Everything Jay Johnson Said Before LSU’s Game Against Arkansas

The LSU Tigers are preparing to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in their opening game of the 2025 College Baseball World Series. Head Coach Jay Johnson helped lead the Tigers to their Championship two years ago. This is Johnson’s fourth trip to Omaha, having twice led the Arizona Wildcats to the World Series before coming to LSU.

Ahead of the game, Johnson met with the media and talked about starting on day two in the final game of the opening round. He said, “We played on day two, also in 2023, it allows you separation from the Super Regional. It allows you to embrace the things that come along with being in Omaha which is really important and then also gives you time to settle into your routine which is preparing and executing. I feel like we’ve had a good couple days of that.”

Johnson went on to speak about the confidence level of starting pitcher Kade Anderson. He said, “I think some [guys] have it. The elite performer that has great confidence a lot of times it’s exuded in body language. I can tell when it’s authentic and when it’s not and with him, it most certainly is. He should be confident. I think his upbringing, his great parents, high expectations, great level of discipline and he’s talented. He’s a really good baseball player. He’s a really good athlete and all of those things make him unique and in my world special.”

Johnson also gave his thoughts on Arkansas star pitcher Zach Root. He said, “He’s a great pitcher. He’s one of the best pitchers in the country. It’s hard not to think about, we recruited him really hard and didn’t get him. But you know, I think what he does a really good job of is that he throws a ton of strikes and his misses are very small and so he puts a lot of pressure on the hitter where you are making a decision on every pitch because he’s going to be around the [strike] zone. Runs will not come easy in the game