Collegiate Baseball ranks LSU recruiting class no. 5 in the nation

BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU is No. 5 in the 2023 Collegiate Baseball magazine recruiting ranking released this week, as the Tigers have a talented class featuring 20 newcomers that have joined the program this fall.

The class includes 13 freshmen, six NCAA Division I transfers and one junior college transfer. The new members of the LSU ball club are now engaged in conditioning drills and individual workouts with the Tigers’ returning veterans, and the first full-squad fall practice session will take place on Thursday, October 5.

This week’s poll marks the second straight Collegiate Baseball Top 5 recruiting finish for LSU coach Jay Johnson, the 2023 National Coach of the Year who led the Tigers to the College World Series title in June. Johnson and his staff produced the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2022.

The Tigers are in the Top 10 of a recruiting ranking for the 16th time in the past 17 years. LSU has finished No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball recruiting ranking six times – 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

This is the 41st consecutive year Collegiate Baseball has evaluated NCAA Division I recruiting classes. Athletes who initially signed letters of intent with a school but then signed a pro contract after being drafted do not count in the overall evaluation; only athletes who came to school this fall are factored in.

Listed below are the members of LSU’s 2023 signing class:

Kade Anderson, LHP
Madisonville, La. (St. Paul’s HS)
• Ranked as the No. 2 overall player in Louisiana by Perfect Game for Class of 2023
• Ranked as the No. 19 left-handed pitcher and the No. 130 overall player in the nation by Perfect Game

Mac Bingham, OF
San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS/Arizona)
• Transfers to LSU after four seasons at Arizona (2020-23)
• Earned 2023 All-Pac 12 recognition after hitting .360 with 68 runs scored, 20 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 51 RBI and a .573 slugging percentage
• Selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 40th round of the 2019 MLB Draft

Michael Braswell III, INF
Mableton, Ga. (Campbell HS/South Carolina)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons at South Carolina (2022-23)
• Played in 51 games for the Gamecocks in 2023 making 37 starts … collected eight doubles, two triples, a home run and 23 RBI
• Voted to the 2022 Freshman All-SEC Team

Jake Brown, LHP/OF/1B
Sulphur, La. (Sulphur HS)
• Ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game
• No. 18 ranked left-handed pitcher in the nation by Perfect Game
• Voted the 2023 Gatorade Louisiana Baseball Player of the Year … posted a 10-2 record on the mound with a 1.71 ERA, surrendering just 39 hits in 73.2 innings pitched while striking out 118 batters … also batted .336 with seven home runs, 26 RBI and 20 stolen bases
• Selected by the Texas Rangers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB Draft

Griffin Cooley, OF
Kinder, La. (Kinder HS)
• Ranked as the No. 11 outfielder in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game
• Voted 2023 First-Team All-State in Class 3A, batting .462 on the year

Dallas Dale II, OF
Apopka, Fla. (Mount Dora Christian Academy)
• No. 9 ranked outfielder and No. 54 overall player in Florida by Perfect Game for Class of 2023
• Ranked nationally as No. 61 outfielder by Perfect Game
• Batted .400 in 2023 with 32 hits, 33 runs, nine homers and 29 RBI

Luke Holman, RHP
Sinking Springs, Pa. (Wilson HS/Alabama)
• Pitched the past two seasons (2022-23) at Alabama, where he made 31 appearances (15 starts) and posted a 4.05 ERA with 111 strikeouts in 100.0 innings.
• Worked as Alabama’s No. 1 starter in 2023, recording a 7-4 mark and a 3.67 ERA in 81.0 innings with 87 strikeouts and a .186 opponent batting average … finished No. 2 in the SEC in WHIP (1.05) and No. 3 in the league in opponent batting average and hits per nine innings (6.00)

Cam Johnson, LHP
Upper Marlboro, Md. (IMG Academy)
• Ranked nationally by Perfect Game as the No. 2 left-hander pitcher and the No. 11 overall player
• Selected in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals
• Ranked as the No. 42 overall prospect entering the 2023 Draft by MLB Pipeline

Gage Jump, LHP
Aliso, Calif. (JSerra Catholic HS/UCLA)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at UCLA
• Did not pitch in 2023 due to injury … made seven appearances as a true freshman in 2022, including three starts … finished the year with a 1-1 record, two saves, 3.86 ERA, .172 opponent batting average and 22 strikeouts over 16.1 innings
• Ranked as the No. 1 left-handed pitcher in the state of California as a high school senior

Ryan Kucherak, INF
Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS)
• The No. 2 ranked shortstop in Arizona by Perfect Game for the Class of 2023
• Ranked as the state of Arizona’s No. 15 overall prospect by Perfect Game

Trenton Lape, RHP
Bossier City, La. (Parkway HS)
• Ranked as the No. 5 third baseman and the No. 132 overall player in the nation by Perfect Game
• No. 1 ranked third baseman and No. 3 ranked overall player in the state of Louisiana by Perfect Game
• Earned 2023 Class 5A All-State recognition

Ashton Larson, OF
Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
• Ranked nationally as the No. 13 outfielder and the No. 78 overall player by Perfect Game
• The No. 1 ranked overall player in the state of Kansas by Perfect Game
• Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft

Justin Loer, LHP
Lakeville, Minn. (Lakeville South HS/Xavier University)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at Xavier
• Made 29 appearances (one start) for Xavier in 2023, posting a 6-2 record, a 1.89 ERA and seven saves in 57.0 innings with 63 strikeouts and a .182 opponent batting average
• Earned 2023 Second-Team All-Big East honors and helped lead Xavier to the Big East Conference Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid

Steven Milam, INF
Las Cruces, N.M. (Centennial HS)
• Ranked nationally as the No. 32 shortstop and the No. 119 overall player by Perfect Game
• The No. 1 overall player in the state of New Mexico, according to Perfect Game
• Voted the 2023 Gatorade New Mexico Player of the Year after batting .627 with 52 hits, 50 RBI and 65 runs … also drew 42 walks and only struck out eight times over 30 games

Derrick Mitchell, OF
Plano, Texas (John Paul II HS)
• No. 5 ranked outfielder and No. 18 ranked overall player in the state of Texas by Perfect Game
• Ranked nationally as the No. 33 outfielder by Perfect Game

Austen Roellig, INF
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Etiwanda HS)
• No. 11 ranked shortstop and No. 37 ranked overall player in the state of California by Perfect Game
• Ranked as the No. 51 shortstop in the nation by Perfect Game

MJ Seo, RHP
Carrollton, Texas (Hebron HS)
• No. 2 ranked shortstop and No. 16 ranked overall player in the state of Texas by Perfect Game
• Ranked nationally as the No. 40 shortstop and the No. 160 overall prospect by Perfect Game
• Voted to the 2023 Dallas/Fort Worth All-Area First Team

Dylan Thompson, INF/RHP
Moss Bluff, La. (Sam Houston HS)
• No. 3 ranked shortstop and No. 11 ranked overall player in Louisiana by Perfect Game
• Ranked as the No. 139 shortstop in the nation by Perfect Game

Fidel Ulloa, RHP
Lodi, Calif. (Lodi HS/San Joaquin Delta College)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif.
• Appeared in 14 games (10 starts) in 2023, posting a 5-1 record and 4.09 ERA in 55.0 innings with 75 strikeouts and a 1.29 WHIP

Kade Woods, RHP
West Monroe, La. (Ouachita Christian HS/Alabama)
• Transfers to LSU after two seasons (2022-23) at Alabama … did not pitch in 2022 due to an injury
• Posted a 4-1 record in 2023 with a 5.52 ERA, 38 strikeouts and one save in 29.1 innings … made 17 appearances, including one start, and limited opponents to a .219 batting average

Collegiate Baseball
2023 Top 10 Recruiting Classes
1. Arkansas
2. UCLA
3. Tennessee
4. Florida
5. LSU
6. Vanderbilt
7. Georgia
8. Texas A&M
9. Texas
10. Mississippi State

The entire Top 50 Collegiate Baseball recruiting ranking may be found at www.baseballnews.com.