have one at bat in one of the games this weekend which is the first time I've seen a freshman get a cameo appearance and only participation I've seen from Franklin. And we would need a lot more than the one at bat she had to judge her potential but she's got some pop. May not have the same ceiling as Jones as a player but Franklin could be an overlooked asset too given her power potential.

I've been at every game and if we leave the freshmen thing alone for a minute I'd say my biggest and most pleasant surprise has been Bergeron. She has hit much better than expected and if that keeps up it bodes well for LSU. The other two expected bright spots: Coffey and Redoutey because both of them look in mid-season offensive form with Coffey sitting on .540 for the season and Redoutey using a .540 weekend so far to bring her to .360 on the season. Lassiter is starting to settle in as well and looking solid. Laneaux may be difficult to keep out of LF given how she has hit and played defense, especially if Walker misses time with that ankle injury. Heavener and Berzon looking the part are big! And Clopton actually looked pretty good.

Hodge looked a little bit better offensively but don't think she'll add much offensively. Her arm at SS however will likely keep her in the lineup even if she is in the low .200s. She at least trended up as she was sitting on a .125 average I think coming into the weekend. McKee feasted on the pitching from last week and was near .700 at one point in first weekend but has dropped to .286 with a .200 showing thus far this weekend. And no one expected Edwards to consistently hit like she did last weekend where she was otherwordly but she still looks formidable with the slight step up in competition level this weekend. Like someone said earlier, I was hoping to see how the team did against Emma Lemley too. That may be today in the last game of the weekend. Will enjoy that game because next weekend won't be great.

I don’t know why you baws are doing this whole back and forth; the lineup has been different almost every game. Clearly, Beth is feeling things out to determine the best lineup for conference play.

Don’t know why Beth hasn’t played Jones. Maybe she’s nicked up, we don’t get softball news like other sports.

My comment is valid... there are many things we don't know about the inner workings of the program and many of you just rant on with incomplete information. 99% of you were never college, high school, or travel ball coaches and there are many things that happen that the outside doesn't know. Heck, I wouldn't even venture to guess on why she doesn't play, so I leave it up to the staff and don't come on here venting that she's going to transfer. Let it play out and Most times it will work out...

It was discussed on an earlier board that she skipped high school to play on a higher level travel ball team that was assembled. She was the best player on that team too and several of the players The rankings in my view have their place and give you indications of players being really good or not but I don’t take them literally. HOWEVER she was previously ranked as the number 1 recruit in the country by one of the publications and number 2 in the country by a couple other publications. And as recently as her senior year Maxpreps had her #1 in TX her last year of HS. Finished tied 2 by EI I think. I’ve seen her play travel ball and you can argue about several kids in TX being the best with her being one of them. She was absolutely ONE of the best in TX and recruited by most of the top programs hard. She and Heavener were the two that were highly recruited in the class. But Heavener never entertained any other school committing immediately. But none of that matters at this point. As I think the discussion turned to simply will she or any others seek the portal from that class and landed on leave it alone and wait and see how the season goes which I think was the smartest comment in the thread.

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......did she prove that she was the best player in high school in Texas or even the Houston area, or even her own high school team last year? We all know the talent on the high school & travel ball levels in Texas is among the best. I went to see her play last year and she wasn't on the team anymore.... I coached against her HS team the year before and I liked the talent that she had and I really wanted to see her improvement over a year of travel ball. So I don't have an opinion of how great she is since I didn't see her and I don't rely on scouting and rating services... but based on what I saw two years ago, she has a lot of talent for sure.
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Hi 18Handicap: Yes sir, the kid is major talented and was one of the best in Texas. I don't think anyone can claim one person is the best player in TX but agree she would be in conversation. And I can personally attest to that: Coached against teams she was on several times and watched her play numerous times late in the highest level events. She did skip high school to play on a team her dad put together which had several P5/Division 1 players on it and they played ball in Georgia and I think maybe OK too since their high school seasons are in the Fall and they had high level events during the Spring. Although TX has some of the best players there the reality is competition swings drastically and you don't face the best pitching consistently--many pitchers and teams are outright terrible even in the biggest districts so I can understand that move although it sounds costly LoL, but I've found travel ball parents are the poster-children for how crazy moms and dads are with what they'd do for their kids.

I also know that she chose LSU over a lot of top schools courting her, but I was told by someone that she is crazy about Coach Beth so no matter what others guess here she might be trusting whatever reasons the Coach has in handling freshmen the way they do. Despite any of our conjecture they may have had discussions and Torina has her content with a plan of some sort so I sign on to the notion of just waiting and let the season play out. Don't like the portal talk myself. But I also hate how the portal has impacted the game so I'm a little biased. Don't get me wrong I hate how the NCAA had all power before a lot of these changes but I think there was an overcorrection to the players' side. That's especially the case in college football, but impacts softball as well.

Good start by the team and to be honest if Coach Torina is still figuring out what's her best recipe in winning it bodes pretty well for the Tiger program. I like what I saw this past weekend and that's with some clear opportunities to improve. It looks like Heavener and Berzon (along with Coffey) will be the cornerstone of any Tiger success, but Clopton has looked solid too!! Edwards and Bergeron have been delightfully solid too.

The encouraging part is they faced 2 SEC type pitchers and scored 15 runs, the discouraging part is Berzon seems to have regressed from last season thus far. It’s early but Heavener looks like the best pitcher to date

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The encouraging part is they faced 2 SEC type pitchers and scored 15 runs, the discouraging part is Berzon seems to have regressed from last season thus far. It’s early but Heavener looks like the best pitcher to date
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I agree, Casual the offense is encouraging although I am reserving opinion a bit. After seeing how well everyone put a barrel on Lemley I went back and looked at previous performances against SEC type competition and she got knocked around a lot by them, but lesser lineups couldn't handle 68-70mph pitching. The athletes at SEC schools won't be blown away by speed alone. Movement, speed variance and location far more important at this level and Lemley missed way too much and it didn't move as much. The other young lady that threw the ball even harder (72) had no movement at all. Lemley had an ERA of over 5.00 against top end schools last year (that is, UCLA, Duke, Bama, Auburn) while dominating lower end. But with that said, very happy with the offense against 70-72mph arms!!

And concur that Heavener is looking great this early which is fantastic but I have slightly different take on Berzon. Still trust her more. Berzon actually fared better against NW than Heavener did. But in my opinion the VTech squad was a better matchup for Heavener than Berzon. Several scrappy effective lefties in that lineup with an aggressive offensive philosophy. That plays right into the hands of an arm like Heavener who tries to get hitters to chase out of the zone versus funneling weak contact to the defense by moving it THROUGH the zone. That type of offense could give a pitcher like Berzon a hard time. Still if things hold, LSU may have the best twosome they've had since Hooever/Waljasper. And Clopton looked pretty decent too! There will be some growing pains for Heavener but all indications is this kid is going to settle in and keep growing.