Grading LSU Baseball's Transfer Portal Additions After The 2026 Season

Jay Johnson and LSU Tigers had a historic set of misses in the transfer portal ahead of the 2026 season, and report cards are in.

It's now official that LSU will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011, in part due to lackluster contributions from the 10 players—five pitchers and five position players—added in the transfer portal. LSU became a team led by freshmen after injuries and players not turning out as they were supposed to.

Now that the season has been over for a few days and the dust has settled, it's time to grade the 10 players LSU added in the transfer portal before the 2026 season. Grades take into account a player's likelihood to return, expectations prior to the season, and overall value added to the team.

Cooper Moore, SP- B+

Cooper Moore pitches the ball in a game against Northeastern | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If Moore didn't get hurt in the second SEC series of the year and eventually shut down for the entire season, he could have easily gotten an A+. His 3.38 ERA led the team by a large margin, and he was LSU's best pitcher by the time he got hurt.

His ability to mix pitches absolutely dominates opponents and makes him so difficult to hit. Over his 32 innings, he struck out 39 while only walking seven.

Moore underwent successful elbow surgery and will return to LSU for 2027. His commitment to next year brings his grade up, and he can gain a lot better of a mark after a full season.

Santiago Garcia, RP: B-

Santiago Garcia pitches the ball against Louisiana | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Garcia is the only transfer arm that pitched over 10 SEC innings. He led all five transfer arms in opponent batting average, at .221. His 5.96 ERA is not pretty, but he was servicable for LSU.

His grade would be a little higher if he were guaranteed to return for next year, but he will likely enter the draft and begin his professional career. If this team's overall pitching was better, Garcia wouldn't have gotten as many innings as he did—22.2—but he was good in a bad situation.

Seth Dardar, 2B: B-

Seth Dardar swings during a game against Louisiana | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dardar played through so much pain in 2026 so that he could play for his dream school in his last year of college baseball.

His .260 batting average wasn't great, but it was about the same against SEC pitching as it was overall. He had 18 extra base hits and played in more games, 43, than any other transfer, and never quit no matter how this team was doing. He also played all over the infield whenever Johnson needed him to.

Danny Lachenmayer, RP: B-

Danny Lachenmayer pitches the ball against Southeastern Louisiana | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Lachenmayer was mainly just used as a matchup guy for the first half of the year and never pitched more than an inning, but then Johnson started letting him go two or three innings and he seemed to really improve his length and game.

A 7.56 ERA over 16.2 innings sours a seemingly solid .233 opponent batting average and 24 strikeouts to 13 walks. But, his grade is helped by the good chance that he returns next year and improves further.

Ethan Plog, RP: D+

Ethan Plog pitches the ball against Southern | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Plog, like Lachenmayer, will probably stay at LSU and improve next year, which is why his grade is higher than it could be from his rough statistics. There is a lot of room for improvement.

Plog was also used as a matchup guy, being seldom used for length. He only pitched 3.0 SEC innings, despite throwing 15.1 total. His ERA was a team worst 9.98, and he walked 16 batters while striking out 21.

Brayden Simpson, Util: D+

Brayden Simpson throws the ball before a game against Northeastern in 2026 | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Simpson played all over the roller coaster of an infield while also seeing time in the outfield. He went wherever Johnson needed him just to fill a spot in the lineup.

He hit 22 homers in 2025 with High Point, but only hit one in 49 at-bats with LSU. He only played all three games of an SEC series in the final weekend against Florida, a series that didn't matter.

Despite performing like a different guy in the last week of the season, Simpson's SEC batting average was .150 over 20 SEC at-bats.

Daniel Harden, OF: D

Daniel Harden stands ready to bat against Southeastern Louisiana | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Harden, a Louisiana native and product of Baton Rouge's Catholic High, joined the Tigers after two years in community college.

Despite giving it his all and having some hard hit balls and a couple of starts, he just didn't get much playing time, and didn't do much better than the starters when he got his chance. He only got 19 at-bats and batted .105. He didn't get a hit over five SEC at-bats.

Dax Dathe, RP: D

Dax Dathe pitches the ball with Angelo State | Paul Witwer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In Dathe's third separate stint in Division 1 baseball, it went about as well as the other two. He only pitched 6.1 innings over 12 appearances, where he had an ERA of 8.53. His opponent's batting average against was .231, which is not a bad mark at all.

Half of his appearances came in the first month of the season, and he was only seen three times in the SEC. Two of them were in the final series against Florida, including on his senior day. Dathe just never met expectations at LSU, even after having a 2.99 ERA in 2025 at D2's Angelo State.

Zach Yorke, 1B: D-

Zach Yorke extends for the ball in a game against Auburn at the 2026 SEC tournament | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yorke would have earned an A if the season only lasted one month. Then, SEC play rolled around and he batted .143 against conference pitching. He was seldom used the final month and a half of the year due to his poor performance.

He was a standout at Grand Canyon and was LSU's splash hit of the transfer portal. None of his stats except for his on base percentage lived up to his numbers at GCU. He struck out 35 times in 115 at bats, and also had a handful of errors, all that came in big moments.

Trent Caraway, 3B: F

Trent Caraway throws the ball in a game against Northeastern in 2026 | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carway was a standout at Oregon State and was supposed to be the everyday third baseman for LSU. He was playing so poorly that he only played four games over April and May, and his only May appearance was a pinch hit at-bat in LSU's final game of the year.

Caraway batted .243 in 2026, including .125 against SEC pitching. He also had the worst fielding percentage of any transfer, at .946. His absence from the lineup caused a carousel at third base, the place Caraway was brought in to hold down for the entire season.

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