A good write up on Landon Marceaux Transformation

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After his final class of summer school last year, Cade Beloso walked through the entrance of the weight room inside the LSU baseball facility. The sophomore first baseman noticed a skinny player with hair reaching the base of his neck. Beloso didn’t recognize the person working out.

“Did we get a new team member I didn't know about?” Beloso asked.

Then Beloso heard the player speak. He listened to the Cajun accent tinting the man’s voice, and Beloso figured out who was inside the gym: Landon Marceaux, his teammate for more than a year.

Marceaux had transformed his body, growing out his hair and losing 15 pounds since the end of his freshman season. He felt sluggish last spring. He wanted to regain his power and athleticism.

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At the same time, Marceaux changed his pitch selection, abandoning a 12-to-6 curveball for something closer to a slider. The decision has allowed him to throw three pitches for strikes, and as Marceaux approaches his sophomore season, he feels closer to the pitcher who arrived at LSU with high expectations.

“We all know what he's capable of,” Beloso said. “He's capable of being one of the most dominant pitchers in this league.”

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Though he struggled with injuries and waning confidence, Marceaux showed flashes of brilliance during his freshman season. He finished the year 5-2. He pitched his best around the postseason, recording a 1.99 ERA in his last five starts. He landed on the NCAA Regional all-tournament team.

Still, Marceaux wanted to alter his body in the middle of his freshman season. He felt stiff. He waited till after the season, concerned sudden change may affect his mechanics.

Once Marceaux returned home to Destrehan after LSU’s final game, he cut fried food and sugar from his diet. He began eating plant-based meals with less meat. His mom taught him how to cook, and he prepared a lot of eggs for breakfast.

Marceaux didn’t alter his exercise routine, but with his new diet, he arrived for fall practice at 175 pounds, matching his weight from his senior year of high school. When Marceaux enrolled at LSU, he had thought he needed to gain weight to reach his potential. He weighed 190 pounds last spring.

“I just didn't feel right,” Marceaux said. “I knew in my mind I needed to make a change.”

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Marceaux also stopped cutting his hair, and he tweaked his breaking pitch. Last season, Marceaux struggled throwing his curveball for strikes. It popped out of his hand, allowing batters to recognize the pitch.

Marceaux sometimes tricked opponents into swinging over the ball, but it often landed beneath the strike zone. If the ball fell over the plate, it got smacked.

“He didn't have good enough command where he could drop it in there for a strike,” coach Paul Mainieri said. “The hitters laid off it, which essentially made him a two-pitch pitcher — fastball and changeup.”

Marceaux pitched well enough to win games, but he knew he needed to change the pitch. He developed a slider. His three pitches look similar leaving his hand, deceiving hitters. The slider spins deep into the strike zone and breaks away from right-handed batters. During LSU's scrimmage Saturday afternoon, Marceaux struck out five batters over 2? innings. He did not allow a hit.

“He can command all three pitches now,” Mainieri said, “and he's a fierce little competitor.”

LSU, which begins the season Feb. 14 against Indiana, expects Marceaux to help anchor its pitching staff, the backbone of this year’s team. Sophomore Cole Henry will likely pitch on Friday nights, but Marceaux will compete during preseason practice with redshirt sophomore AJ Labas and redshirt junior Eric Walker for the second spot in the weekend rotation. LSU needs him.

Lighter and more confident as he enters his sophomore season, Marceaux feels better than he ever did last year. He can flatten his palms on the ground when he stretches. His velocity rose during fall practice. He increased his maximum squat weight by 200 pounds.

Marceaux looks much different, but he believes his experience and the changes he made last summer will help him succeed. He trusts all three pitches now, and he understands how to last an entire college season. He cooks most of his meals at home.


Said Marceaux: “It's going to be a different Landon Marceaux out there this year, man.”

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