After winning 2 Nationals Championships over the last 3 seasons, expectations are sky high once again for Jay Johnson and the LSU Baseball program. On Thursday, Perfect Game USA released its preseason College Baseball Top-25 rankings. Not surprisingly, LSU claims the No. 1 spot.
Lane Kiffin can land another huge bonus if Ole Miss beats Miami
Including LSU, a total of 9 SEC teams are featured in the rankings. The Tigers are followed by No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 6 Mississippi State, No. 8 Texas, No. 10 Auburn, No. 12 Florida, No. 15 Georgia and No. 19 Vanderbilt.
LSU also claimed the top spot in the 2023 Perfect Game USA preseason rankings, and then went on to win the national title behind Tiger legends Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. Last year's 2025 Championship team began the season ranked No. 2.
2026 Preseason College Baseball Top 25 📈https://t.co/M8pJBw6Qmx pic.twitter.com/k4EuJx1NQU
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) January 8, 2026
Jay Johnson looking to continue the magic into 2026
Johnson is set to enter his 5th season in Baton Rouge when the 2026 begins next month. He owns an overall record of 190-77 (.712), which includes a 68-51 (.571) mark in SEC play. In addition to leading the Tigers to a pair of National Championships, he's also been named the National Coach of the Year in 2023 and 2025. He was previously named the Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2015 with Nevada and the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2021 with Arizona.
For his efforts in Baton Rouge, Johnson was given a well-deserved contract extension and raise during the offseason. He will make $3.05 million in 2026, which is a substantial increase of his 2025 salary of $1.67 million. With his new deal, Johnson's compensation will increase annually by $100,000 until it reaches $3.65 million in 2032. He is now officially the highest-paid coach in college baseball.
Baseball season is right around the corner
Johnson and the Tigers return 19 players from last year's championship team. Returning position players include senior outfielder Chris Stanfield, senior infielder Tanner Reaves, junior shortstop Steven Milam, junior outfielder Jake Brown, and sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel, while returning pitchers include senior right-hander Zac Cowan, senior right-hander Connor Benge, junior right-hander Gavin Guidry, and sophomore right-hander Casan Evans.
LSU's incoming 2026 recruiting class includes 20 players, nine of which come from the high school ranks. The other 11 come via the transfer portal, with 8 coming from other Division I programs.
Don' look now, but the start of the 2026 season is right around the corner. LSU's 2026 season begins in just over a month on Friday, February 13 when the Tigers host Nicholls State at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.