Coastal Carolina Players Had Priceless Reactions to Question About LSU Before CWS

There's a fine line in sports between respecting the opponent but also wanting to beat their tail.
You could see Coastal Carolina pitcher Jacob Morrison toeing that line during the men's College World Series pregame championship press conference on Friday. Morrison, flanked by catcher Caden Bodine, infielder Blake Barthol and coach Kevin Schnall, listened as a reporter had a question for he and his teammates specifically.
The reporter asked what the Coastal Carolina players "admired about LSU as student athletes and fans of baseball."
There was a near 10-second silence as Barthol started laughing and Bodine appeared puzzled as to how to answer the question. Morrison then piped up.
"Not a whole lot," the redshirt sophomore said.
Here's the amusing moment.
Reporter: What do you admire about LSU?
— ESPN (@espn) June 20, 2025
Coastal Carolina: 😂 pic.twitter.com/wPF0nUzZsD
Barthol then offered his own response to the question.
"I mean, we're not really worried about the Tigers. We're more of just a self-oriented team. We're just focused on our team and our team only."
With an approach like that, it's no wonder the Chanticleers have won 26 games in a row. But beating LSU, which won the Men's College World Series in 2023 and stormed back for a stunning victory in this year's semifinal against Arkansas when its season appeared over, will be no easy task.
LSU currently leads Coastal Carolina 1-0 on Saturday.
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Tim Capurso is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated, primarily covering MLB, college football and college basketball. Before joining SI in November 2023, Capurso worked at RotoBaller and ClutchPoints and is a graduate of Assumption University. When he's not working, he can be found at the gym, reading a book or enjoying a good hike. A resident of New York, Capurso openly wonders if the Giants will ever be a winning football team again.