The LSU Baseball Report: Jay Johnson's Tigers Facing Adversity Early Amid SEC Play

Jay Johnson and the defending National Champions LSU Tigers remain in the spotlight following the program's slow 14-7 start to the 2026 season in Baton Rouge.

After a rollercoaster non-conference slate, the Tigers rolled into SEC play with a series loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores after dropping back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday in Nashville.

“I think you have to invest in a way that a loss like this is going to hurt really bad when something like that happens,” Johnson said on Friday after Game 1. “I was proud of our team for the way we fought back in the game after falling behind, and I think we’re a much better team now than we were at the beginning of this week.

“It was a unbelievable effort tonight by our offense and our position players. We were down 10-4, and they came back to give us a two-run lead in the ninth.”

Now, the LSU Tigers have fallen completely out of the D1 Baseball Top-25 Rankings after one week of SEC play. What's next for Johnson and Co. will SEC play ramping up?

The LSU Baseball Update:

Overall Record: 14-7
SEC: 1-2

Last Week’s Results (2-2)
March 10 (Tue.) – CREIGHTON (W, 8-4)
March 13 (Fri.) – at Vanderbilt (L, 12-13)
March 14 (Sat.) – at Vanderbilt (L, 3-11)
March 15 (Sun.) – at Vanderbilt (W, 16-9)

This Week’s Schedule
March 17 (Tue.) – GRAMBLING STATE, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
March 19 (Thu.) – OKLAHOMA, 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
March 20 (Fri.) – OKLAHOMA, 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
March 21 (Sat.) – OKLAHOMA, 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

Tigers Update
• LSU junior rightfielder Jake Brown hit .467 (7-for-15) in four games last week with two doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, six runs and one stolen base … in the Tigers’ SEC series at Vanderbilt, Brown batted .455 (5-for-11) with one double, two homers, nine RBI and four runs … he tied his career high with six RBI in Sunday’s win at Vanderbilt, delivering a three-run homer, a two-run single and a sacrifice fly … Brown is hitting .419 this season with seven doubles, 11 homers, 37 RBI, 25 runs and five steals.

• Freshman catcher Omar Serna Jr. collected eight RBI in three games last week … he blasted his first career collegiate home run, a grand slam, on Tuesday night versus Creighton to erase a 4-2 fifth-inning deficit and lift the Tigers to an 8-4 win … he logged four RBI while playing in two games of the Vanderbilt series, delivering an two-run single on Saturday night, and a sacrifice fly and an RBI single on Sunday.

• Senior leftfielder Chris Stanfield returned to the LSU starting lineup for the Vanderbilt series, and he batted .400 (4-for-10) in three games with four runs, one RBI, three walks and a .538 on-base percentage … Stanfield was forced to miss 16 games after suffering a hand injury in the second game of the season on February 14 versus Milwaukee.

• Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide hit .385 (5-for-13) in the Vanderbilt series with two doubles, three RBI, five runs and a .467 on-base percentage … in Sunday’s 16-9 win over the Commodores, Arrambide was 2-for-5 with one double, three RBI and two runs scored.

• Junior shortstop Steven Milam served as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter for all three games of the Vanderbilt series, and he batted .357 (5-for-14) with one double, one RBI, seven runs, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and a .438 on-base percentage … Milam has not committed an error through 21 games this season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage in 62 chances.

• Sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin posted relief wins over Creighton on Tuesday night and over Vanderbilt on Sunday … Sheerin worked 2.1 scoreless innings versus Creighton to earn his first career LSU win, allowing just one hit with one walk and four strikeouts … he earned his first career SEC win at Vanderbilt on Sunday, working 2.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts … the outing marked Sheerin’s first career appearance in an SEC game.

• Junior left-hander Santiago Garcia earned his first career LSU save on Tuesday versus Creighton, working 2.2 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and four strikeouts … Garcia made his first career appearance in an SEC game on Sunday at Vanderbilt, and he recorded three strikeouts in 1.0 inning of relief.

• Senior right-hander Zac Cowan pitched brilliantly in relief on Friday night at Vanderbilt, logging 3.1 scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and five strikeouts.

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