LSU baseball plucks two key pieces from transfer portal

LSU coach Jay Johnson picked up two big pieces from the NCAA transfer portal on Friday.

Former Vanderbilt pitcher Christian Little reportedly committed to the Tigers, as did former North Carolina State designated hitter/first baseman Tommy White.

White’s personal Twittter account now contains an LSU background, and Little wrote “Geaux tigers,” on his Twitter account Friday afternoon.

“Happy to announce I will be continuing my college career at LSU,” White posted on Instagram.

D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reported both decisions.

White broke a 32-year-old NCAA freshman record for home runs this season with 27.

The 6-foot, 242-pounder from St. Pete Beach, Florida, was named ACC Freshman of the Year and made the All-ACC first team after hitting .362 with 85 hits, 12 doubles, 27 home runs, 74 RBIs and a .757 slugging percentage while starting 55 games in 2022.

He primarily played DH, but also at first and third. White also led all NCAA freshmen in RBIs and slugging percentage, and he had 26 multi-hit games. The IMG Academy product was a Perfect Game and Under Armour high school All-American.

Little is a 6-4, 210-pounder who played his high school ball at Christian Brothers College in St. Louis, where he was Missouri’s 2020 Gatorade High School State Player of the Year.

The righty went 1-2 with 3.42 ERA over 18 games including three starts this year, striking out 46 in 38.2 innings including the final two innings of a combined no-hitter at Kentucky in April.

Little was 3-2 with a 5.48 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 42.2 innings while appearing in 14 games including 11 starts as a freshman in 2021, when Vandy finished as the College World Series runner-up.

White and Little are LSU’s third and fourth portal pickups along with former Creighton right-handed pitcher Dylan Tebrake, a two-time Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year who went 8-2 record with a 2.71 ERA last season, and ex-Baylor shortstop/second baseman Jack Pineda, who started 105 games over the past two years and hit .300 with a .430 on-base percentage and 16 doubles, four homers and 33 RBIs in 2022.