Tre’ Morgan’s baseball road continues with selection by Rays

It was a little less than seven years ago that Tre’ Morgan found out he had made the varsity baseball roster at Brother Martin High School.

“I was a young kid. I was nervous,” Morgan recalled Monday. “(Coach Mark Wisniewski) said, ‘You know, we’re not scared to play freshmen. If you earn that spot, we’re going to play you.’

“The first game comes around, and my name’s actually in the lineup. That’s the year I got noticed. I owe them the world for having faith in a freshman, putting me in the lineup and allowing me to grow. The lessons they’ve taught me over the years is something I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

The former Crusader and a key part of LSU’s national championship team was selected Monday in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Morgan is expected to sign with the Rays organization in the coming days.

It wasn’t long after that freshman season at Brother Martin that Morgan was offered by then-LSU coach Paul Mainieri.

“He sat me and my dad (John) down in his office,” Morgan said during an appearance on All Access with Ken Trahan on NASH ICON 106.1 FM. “He wanted us to make a decision right there, but we took it for a little bit. I’m a kid from New Orleans; LSU is the goal to play college ball. A week later, I committed.”

Jeff Lupo replaced Wisniewski, who moved into the athletic director’s chair, as head coach after Morgan’s freshman year at Brother Martin.

“When I first met Tre’, it was at baseball camp and was 12 years old,” said Lupo, who also joined the show. “It’s impressive to see his transformation into a young man. A lot of times in education and coaching, you don’t see the rewards of our work until years down the line. To see him persevere and succeed and overcome some injuries, it’s really a model other players should look at.

“When you watch these guys grow up in front of your eyes, it’s like one of your own children. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Rarely do you see guys with talent, work ethic and discipline. It takes a lot of sacrifice. To watch Tre’ do that and Greg (Deichmann) before him, a lot of people don’t see the things that go on behind closed doors.”

In a somewhat similar script to what happened to Morgan in high school, Mainieri stepped aside after his freshman year at LSU, with Jay Johnson moving from Arizona to take over the Tiger program.

Following a sophomore year that ended in a regional loss to Southern Miss, a slew of key transfers and returnees put high hopes on the Tigers long before the first pitch of the 2023 season.

“We talked about a national championship literally since our first meeting in the fall,” Morgan said. “That was every day. We weren’t shying away from it.

“When it finally happened, we didn’t really realize what we did for the state of Louisiana. We kind of expected it. Now it’s kind of sinking in.”

The atmosphere at Charles Schwab Field was friendly to the Tigers.

“It definitely felt like a home game every single time we played,” Morgan said. “That kind of helped remove the nerves a little bit. When you’re sitting in the (batter’s) box in a big situation, that crowd’s getting you going. It was the same way in Omaha.”

LSU had to battle back twice in Omaha, first by winning two straight games over No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest just to reach the championship series.

“If we lose (against Wake), our season’s over,” Morgan said. “These guys are the top of (college) baseball this season.

“Our entire season was played like it was a one-game playoff. We played like our backs were against the wall, but it’s nothing different than we’ve been doing all season. We knew we are one of the best teams in the country, but it’s hard to beat us in a three-game series.”

After winning game 1 of the championship series against Florida in extra innings, the Tigers were throttled 24-4 in game two to force a third and deciding game.

“As soon as (game 2) ended, we got back into the locker room and Coach Johnson talked to us,” Morgan recalled. “It wasn’t anything serious. Then it turned to the players talking – ‘Once we leave this locker room, this game’s over. No one should ever mention this game again. We have one more game for the rest of our lives.’

“Once we got on that bus, the vibes were awesome and there was no stress.”

LSU turned the tables in a big way with an 18-4 victory to claim the school’s seventh baseball national championship.

The atmosphere after the game, and then in the 48 hours after the victory in Baton Rouge, put a final stamp on what Morgan knew already.

“I’ve said this for three years – LSU is the best place to play college baseball,” Morgan said. “Not just because we have the best fans in college baseball, buy because we have the best atmosphere.”

Morgan played both first base and outfield this season. What do the Rays have in mind for his future?

“I haven’t talked to them in-depth about that,” Morgan said. “I showed I can play a little outfield this season. But obviously they have a great first baseman (Yandy Diaz). The way he plays defense and hits is ridiculous. Obviously I have some developing to do, but it’s awesome to have the chance to continue my baseball career.”

Lupo thinks his career will continue for a while.

“He’s a generational player,” said the Brother Martin coach. “(I’m) really happy for him, his family and our whole community. This young man is so special and he’s got a chance to play for a really long time.

“I think he’s a great representative of our school, our city, our state. He’s still a young man. The best is still ahead of him.”

Morgan is one of five LSU players to be selected in the top three rounds of the MLB Draft, which included the top two picks on Sunday night, Paul Skenes to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Dylan Crews to the Washington Nationals.

“Paul texted me today and said congratulations,” Morgan said. “It hit me that Paul’s not on my team anymore.”

Perhaps not, but they’ll share the memories of two weeks ago, something that might have been hard to imagine when Morgan arrived on campus in 2020.

“My dad did, if you ask him,” Morgan said. “This is all just a dream, but he believed in it.”