After LSU baseball beat Coastal Carolina for the Tigers’ eighth national title, head coach Jay Johnson and company turned their attention to building the 2026 roster.
Part of that process involves waiting for decisions from key Tigers eligible for the MLB Draft.
Baseball differs from football because a player can go through the entire draft process, get picked, and return to school. Players don’t have to declare to be draft eligible — anyone who meets the requirements is automatically eligible.
For some players, turning pro will be a no-brainer. LSU pitchers Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson will both be picked high enough that the signing bonus outweighs any benefit of returning to school. In Anderson’s case, he might be the No. 1 overall pick.
Other players, like pitcher Zac Cowan and DH/1B Ethan Frey, will have a choice. Cowan and Frey will both be picked at some point. The question will be if it’s high enough to pry the pair away from LSU.
Today, we’ll look at the case for Frey to turn pro vs. return to college. If LSU can get Frey back in 2026, the Tigers will return a two-time national champion who led LSU in OPS in 2025.
Why LSU’s Ethan Frey could turn proFrey ranks No. 130 on MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospect rankings. This is a guy who is on the radar of MLB organizations, and a strong finish to 2025 only helped Frey’s standing with MLB scouts.At 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, Frey has the size to impress MLB teams. Scouts like what they see when he steps to the plate, and that will help Frey’s draft profile.There aren’t many holes in Frey’s scouting report. He can hit righties and lefties. He hits for power and contact. MLB teams could see the righty as a safe bet.Frey has produced in the SEC, something MLB orgs are sure to take notice of after recent SEC products flew through the minor leagues. Frey has seen quality pitching since he arrived on campus.A two-time national champ, Frey doesn’t have much more to accomplish at LSU. There’s no “unfinished business” drawing him back to campus.With a .641 slugging in 2025, Frey was LSU’s most productive hitter down the stretch. If this is the peak of his draft stock, he would be wise to cash in now.It’s rare to see top 200 prospects return to school for a fourth season.Why Frey could return to schoolFrey is a junior, but he only turned 21 in March. He’s on the younger side for his class, and MLB teams won’t view him as a “super senior” if Frey waits until 2026 to turn pro.Frey played DH for LSU in 2025. His athleticism isn’t a secret, but perhaps his stock could be improved by playing a full year in the field.Frey only had 181 ABs in 2025. Frey eventually became a mainstay in the LSU lineup, but was not a full-time starter for the entire year. If Frey returns, he’ll be a central piece in the LSU lineup from the jump. That would give the senior a chance to put up monster numbers and climb into the first round.Frey’s teammate, Jared Jones, returned to school when he had a chance to turn pro last year. There’s a precedent for LSU sluggers passing up professional baseball for another year in Baton Rouge.Frey is a Louisiana native who grew up dreaming of playing at LSU. That stuff usually doesn’t matter and players do a good job of filtering out the emotion of the decision, but it can’t be ignored completely. Another strong year and Frey goes down as one of the greatest hitters in LSU history.With NIL and rev sharing, and the attention and resources LSU spends on baseball, Frey’s compensation at LSU won’t be all that different from his salary in the minor leagues. It would take an impressive signing bonus to pull Frey to the next level.