The LSU Tigers baseball team represents

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. The team participates in the West Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

. It ranks seventh overall with 18

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

appearances and second all-time with six national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2009). The Tigers play home games on LSU's campus at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field-, and they are currently coached by Jay Johnson.

History

The early years (1893–1926)

During the program's first 30 seasons, LSU had a total of 15 head coaches. No coach's tenure lasted longer than two seasons, with the exception of C. C. Stroud, who was head coach for eight seasons. Stroud coached LSU from 1914–1921 and had an overall record of 73–58–5 (.595). The program won at least ten games during four of his eight seasons as head coach.

Harry Rabenhorst era (1927–1956)

In 1927, Harry Rabenhorst became head baseball coach and became the longest tenured head baseball coach in LSU history. Rabenhorst began his career at LSU in 1925 as the head coach of the men's basketball team and two years later, in 1927, he also added head baseball coach to his duties. As baseball coach, he won two SEC baseball titles and was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1939 and 1946. Rabenhorst coached the baseball team from 1927 until 1942 when he left to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. When he returned, he again coached the baseball team from 1946 until 1956. He finished his baseball coaching career with a record of 220–226–3. Later, as an athletic department administrator, he became the school's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

in 1967. In 1938, LSU's new baseball stadium, referred to as either LSU Diamond or LSU Varsity Baseball Field, opened. The stadium was later renamed

Alex Box Stadium Alex Box Stadium, pronounced Alec Box Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It was the home field of the LSU Tigers baseball team. The stadium was located across the street from Tiger Stadium, which is visible ...

for Simeon Alex Box, an LSU letterman (1942) who was killed in North Africa during World War II. A. L. Swanson (1943–1945) During Rabenhorst's absence serving in World War II, A. L. Swanson served as head coach from 1943 to 1945. The Tigers won the 1943 SEC Championship under Swanson.

Ray Didier era (1957–1963)

Raymond "Ray" Didier was head coach at LSU for 7 seasons from 1957–1963. He had an overall record of 104–79–1 (.568). He coached the 1961 team to the SEC championship. He left LSU to become

Athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

and head baseball coach at Nicholls State University.

Waldrop-Smith-Lamabe era (1964–1983)

From 1964–1983, LSU was led by three head coaches. From 1964–1965, Jim Waldrop coached LSU for two seasons and had a 17–24 (.415) record. Jim Smith was head coach for 13 seasons from 1966–1978. He finished with an overall record of 238–251 (.487). When he left LSU after the 1978 season, he had the most wins of any head coach in program history. His 1975 team won an SEC championship and was LSU's first NCAA Tournament team. From 1979–1983, Jack Lamabe was head coach at LSU for five seasons and had a record of 134–115 (.538).

Skip Bertman era (1984–2001)

1984–1990

After playing

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

, coaching

high school baseball High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

, and serving as an assistant at Miami,

Skip Bertman Stanley "Skip" Bertman (born May 23, 1938) is a former college baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU). He led the LSU Tigers baseball team to five College World Series championships and seven Southeastern Confer ...

became LSU's head coach for the start of the 1984 season. In Bertman's second season, 1985, the Tigers qualified for postseason play for the first time in ten years. In his third season, LSU made its first appearance in the

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, the first of 11 appearances during Bertman's 18-year career. LSU returned to Omaha during the 1987 season, then failed to make the NCAA tournament in 1988, despite having a 39–21 record. Bertman's 1989 team returned to the postseason, an appearance that started a streak of 17 consecutive postseason appearances. The 1989 team defeated

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in a regional final to qualify for the

. The program also made the College World Series in 1990.

1991 national championship

The program won its first national championship in 1991, defeating Wichita State in the

final.

1993 national championship

The program won its second national championship in 1993, again defeating Wichita State in the

final.

1996 national championship

In 1996, the Tigers entered the NCAA Tournament on a two-game losing streak, after being eliminated from the SEC Tournament by consecutive losses to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. However, based on the team's regular season performance, LSU was selected as one of the eight regional host sites for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers defeated Austin Peay,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

before defeating

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, 29–13, in the regional final. In the game, LSU broke multiple NCAA records, two of which still stand today: 13 hits in an inning and 8 doubles in an inning. In the

, the team defeated its first opponent, Wichita State, 9–8. LSU then faced Florida, which had beaten them three times in the regular season and once in the SEC Tournament, and won, 9–4. Florida came out of the losers' bracket to face LSU again, and LSU won, 2–1, to advance to the national championship game against

. In the game, LSU defeated Miami, 9–8, on a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

by Warren Morris. In the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs and the tying run on third base, Morris hit a home run to right field off of Miami freshman Robbie Morrison. The home run was Morris's first of the season, and it won the 1997 Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award.

1997 national championship

LSU entered the 1997 season attempting to become the first team to win consecutive national championships since Stanford won championships in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. The Tigers began the season with 19 consecutive wins, giving them 27 straight wins starting with the 1996 regional. In the South I Regional, LSU lost the winner's bracket final to South Alabama, meaning the team had to win three games within 24 hours in order to advance to the College World Series. The Tigers won a five-hour game against Long Beach State, 14–7 in 11 innings, in which Bertman was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing a balk call. LSU then defeated South Alabama 14–4 and 15–4 to advance to the World Series. There, the Tigers narrowly defeated Rice, but Larson's home run in the bottom of the seventh gave LSU a 5–4 victory. The Tigers then defeated Stanford, 10–5 and 13–9, before defeating Alabama 13–6 in the championship game.

1998 season

In 1998, LSU hit 161

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. Eddy Furniss won the

Dick Howser Trophy The Dick Howser Trophy is bestowed annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The award is named after former collegiate and Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager Dick Howser, who died of brain cancer in 1987 at the a ...

as the nation's most outstanding player and finished as the LSU and SEC all-time leader in home runs (80), RBI (308), hits (352), doubles (87) and total bases (689). Brad Cresse and Trey McClure also earned All-America honors by hitting 29 and 27 home runs, respectively. The Tigers went undefeated in the South II Regional to reach the

, seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive championships since USC won five consecutive from 1970–1974. LSU hit eight home runs in its first game in Omaha, defeating USC, 12–10, then hit six more in a 10–8 victory over SEC team

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. However, in the final two games, and the Tigers lost 5–4 and 7–3 to USC, which went on to win the championship with a 21–14 victory over

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

2000 national championship

In 2000, LSU's regular season record was 39–17, and the team went undefeated in the SEC Tournament to earn the #2 National seed in the NCAA Tournament. LSU won the Baton Rouge Regional in three games, outscoring opponents 45–4. LSU then swept a best-of-three Super Regional against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, winning 8–2 and 14–8. LSU began play at the

with a 13–5 win over

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. In game two, LSU defeated USC, 10–4. In a close third game, LSU defeated Florida State, 6–3, and advanced to the championship game to face Stanford. In the championship game on June 17, Stanford held an early 5–2 lead, but LSU scored three runs in the eighth inning with two home runs. LSU reliever Trey Hodges did not allow a run in the top of the ninth, his fourth scoreless inning of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, LSU lead the inning off with a single and a walk to bring Brad Cresse to the plate with two runners on base. Cresse, who was 1–12 in the CWS prior to the at bat, hit a line drive single into left field to score Ryan Theriot from second, giving LSU its fifth national championship in 10 years. LSU had 5 players named to the All-Tournament team– Blair Barbier, Mike Fontenot, Brad Hawpe, Hodges, and Theriot. Hodges was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after finishing the CWS with a 2–0 record and one save. LSU finished the 2000 postseason with a 13–0 record and moved to 5–0 all time in national championship games.

Retirement

Skip Bertman led the Tigers to a 44–22–1 mark during his final season as head coach in 2001. The Tigers won the West Division, reached the SEC Tournament championship game, and won the Baton Rouge Regional, but lost in three games in a Super Regional against

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

at Zephyr Field. Bertman won 870 games, seven SEC titles, and 11 CWS appearances. His teams averaged 48 wins per year and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 16 of his 18 seasons. His jersey number, 15, is one of four numbers retired by LSU. LSU also renamed a part of South Stadium Drive, between Nicholson and River Road, Skip Bertman Drive in his honor. The renamed portion runs past the old

, which has now been demolished following the opening of LSU's new stadium in 2009, the field of which is named for Bertman. In a ''Baseball America'' poll published in 1999, Bertman was voted the second greatest college baseball coach of the 20th century, behind Rod Dedeaux of Southern California. In June 2002, Bertman was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January 2003. In 2006, Skip Bertman was inducted into the inaugural class of the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

in Lubbock, Texas. After the end of the 2001 season, Bertman became LSU's

. During his tenure, LSU won six total national championships and two BCS National Titles. Bertman served in the position until June 2008, and as Athletic Director Emeritus until June 2010. In anticipation of Bertman's retirement, Louisiana-Monroe coach Smoke Laval was brought on as an administrative assistant for the LSU baseball team in 2001 and succeeded Bertman as coach in 2002. Laval was returning to LSU where he served as an assistant coach under Bertman from 1984–1993. In 1993, Laval left LSU for ULM (then known as Northeast Louisiana). While at NLU/ULM, Laval posted a record of 241–159, a winning percentage of .603, and led the Indians (Now Warhawks) to 3 NCAA regional appearances.

The Smoke Laval era (2002–2006)

The expectations were lofty for Laval when he accepted the job as head coach at LSU. In his first year, Laval led the Tigers to a 44–22 record overall. The Tigers hosted a regional in Baton Rouge, which they won, and moved on to the Houston Super-Regional to face

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, where their season ended. His first year at the helm raised expectations even more after he experienced great success. In 2003 and 2004, Laval would lead the Tigers to 45–22–1 and 46–19 overall record respectively. LSU would earn the No. 2 national seed in the 2003 tournament, and would host a super regional both years, meaning the road to Omaha went through Baton Rouge. LSU made the College World Series both years, but disappointed both years, posting an 0–2 record each year. Tiger fans were not used to leaving Omaha without a win, so questions about Laval's leadership and ability to continue the success of the program began to arise. In 2005, LSU struggled during the regular season despite a 40–22 record overall. The Tigers lost 12 games in SEC play and lost to Southern for only the second time in 41 tries. Rice would go on to defeat the Tigers in the Baton Rouge Regional Finals. It was obvious that 2006 would be a critical year for Laval. However, that year would see LSU post a 35–24 mark overall, their worst since 1983. They also posted their first losing SEC record in 23 years and would miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years. Under growing pressure from fans and the administration, Laval officially resigned on June 4, 2006.

The Paul Mainieri era (2007–2021)

2007–2008

On June 28, 2006, Paul Mainieri was named the twenty-fifth head coach of LSU Baseball. Mainieri returned to Baton Rouge, where he began his career in college baseball 30 years earlier as a freshman at LSU in 1976. Mainieri finished his collegiate playing career at the University of New Orleans. Prior to his arrival at LSU, Mainieri coached St. Thomas University in Florida,

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, and Notre Dame. In his first season at LSU, the Tigers posted a mark of 29–26–1. The season was full of ups and downs, with the Tigers winning four SEC series against Top 25 opponents, but struggling in non-conference play. After the season, Mainieri realized changes had to be made and informed certain players that they should consider other options, as well as making some changes to his current staff. Mainieri was able to put together a tremendous recruiting class following the 2007 season, which was later ranked No. 1 by ''Baseball News''. In his second year, LSU was predicted to finish fifth in the SEC Western division by the SEC baseball coaches before the year started. Following an amazing turnaround, Coach Mainieri led LSU to the SEC Western Division championship with a conference record of 18–11–1, and the No. 2 seed in the 2008 SEC baseball tournament. The Tigers finished the regular season record at 39–16–1. The

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

won the 2008 SEC Tournament (held May 20–25 in Hoover, Alabama). With the win, LSU won 20 consecutive games, breaking the previous school record of 19 consecutive wins during the 1997 season and tying the SEC's second-longest streak of wins. Fourteen of those wins were come-from-behind wins, while the last 15 were made wearing the distinctive gold jerseys. By winning the SEC Tournament, LSU earned a 7th national seed in the NCAA tournament and extended the life of the old

as Baton Rouge hosted a regional bracket of the NCAA tournament. LSU swept the series, defeating Texas Southern (12–1) and Southern Miss (twice, 13–4 and 11–4) to win the regional bracket. With the sweep of the Regional series, LSU extended their winning streak to a SEC-record 23 straight games. As a result of the Regional, LSU and Baton Rouge earned a spot in the Super-Regional series, hosting UC-Irvine in the last three games to be played in the old Alex Box Stadium. LSU lost the first game, 11–5, ending their streak of wins at 23. LSU recovered in the second game of the series, scoring six runs in the top of the ninth inning to force a third game with a dramatic come-from-behind win, 9–7. On Monday, June 9, 2008, in the final game to be played at the Alex Box Stadium, with a record-setting crowd of 8,173 watching, LSU dominated UC-Irvine with a 21–7 win to move to the

2008 College World Series The 2008 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held from May 30 through June 25, 2008 and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 26, ...

. In the 2008 College World Series, No. 7 LSU faced the No. 2

North Carolina Tarheels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

in the first round, losing 8–4. The Tigers, facing elimination in a game against the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanct ...

, won in dramatic fashion, 6–5, continuing their string of come-from-behind victories. On June 20, 2008 after a rain delay of nearly 24 hours, UNC and LSU resumed their elimination game matchup, resulting in a 7–3 loss for LSU. The team was defeated after giving up the only grand slam in the 2008 CWS in the top of the ninth inning. During the 2008 regular and post-regulation baseball season, LSU's games have continuously featured both dramatic victories and controversial calls. Alex Bregman at Baum Stadium

2009 National championship

The 2009 season was the first for LSU playing at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. In the post-season, LSU traveled to Omaha after sweeping Southern University,

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in the regionals and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

in the super regionals. They started play at the

and faced the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round, winning 9–5. In the winner's bracket game, LSU played the Arkansas Razorbacks and won by a score of 9–1. In a rematch, the Tigers beat the Razorbacks again by a score of 14–5, advancing to the CWS finals for the first time since 2000. They played against the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

in a best-of-three series for the title, and won Game 1, 7–6 in a dramatic comeback win in 11 innings. The Longhorns beat the Tigers in game 2, 5–1, to force a third and final game. The Tigers out-slugged the Longhorns 11–4 in game 3 to win their 6th National Championship and first since 2000. The series

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

was outfielder Jared Mitchell.

2010–2021

Under Mainieri, the Tigers also played in the 2013 and 2015 College World Series. During the 2015 MLB Draft, Alex Bregman was selected by the Houston Astros with the second pick of the draft. He was the fifth LSU Tiger to be drafted in the first round in seven years, the highest-drafted position player in LSU's history, and the second-highest overall behind pitcher

Ben McDonald Larry Benard McDonald (born November 24, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The first overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft, McDonald played for the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 through 1997. Baseball career Col ...

(1989). In 2017, LSU played

in a best-of-three series to determine the winner of the 2017 College World Series. Florida defeated LSU and the Tigers finished as College World Series runner-up for the first time in school history. Mainieri retired following LSU's 2021 super regional loss to SEC rival

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. In 15 full seasons (the 2020 season ended after 17 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Mainieri compiled a 641-285-3 (.692) record.

Championships

National championships

College World Series appearances

Traditions

Attendance

Total Attendance: As of the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

baseball season, LSU has finished No. 1 in the final college baseball total attendance rankings in 23 straight seasons. LSU posted a total attendance figure of 399,085 in 37 games. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, LSU posted an NCAA-record total attendance figure of 473,298 in 43 games, which was 191,458 greater than second-place team Mississippi State (281,840). LSU is also the only school in NCAA history to exceed 400,000 in total baseball attendance in a season. Average Attendance: As of the

baseball season, LSU finished No. 1 in the final average attendance rankings for the 22nd time in 23 years (Arkansas finished No. 1 in average attendance in 2007). In 2018, LSU averaged 10,786 tickets sold per game. Largest Home Attendance: LSU's paid attendance figure of 12,844 for the LSU-Notre Dame game on February 16, 2018 established a school record.

Gold Jerseys

LSU introduced gold jerseys for the 1996 post-season. The Tigers went on to win their 3rd National Championship that year while wearing the gold jerseys in the championship game. The jerseys became part of LSU Baseball lore when with 2 outs and a runner on third base with LSU losing 8–7 in the bottom of the 9th inning, LSU's Warren Morris swung at the first pitch and lined the ball just inches over the right field fence for a game winning walk-off home run. This was his first home run of the season as he had missed 39 games with a broken bone in his hand. The jerseys became more ingrained in LSU lore when the Tigers also wore them during the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

post-season which resulted in another national championship, the program's 4th. After the 1996 and 1997 National Championships, the baseball program reserved the gold jerseys for select games. Under head coach

Paul Mainieri Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is a former baseball coach and second baseman. He played college baseball at LSU, Miami-Dade CC and New Orleans before pursuing a professional baseball career. He then served as the head coach of the St. Th ...

, the team wears the gold jerseys regularly on the third game of a three-game series, as well as during important tournament games. One such game was game 3 of the 2009 College World Series Finals versus the

. The Tigers defeated the Longhorns 11–4 to win the programs 6th National Championship wearing the gold jerseys.

LSU Bat Girls

The LSU Bat Girls are a support squad that contributes to the LSU Baseball program. The Bat Girls consist of 30 individuals who work in teams of 10 at all home games, post-season games and various charity events. The squad serves as hostesses at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field and their responsibilities include selling game day programs, recovering foul balls, retrieving bats and helmets, answering fans questions, assisting with game day promotions and giveaways and checking on umpires. They also assist the athletic department with many different aspects of the game such as attending coaches committee meetings.

Tailgating

Tailgating is found across campus with many fans tailgating in the same spot year after year. Some tailgaters form affiliations or organizations and name their "tailgating krewes". LSU has continually been ranked as the top tailgating location in the country.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

.com ranked LSU as the top tailgating destination in America. The Sporting News proclaimed "Saturday Night in Death Valley" and Tiger tailgating as the top tradition in college football.

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

said, "When It Comes To Great Tailgating, Nothing Compares To LSU." LSU's tailgating was named No. 1 in an

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poll on top tailgating spots and by a

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network survey on top tailgating locations. Visiting team supporters can be heckled and chants of "Tiger Bait! Tiger Bait!" are sometimes directed at opposing teams' fans. The opposing fans who take the jeers and jaunts with a sporting disposition will be invited to join in on the party, the drink, the regional Cajun cuisine, the spirit of Baton Rouge, and the vibrant tradition of LSU sports. During baseball season some fans will tailgate for the entire three days of a weekend series.

Stadiums

Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field

Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

stadium in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

. It is the home stadium of the Louisiana State University Tigers college baseball team since 2009. The stadium section (and LSU's previous baseball stadium to the north) were named for Simeon Alex Box, an LSU letterman (1942), purple heart and distinguished service cross recipient, who was killed in North Africa during

. In 2013, the field was named in honor of former LSU head baseball coach and athletic director,

Alex Box Stadium

Alex Box Stadium was a baseball stadium in

. It was the home field of the Louisiana State University Tigers college baseball team from 1938 to 2008. It was most notable for ''The Intimidator'', a large billboard behind the right-field fence featuring the six years in which LSU had won the

while playing in the stadium. The field was also notable for giving up many home runs due to the high humidity of Louisiana, the prevailing winds out of the south which push balls hit to left field out of the park, and the short fences (the dimensions were believed to be anywhere from 7–10 feet shorter than what was posted on the fences).

Second LSU Diamond

For the 1936 and 1937 seasons, LSU Baseball played on its second diamond on the new Baton Rouge campus. The playing field was located north of Tiger Stadium and was equipped with wooden bleachers.

First LSU Diamond

From 1929 to 1936, the LSU Baseball team played their home games on a field located on the Campanile Parade Grounds.

State Field

State Field was the home field for the LSU baseball team from 1893 to 1924. The field was located on the old downtown campus of LSU. It was located south of the Pentagon Barracks and slightly southwest of the site of the current

Louisiana State Capitol Building Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

adjacent to the Hill Memorial Library and George Peabody Hall. The field was later moved to a site with bleachers that was north of the campuses experimental garden, and next to the old armory building. The field was known on the campus simply as the "athletic field" and was also used for LSU's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football teams.

Practice and training facilities

Worley Family Batting Cage Pavilion

The Worley Family Batting Cage Pavilion holds the LSU indoor batting cages behind the right field wall at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The facility allows the Tigers baseball team to practice year-round without interference from inclement weather.

LSU Baseball Strength and Conditioning facility

The LSU Tigers baseball team

weight room Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the physical strength, strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Acros ...

is over 10,000 square feet and includes multi-purpose flat surface platform, bench, incline, squat and Olympic lifting stations along with dumbbell bench stations. It is also equipped with medicine balls, hurdles, plyometric boxes, assorted speed and agility equipment, treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical cross trainers. The weight room features multiple high-definition TV's for multimedia presentations. It is located in the

LSU Football Operations Center Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisian ...

Head coaches

*''Records are through the end of the 2021 Season''

Year-by-year results

''*Through the end of the 2022 season.''
''*Final Rankings are from Collegiate Baseball Division I Final Polls (1959–2022)
Sources:

LSU in the NCAA tournament

*The

NCAA Division I baseball tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb ...

started in 1947. *The format of the tournament has changed through the years. *College World Series: 40–27 () *NCAA Super Regionals: 18–16 () *NCAA Regionals: 105–27 ()

NCAA records

Individual records

Sources:

Team records

National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Players

Coaches

Retired numbers

Player awards

National award winners

: Eddy Furniss (1998) *

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

(1989) * Brooks Wallace Award : Alex Bregman (2013) *

Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

(1989) : Lloyd Peever (1992) * Johnny Bench Award : Brad Cresse (2000) * Pitcher of the Year Award : Aaron Nola (2014) * Rotary Smith Award :

(1989)

First-team All-Americans

The following is a listing of the selections listed in the 2015 LSU Baseball Media Guide on LSUsports.net. *1961 :Allen Smith (P) – ABCA *1974 : Mike Miley (2B) – Sporting News *1988 :

(P) – Baseball America *1989 :

(P) – Consensus *1990 :Wes Grisham (OF) – Baseball America *1992 : Lloyd Peever (P) – Consensus *1993 : Brett Laxton (P) – NCBWA : Todd Walker (2B) – Consensus *1994 : Russ Johnson (SS) – NCBWA :Todd Walker (2B) – Consensus *1995 :Scott Schultz (P) – NCBWA *1996 : Eddy Furniss (1B) – Consensus : Eddie Yarnall (P) – Baseball America, NCBWA *1997 :Patrick Coogan (P) – NCBWA : Brandon Larson (SS) – ABCA, Baseball American, NCBWA, Sporting News *1998 : Brad Cresse (C) – Sporting News : Eddy Furniss (1B) – Consensus *1999 : Kurt Ainsworth (P) – Baseball America *2000 : Brad Cresse (C) – Consensus *2003 : Aaron Hill (SS) – Baseball America *2004 :Jon Zeringue (OF) – NCBWA, USA Today/Sports Weekly *2005 :Ryan Patterson (OF) – NCBWA, USA Today/Sports Weekly *2008 : Blake Dean (OF) – Baseball America *2009 : Louis Coleman (P) – Consensus *2011 : Mikie Mahtook (OF) – ABCA, Baseball America *2012 :

Kevin Gausman Kevin John Gausman (born January 6, 1991), nicknamed "Gaus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, a ...

(P) – ABCA, Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game :

Raph Rhymes Raphael Ray Rhymes (born October 22, 1989) is a professional baseball outfielder. He played for the LSU Tigers baseball team. College career After graduating Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, Rhymes attempted to walk onto the team at LS ...

(OF) – ABCA, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA *2013 :Mason Katz (1B) – NCBWA : Aaron Nola (P) – NCBWA, Baseball America, Perfect Game, ABCA : Alex Bregman (SS) – Baseball America, Perfect Game, ABCA *2015 : Alex Bregman (SS) – Baseball America *2017 : Greg Deichmann (OF) – Consensus

National Freshmen of the Year

The following is a listing of LSU players selected as national freshmen of the year. *1992 : Todd Walker (2B) Baseball America *1993 : Brett Laxton (P) Baseball America *2000 : Mike Fontenot (2B) Collegiate Baseball *2001 : Lane Mestepey (P) Collegiate Baseball *2013 : Alex Bregman (SS) Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Baseball America, Perfect Game

SEC award winners

* Player of the Year Award : Russ Johnson (1993) : Todd Walker (1994) : Eddy Furniss (1996) : Aaron Hill (2003) :Jon Zeringue (2004) :

(2012) : Dylan Crews (2022) * Pitcher of the Year : Louis Coleman (2009) : Aaron Nola (2013, 2014) * Freshman of the Year Award : Mike Fontenot (2000) : Lane Mestepey (2001) :Matty Ott (2009) : Alex Bregman (2013) : Alex Lange (2015)

All-College World Series

The following is a listing of LSU players that were selected to the all-tournament teams during the College World Series. *

:Gregg Patterson (P) *

:Tim Clark (OF) :

Lyle Mouton Lyle Joseph Mouton (born May 13, 1969) is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1995 to 2001. He also played part of 1998 in Japan for the Yakult Swallows. Mouton attended St. Thomas More School in ...

(OF) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

: Chad Ogea (P) : Gary Hymel (C)^* :

(OF)* :John Tellechea (1B) *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

:Adrian Antonini (C) :Jim Greely (OF) : Brett Laxton (P) :

Armando Ríos Armando Ríos (born September 13, 1971) is a left-handed outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1998 through 2003. Career Rios played center field for Louisiana State University from 1991 to 1993. Armando Ríos first reached the m ...

(OF) : Mike Sirotka (P) : Todd Walker (2B)^* * 1994 : Todd Walker (2B)* * 1996 :Justin Bowles (OF) :Tim Lanier (C) : Eddie Yarnall (P) *

:Tom Bernhardt (OF) : Eddy Furniss (1B) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

:Cedrick Harris (OF) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

:Blair Barbier (3B) : Mike Fontenot (2B) : Brad Hawpe (1B) : Trey Hodges (P)^ : Ryan Theriot (SS) * 2009 : D. J. LeMahieu (2B) : Jared Mitchell (OF)^ : Anthony Ranaudo (P) :Ryan Schimpf (OF) * 2015 :Kade Scivicque (C) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

:Antoine Duplantis (OF) :Michael Papierski (C) Legend *^ denotes player was named MOP of the College World Series ** denotes selection to College World Series All-Decade team

National team members

Coaches awards

National Coach of the Year

National team coaches

LSU and MLB

The LSU Tigers baseball team has had 82 players reach

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lsu Tigers Baseball Baseball teams established in 1893 1893 establishments in Louisiana