LSU baseball is reaching up in the ranks for its next pitching coach.
The Tigers are hiring to hire Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson for the same role in Baton Rouge, a decision officially announced by the program Monday morning. The news was first reported by D1Baseball.
"We have hired, in my opinion, the best pitching coach in the country at any level," said Tigers head coach Jay Johnson in a press release.
Jay Johnson pointed to the pitching after the Tigers' disappointing loss in the Southern Miss regional, during which LSU allowed 8 runs in each of its final two losses. Pitching coach Jason Kelly departed for the head coach job at Washington earlier in July.
Wes Johnson had spent the past 4 seasons as the pitching coach for Minnesota, and had previously been an assistant at Mississippi State and Arkansas. The Twins announced plans to promote an assistant coach in Wes Johnson's place, the odd timing of a pro departure underscoring the blockbuster nature of the hire. It's not often a coach leaves a pro team mid-season for a college job.
It's a banner move in what has already been a banner offseason in the transfer portal for the Tigers. The team has already landed NC State 1B/DH Tommy White, Vanderbilt pitcher Christian Little, Creighton pitcher Dylan Tebrake and Baylor shortstop Jack Pineda.
“I believe Wes will help us recruit and develop a large number of future Major League pitchers at LSU and form them into a dominant staff for years to come. This is a huge day for LSU baseball," Jay Johnson said.
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Johnson's hire had not yet been officially announced as of 8 p.m. Sunday evening.