LSU Tigers baseball
The LSU Tigers baseball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in of the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers play home games on LSU's campus at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field, and they are coached by Jay Johnson.
The Tigers are one of the major powers of college baseball, with 8 College World Series titles, most recently in 2025. They have also won 17 SEC championships and 12 conference tournament titles.
History
The early years (1893–1962)
During the program's first 30 seasons, LSU had a total of 15 head coaches. No coach's tenure lasted longer than two seasons, with the exception of C. C. Stroud, who was head coach for eight seasons.Stroud coached LSU from 1914 to 1921 and had an overall record of 73–58–5. The program won at least ten games during four of his eight seasons as head coach.
Harry Rabenhorst (1927–1956)
In 1927, Harry Rabenhorst became head baseball coach and became the longest tenured head baseball coach in LSU history. Rabenhorst began his career at LSU in 1925 as the head coach of the men's basketball team and two years later, in 1927, he also added head baseball coach to his duties. As baseball coach, he won two SEC baseball titles and was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1939 and 1946. Rabenhorst coached the baseball team from 1927 until 1942 when he left to serve in World War II. When he returned, he again coached the baseball team from 1946 until 1956. He finished his baseball coaching career with a record of 220–226–3. Later, as an athletic department administrator, he became the school's athletic director in 1967.In 1938, LSU's new baseball stadium, referred to as either LSU Diamond or LSU Varsity Baseball Field, opened. The stadium was later renamed Alex Box Stadium for Simeon Alex Box, an LSU letterman who was killed in North Africa during World War II.
A. L. Swanson
During Rabenhorst's absence serving in World War II, A. L. Swanson served as head coach from 1943 to 1945. The Tigers won the 1943 SEC Championship under Swanson.
Ray Didier (1957–1963)
was head coach at LSU for 7 seasons from 1957 to 1963. He had an overall record of 104–79–1. He coached the 1961 team to the SEC championship. He left LSU to become Athletic director and head baseball coach at Nicholls State University.Waldrop-Smith-Lamabe (1964–1983)
From 1964 to 1983, LSU was led by three head coaches. From 1964 to 1965, Jim Waldrop coached LSU for two seasons and had a 17–24 record. Jim Smith was head coach for 13 seasons from 1966 to 1978. He finished with an overall record of 238–251. When he left LSU after the 1978 season, he had the most wins of any head coach in program history. His 1975 team won an SEC championship and was LSU's first NCAA tournament team. From 1979 to 1983, Jack Lamabe was head coach at LSU for five seasons and had a record of 134–115.Skip Bertman (1984–2001)
1984–1990
After playing college baseball at Miami, coaching high school baseball, and serving as an assistant at Miami, Skip Bertman became LSU's head coach for the start of the 1984 season.In Bertman's second season, 1985, the Tigers qualified for postseason play for the first time in ten years. In his third season, LSU made its first appearance in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, the first of 11 appearances during Bertman's 18-year career. LSU returned to Omaha during the 1987 season, then failed to make the NCAA tournament in 1988, despite having a 39–21 record.
Bertman's 1989 team returned to the postseason, an appearance that started a streak of 17 consecutive postseason appearances. The 1989 team defeated Texas A&M in a regional final to qualify for the College World Series. The program also made the College World Series in 1990.
1991 national championship
The program won its first national championship in 1991, defeating Wichita State in the College World Series final.1993 national championship
The program won its second national championship in 1993, again defeating Wichita State in the College World Series final.1996 national championship
In 1996, the Tigers entered the NCAA tournament on a two-game losing streak, after being eliminated from the SEC tournament by consecutive losses to Florida and Kentucky. However, based on the team's regular season performance, LSU was selected as one of the eight regional host sites for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers defeated Austin Peay, UNLV, and New Orleans before defeating Georgia Tech, 29–13, in the regional final. In the game, LSU broke multiple NCAA records, one of which still stands today: 8 doubles in an inning.In the College World Series, the team defeated its first opponent, Wichita State, 9–8. LSU then faced Florida, which had beaten them three times in the regular season and once in the SEC Tournament, and won, 9–4. Florida came out of the losers' bracket to face LSU again, and LSU won, 2–1, to advance to the national championship game against Miami.
In the game, LSU defeated Miami, 9–8, on a walk-off home run by Warren Morris. In the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs and the tying run on third base, Morris hit a home run to right field off of Miami freshman Robbie Morrison. The home run was Morris's first of the season, and it won the 1997 Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award.
1997 national championship
LSU entered the 1997 season attempting to become the first team to win consecutive national championships since Stanford won championships in 1987 and 1988. The Tigers began the season with 19 consecutive wins, giving them 27 straight wins starting with the 1996 regional.In the South I Regional, LSU lost the winner's bracket final to South Alabama, meaning the team had to win three games within 24 hours in order to advance to the College World Series. The Tigers won a five-hour game against Long Beach State, 14–7 in 11 innings, in which Bertman was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing a balk call. LSU then defeated South Alabama 14–4 and 15–4 to advance to the World Series.
There, the Tigers narrowly defeated Rice, but Larson's home run in the bottom of the seventh gave LSU a 5–4 victory. The Tigers then defeated Stanford, 10–5 and 13–9, before defeating Alabama 13–6 in the championship game.
1998 season
In 1998, LSU hit 161 home runs. Eddy Furniss won the Dick Howser Trophy as the nation's most outstanding player and finished as the LSU and SEC all-time leader in home runs, RBI, hits, doubles and total bases. Brad Cresse and Trey McClure also earned All-America honors by hitting 29 and 27 home runs, respectively.The Tigers went undefeated in the South II Regional to reach the College World Series, seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive championships since USC won five consecutive from 1970 to 1974. LSU hit eight home runs in its first game in Omaha, defeating USC, 12–10, then hit six more in a 10–8 victory over SEC team Mississippi State. However, in the final two games, and the Tigers lost 5–4 and 7–3 to USC, which went on to win the championship with a 21–14 victory over Arizona State.
2000 national championship
In 2000, LSU's regular season record was 39–17, and the team went undefeated in the SEC tournament to earn the #2 National seed in the NCAA tournament. LSU won the Baton Rouge Regional in three games, outscoring opponents 45–4. LSU then swept a best-of-three Super Regional against UCLA, winning 8–2 and 14–8.LSU began play at the College World Series with a 13–5 win over Texas. In game two, LSU defeated USC, 10–4. In a close third game, LSU defeated Florida State, 6–3, and advanced to the championship game to face Stanford.
In the championship game on June 17, Stanford held an early 5–2 lead, but LSU scored three runs in the eighth inning with two home runs. LSU reliever Trey Hodges did not allow a run in the top of the ninth, his fourth scoreless inning of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, LSU led the inning off with a single and a walk to bring Brad Cresse to the plate with two runners on base. Cresse, who was 1–12 in the CWS prior to the at bat, hit a line drive single into left field to score Ryan Theriot from second, giving LSU its fifth national championship in 10 years. LSU had 5 players named to the All-Tournament team– Blair Barbier, Mike Fontenot, Brad Hawpe, Hodges, and Theriot. Hodges was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after finishing the CWS with a 2–0 record and one save.
LSU finished the 2000 postseason with a 13–0 record and moved to 5–0 all time in national championship games.
Retirement
Skip Bertman led the Tigers to a 44–22–1 mark during his final season as head coach in 2001. The Tigers won the West Division, reached the SEC Tournament championship game, and won the Baton Rouge Regional, but lost in three games in a Super Regional against Tulane at Zephyr Field.Bertman won 870 games, seven SEC titles, and 11 CWS appearances. His teams averaged 48 wins per year and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 16 of his 18 seasons.
His jersey number, 15, is one of four numbers retired by LSU. LSU also renamed a part of South Stadium Drive, between Nicholson and River Road, Skip Bertman Drive in his honor. The renamed portion runs past the old Alex Box Stadium, which has now been demolished following the opening of LSU's new stadium in 2009, the field of which is named for Bertman.
In a Baseball America poll published in 1999, Bertman was voted the second greatest college baseball coach of the 20th century, behind Rod Dedeaux of Southern California.
In June 2002, Bertman was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January 2003. In 2006, Skip Bertman was inducted into the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas.
After the end of the 2001 season, Bertman became LSU's athletic director. During his tenure, LSU won six total national championships and two BCS National Titles. Bertman served in the position until June 2008, and as Athletic Director Emeritus until June 2010.
In anticipation of Bertman's retirement, Louisiana-Monroe coach Smoke Laval was brought on as an administrative assistant for the LSU baseball team in 2001 and succeeded Bertman as coach in 2002. Laval was returning to LSU where he served as an assistant coach under Bertman from 1984 to 1993. In 1993, Laval left LSU for ULM. While at NLU/ULM, Laval posted a record of 241–159, a winning percentage of.603, and led the Indians to 3 NCAA regional appearances.