By ERIC OLSON<\/p>\n
LSU has won two of the last three national championships<\/a> and has a real shot to become the first Division I baseball program since the dominant Southern California teams of the early 1970s to win three in four years.<\/p>\n Jay Johnson, the first coach to win multiple national titles in his first four years at a school, clearly likes the team he\u2019ll put on the field when the season opens Friday at home against Milwaukee. But he doesn\u2019t want to hear any talk of repeating in February, considering the hard lesson his Tigers learned the year after they won it all in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll always appreciate what we did last year, but we have to move on to this year and be all in on right now,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we have set a good blueprint of what it\u2019s going to take to be successful and those things really aren\u2019t that much different. The jungle we play in, which is the best conference in any sport across the country, requires your absolute best.\u201d<\/p>\n LSU, which extended the Southeastern Conference\u2019s stranglehold on the title to six years, enters the season ranked No. 1 in the writers\u2019 and coaches\u2019 polls and by Perfect Game and No. 2 behind UCLA by D1Baseball.com and Baseball America. <\/p>\n Among other top teams are 2025 national runner-up Coastal Carolina, Texas, Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Auburn, Louisville and TCU.<\/p>\n LSU lost 11 players to pro baseball from the 53-win team that swept through the College World Series, including the No. 3 overall draft pick in pitcher Kade Anderson. The Tigers bring back seven position players with starting experience at LSU and 10 pitchers who have recorded innings for the Tigers. They signed a top-three high school recruiting class and a group of nine transfers ranked No. 5 by D1Baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever seen this, where we lost so much contribution from a team that reached the pinnacle, and we return so much from the team that reached the pinnacle,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably a credit to recruiting and balance. We have not sold out to just portal city. We\u2019ve developed really good high school players here, and I think last year\u2019s freshman class was by far the best group of freshmen we\u2019ve brought in.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tigers could have the best outfield in the country. Leadoff man Derek Curiel led the Tigers with a .345 batting average, 20 doubles and 67 runs and was error-free in 62 games in left field and three in center. The first-team preseason All-American will play mostly center this season, trading places with Chris Stanfield. LSU also brings back right fielder Jake Brown, who batted .320 for the season and a team-best .385 in the CWS. Brown and Stanfield committed just one error apiece last season.<\/p>\n Shortstop Steve Milam is projected to be a late first- or early second-round draft pick in July and anchors an infield that will have three new starters. Cade Arrambide, who backed up Luis Hernandez, takes over behind the plate.<\/p>\n