Coming off his second National Championship in three seasons, LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson has re-tooled his roster for the 2026 season. The Tigers return 19 players from last year's title team, and bring in a class of 20 newcomers via the transfer portal and the high school ranks. Johnson also received a much-deserved raise and extension this offseason, making him the highest-paid college baseball coach in the country.
The start of the 2026 season is still several months away, but now that the schedule has been released, Tiger fans are already eyeing several key matchups.
The Tigers begin the 2026 campaign with a home tilt against Milwaukee on Friday, February 13. One month later, LSU begins SEC play on the road at Vanderbilt on Friday, March 13. All in all, there are several games on the 56-game schedule that fans already have circled on their calendars. Let's take a look at some of them.
Our 2026 Schedule Is Here 🗓️#ThePowerhouse pic.twitter.com/L4w5FsKF2O
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) September 9, 2025
Jax College Baseball Classic (Feb. 20-22)
The LSU Tigers are one of four teams that will participate in the Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville, FL this season. The round-robin tournament gets underway at Jacksonville's VyStar Ballpark on Friday, Feb. 20 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 22. The annual event is hosted by the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and supports the Live Like Lou Foundation to combat ALS. LSU begins the tournament facing the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday. The Tigers then battle the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and UCF Knights over the weekend.
at Vanderbilt (March 13-15)
LSU begins SEC play with a road matchup at Vanderbilt on March 13. The Tigers and Commodores did not meet last season, and this will be the first meeting between the two teams since April 4-6, 2024 when Vanderbilt took two of three from LSU in Baton Rouge. A series win would give Jay Johnson's squad a great start to conference play.
vs Oklahoma (March 20-22)
The first home game in conference play for LSU comes on March 20 when the Oklahoma Sooners come to town. Oklahoma will be looking for revenge, as LSU swept the No. 9 ranked Sooners in Norman last season.
at Tennessee (April 3-5)
The Tigers head to Knoxville to battle the Tennessee Volunteers on April 3-5. The series will be a matchup of the last two College World Series Champions, making this series must-watch TV. Tony Vitello's Vols won the CWS title in 2024, with LSU going all the way in 2023 and 2025. Get your popcorn ready for this one.
at Ole Miss (April 10)
The Ole Miss Rebels eliminated LSU from the SEC Tournament last season. The Rebels defeated the Tigers by a score of 2-0 in the SEC Tournament Semifinal. Thankfully, it didn't kill any momentum for LSU en route to winning the program's eighth national title in Omaha just a few weeks later. Ole Miss and LSU did not meet in the regular season in 2025.