Seven LSU baseball players to participate in MLB draft combine this week

LSU baseball and UNC will play for a third time to decide the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional. The game will start at 5 p.m. on Monday, and the winner will host a super regional. PHOTO BY: LSU Athletics

Seven members of LSU’s 2024 team will participate in the Major League Baseball Draft Combine, which will be held Tuesday through Sunday at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.

LSU players schedule to participate in the combine this week are junior right-handed pitcher Luke Holman, sophomore left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring, sophomore first baseman Jared Jones, redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Gage Jump, junior right-handed pitcher Thatcher Hurd, junior left-handed pitcher Justin Loer and senior right-handed pitcher Christian Little.

The combine, which is being held at Chase Field for the second year in a row, will feature 319 Draft-eligible prospects. The 20-round MLB Draft will be held July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Holman, a second-team All-America and second-team All-SEC selection, posted a 9-4 record and a 2.75 ERA this season in 91.2 innings (16 starts) with 33 walks and 127 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to a .174 batting average.

Holman, a product of Sinking Spring, Pa., is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts, No. 2 in opponent batting average, No. 3 in ERA, No. 3 in innings pitched and No. 4 in wins.

Herring, a product of Southlake, Texas, posted a 6-1 record and a 1.79 ERA for the Tigers this season, working 50.1 innings over 21 appearances (one start). He recorded six saves, 13 walks and 67 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .215 cumulative batting average.

A 2024 second-team All-America and second-team All-SEC selection, Herring was 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA and five saves in SEC regular-season games, posting seven walks and 45 strikeouts in 31.2 innings (11 appearances).

Jones, a native of Marietta, Ga., hit .301 (69-for-229) this season with 14 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 59 RBI and 56 runs. His 28 home runs marked the most by an LSU player since first baseman Matt Clark also hit 28 in 2008.

Jones is No. 1 in the SEC this season in walks (59), No. 4 in home runs, No. 6 in slugging percentage (.747), No. 8 in total bases (171) and No. 11 in on-base percentage (.454).

Jump, a product of Aliso, Calif., recorded a 6-2 mark and a 3.47 ERA in 83.0 innings (17 appearances, 15 starts) with 22 walks and 101 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .218 batting average.

Jump is No. 7 in the SEC in ERA, No. 8 in opponent batting average and No. 9 in strikeouts. He was voted to the SEC All-Tournament Team after defeating Georgia, working 7.0 innings and allowing one run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Hurd, the winning pitcher in LSU’s 2023 National Championship game win over Florida, was 3-4 this season with a 6.55 ERA in 18 appearances (nine starts), recording 56 strikeouts in 44.0 innings.

Hurd, a product of Huntington Beach, Calif., turned in a brilliant outing on June 2 when he defeated North Carolina in the first game of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional championship round. Hurd worked the first 5.2 innings of the contest, limiting the Tar Heels to two runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Loer, a product of Lakeville, Minn., made a team-high 26 appearances for LSU this season, recording a 2-0 mark with a 5.92 ERA and one save. He posted 12 walks and 30 strikeouts in 24.1 relief innings.

Little, a St. Louis, Mo., native, was second on the LSU staff this season with 23 appearances, and he registered a 2-0 mark and a 6.37 ERA. The right-hander recorded 38 strikeouts in 29.2 innings, and he pitched in four of the seven combined shutouts posted by the Tigers this season.

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Tiger Rag News Services

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