On Friday afternoon, Kendall Rogers, the managing editor of D1 Baseball, appeared on 104.5 ESPN in Baton Rouge with host Matt Mascona and had this to say about any more potential coaching changes in college baseball.
“If I were LSU fans, I would keep a very close eye on Texas. If they don’t get Jim Schlossnagle, Jay Johnson will be the very next option. I don’t think they get Jay either, but I can promise you they’re going to try.
“I think they’re going to make a change and I know how Chris Del Conte works. He wants to make a splash. He does not want to repeat what happened when they hired Pierce. I don’t think he’s going to get Jim from A&M and Jay Johnson is a guy from their perspective that would make a lot of sense. I don’t think he’s going anywhere – I’d be shocked if he went anywhere, but they’re going to shoot their shot iIf that job comes open.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, David Pierce is still the head coach at Texas, but it almost seems imminent that a change is on the way as the Longhorns head to the SEC next season and were extremely disappointing in 2024.
Rogers brings up Jay Johnson, who just finished his third season at LSU and is one season removed from a national title, as a potential replacement, but is there any validity to that report?
Johnson was asked about it on Tuesday afternoon in his media availability.
“I have not been contacted by Texas,” Johnson said. “Contractually, if I was to be contacted, Scott Woodward would be the first person that knows because that’s what it says in my contract. I’m very thankful to be here and excited about where we’re headed. It’s going to look different than what I thought 18 months ago, but that’s OK. I think I’m built for this job incredibly well because you’re going to face a lot of bullets coming at you at once. We’re not in Omaha, but there was nobody better than me positioned to help us get through what we did. I’m not saying it’s because of me, but I’m positioned to help the players at LSU and the players that commit and stay at LSU to be really successful. That’s where my focus is at.”
It’s already been a busy start to the offseason for Johnson as he’s been all-in in rebuilding and revamping this LSU roster for the 2025 season. From hosting visits to flying to see potential portal additions, Johnson is single-minded and his focus is on bringing LSU back to the standard he set last year.
“We have a process that’s always under construction,” Johnson said. “I want to be in Omaha. It’s a special experience. I want to help players develop for professional baseball and I stand by that nobody does that better. It’s not an opinion, it’s factual. If you look at the players we’ve had in my time at Nevada, Arizona, and LSU. We’re always going to develop and you can’t do that unless you’re on the field and provide a platform for improvement and execution. Hard work, determination, and investment, none of those things guarantee you success, but I know without it you don;t have a chance, We’re going to be a baseball first place. You can’t just like baseball and play for me. You build your life around baseball or this is not the place. As far as the team dynamic, none of them are perfect. That’s why we’re here, to develop all parts of this organization. We didn’t have it at the beginning, but we have that. It will be better this coming year as we change the process and the personnel structure.”
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