LSU Baseball is Set to Play These Power 4 Teams at a Las Vegas Midseason Tournament

It's a yearly classic for LSU baseball to hit the road a few weeks into the season and take on other top schools in a neutral-site tournament.

This year, the Tigers were dealt a hand to face Iowa, Arizona State and Oregon State at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic from March 5-7, 2027. The games will take place at Las Vegas Ballpark, which is home to the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators.

LSU has a positive history in these types of tournaments, most recently beating Indiana, Notre Dame and UCF to win the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., last year. The Tigers also won the 2023 Round Rock Classic and the 2025 Frisco Classic.

The Tigers will then play a road game against UNLV on Monday, March 8 at Earl E. Wilson Baseball Stadium.

How will this road trip help the Tigers?

Jay Johnson meets on the mound with his team during a 2023 game | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

LSU is going to get high-level experience early into the season, and can see who can compete best on the team.

"There's always really good teams. The format feels like a regional in a lot of ways, so in some ways, it can kind of feel like Omaha," LSU head coach Jay Johnson said before last year's tournament. "For these tournaments, we've had great experiences."

LSU lost to Iowa in the 2023 Round Rock Classic 12-4, which was the most recent time that these teams have played. That same year, LSU beat Oregon State twice in the 2023 Baton Rouge Regional en route to a national championship.

The Tigers haven't played Arizona State since March 2005, but LSU won both games, by scores of 20-3 and 6-5. The Sun Devils and Beavers both made the NCAA tournament in 2026, but both failed to advance past the regional round.

LSU getting to face multiple tournament teams in early March is going to greatly help the metrics that can improve their standing for the NCAA tournament. It will improve the Tigers' strength of schedule, which in turn will boost their RPI and non-conference RPI.

RPI is a major metric that helps rank teams based on game results and strength of schedule of opponents, and is a major player for tournament selection. Oregon State finished 2026 with an RPI of 20, with Arizona State at 42, LSU at 60 and Iowa at 69.

In last year's tournament, multiple arms began to emerge that would be some of the best in LSU's holster in 2026. William Schmidt threw five innings of three-hit ball with no runs allowed against UCF, and Deven Sheerin struck out four over 1.2 innings against Notre Dame.

There will most likely be some of the same, as players can cement themselves as major contributors out of the bullpen during this weekend.

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