N2daWild

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.

According to Armstrong who is probably getting his info from Doyle. There is a small chance for Hirschkorn. He has the potential to elevate his draft stock to top 10 pick if he comes to school.

LINK

Jason Armstrong starts talking about the 2026 class around the 26 minute mark. Great stuff

LINK

Jason Armstrong mentions the Milam rumor at the end of the podcast, right before that he gives 4 names as a wishlist in the portal.

SS chris Ramirez Cal Baptist. .350 B/A with 4 errors

RHP Smith Bailey Arizona #40 prospect in 2027 draft

OF Sawyer Solitari Kent State .317 with 12 HR's

Landon Harrison Arizona St. .436 with 25 HR's

Current rumor is that his draft stock might not be that high. If that happens he could return. If he does get a decent offer, he will probably go pro. It's anyone's guess right now.

I just wanted to make a list of draft eligible current players that could return next year.

Milam, Junior
Curiel, Sophomore
Brown, Junior
Guidry, Redshirt Junior
Yamin, Redshirt Junior
Harden, Junior
Rizy, Sophomore
Moore, Junior
Noot, Redshirt Junior
Garcia, Junior
Primeaux, Redshirt Junior
Caraway, Junior
Sheerin, Redshirt Sophomore

Lachenmayer and Plog are listed as Sophomores but I'm not sure their ages.

He doesn't want to burn Evans if the game gets delayed after a few innings

Jay felt like his 2026 team needed to add power in the portal. He added Dardar, Yorke, Carraway and Simpson. He knew he was sacrificing defense for power. The problem is when those guys are not hitting we don't have offense or defense. We also have a few guys on the team that are trying to be power hitters when maybe they would be better served trying to hit for average.

There isn't a player on this team that comes close to Yorke's experience at 1B. His OB% .437 isn't bad. He does add power to the lineup as well.

I have seen Yamin, Pearson and Serna play 1B and it wasn't great.

Arrambide, Simpson (broke thumb) Dardar were decent there but behind Yorke defensively.

Clauss showed soft hands there, but I don't think he is answer either.

Braun makes the most sense but hasn't played there since a sophomore in HS. He does have talent there though.

Our best option is Yorke. Everyone knows hitting can be a strange thing.

As Lester pointed out, the Rant gets going on a narrative and blows it out of proportion. Armchair QB's like to believe they know more than Jay but you don't.

I'm proud of every player that puts on a LSU uniform. Most fans don't have a clue how hard these young men work. They live baseball. Critiquing a player is fine but crapping on one of our own players is a total lack of class. Choose to build up, not tear down one of our own.

I kinda like our recruits trending down. I think it makes it a little easier to get to campus when they are feeling undervalued.

Any chance with Curiel if he keeps dropping?

This is the first year I heard Jay complain. This is the first year under Jay we didn't land a top 10 player. I don't even think we landed a top 20 player.
We have a new AD this year, so we will see if it changes.
There is no way LSU should be ranked 13th in the SEC as far as revenue share. We are the best program in the SEC with the best coach and 12 other SEC universities supported their baseball programs more than us. That is a mistake.