In the last two seasons, Jay Johnson has led LSU to a national championship and a mid-season turnaround that brought the Tigers within one game of hosting a super regional.
Other schools might be interested in seeing if he can replicate that success for them.
Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball recently spoke with Matt Moscona about the University of Texas potentially swooping in for a Johnson. Texas’ current head coach is David Pierce, but there are rumors that Texas might be moving on.
“If I were an LSU fan, I’d keep a very close eye on Texas. Because I don’t think they’re getting Jim Schlossnagle and the next option will be Jay Johnson,” Rogers said. “I don’t think they’ll get Jay, either, but I can promise you they’re going to try.”
Pierce has led the Longhorns for eight seasons and won three Big 12 regular season titles and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year twice. But after two consecutive appearances in Omaha, Texas hasn’t made it back in the last couple seasons.
Last season was a disappointing one for the Longhorns as they failed to hit the 40-win mark and were knocked out of the College Station Regional by ULL. After the season ended, Pierce was asked about his future with Texas.
“As long as the University of Texas gives me the opportunity, they’ll get everything that I have,” Pierce said.
With Texas moving to the SEC next season, Rogers thinks it’ll move on from Pierce and try to make a splash with a big-name coaching hire. He said he expects Texas to have a run at Johnson if it can’t pry Jim Schlossnagle away from Texas A&M. But despite the interest from the Longhorns, Rogers doesn’t think LSU fans have anything to worry about.
“They’re going to be really good again next year,” Rogers said. “They’ve got pretty much everyone except Montgomery back. And Jay Johnson’s a guy that, at least from their perspective, 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 if that job comes open.”
“They’re gonna shoot their shot…” 👀 @KendallRogers joined AFR with @MattMoscona and said he expects Texas 🤘 will pursue Jay Johnson if they move on from David Pierce. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/Tck62avqZM
— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) June 7, 2024
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