Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers continue navigating a critical stretch in June with the program set to compete in the College World Series while working through the NCAA Transfer Portal market.
The Tigers will hop on a flight to Omaha (Neb.) on Wednesday with Game 1 of LSU's quest at a National Championship set for Saturday night against Arkansas.
But LSU will also be keeping in contact with multiple Transfer Portal targets this month with the staff looking to retool the roster ahead of next season.
The program has already see over a handful of players reveal their intentions of departing Baton Rouge via the portal with LSU now having roster spots to work with.
Now, the Tigers have reportedly been in touch with Baylor Bears weekend starter Carson Bailey.
Following an impressive freshman campaign for Baylor in 2025, Bailey elected to hit the portal and test the free agent market.
The left-hander tallied a 4.89 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched while striking out 56 batters on his way to a 3-3 record.
TRANSFER: @BaylorBaseball weekend starter and LHP Carson Bailey has entered the Transfer Portal. Very intriguing arm. Had an ERA of 4.89 this season along with 56 K, 21 BB in 53.1 inning, but big arm w/ FB up to 98 + 40% whiff on SL.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 9, 2025
Profile: https://t.co/VE1jgpFpHF
Portal:… pic.twitter.com/9Z3DVuELlG
Bailey made 13 appearances during his freshman season in 2025.
He has a fastball that's reached 98 mph and handled business in the Big 12 as a weekend starter in his first season in Waco (Tex.).
Now, the Tigers have reported interest in the talented southpaw where he will be a coveted name in the portal market.
LSU has added a pair of newcomers to the 2026 roster to this point with the staff looking to reconstruct another College World Series caliber group.
The LSU Tigers landed a commitment from High Point infielder Brayden Simpson last week as the program's first portal addition.
Simpson, one of the top prospects in the NCAA Transfer Portal, is coming off of a career season in North Carolina.
The coveted infielder primarily handled business as a third baseman for High Point this past season where he shined for his Panthers squad.
Simpson had a dominant two-year stretch at High Point with his 2025 campaign quickly putting his name on the map.
He rounded out the season batting .389 with 22 home runs, 77 RBI and a .477 on base percentage this past season.
Simpson is a Swiss Army Knife in the infield and has also spent some time at first base in 2024 and second base in 2023.
In 2024, the talented High Point transfer started in all 62 games where he batted .300 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI. He started in 58 games this year.
Dardar, a Louisiana native, began his career at Columbia prior to making the move to join the Kansas State Wildcats.
During the 2025 season, he logged a team best .326 batting average with 18 doubles and a 1.065 OPS.
A consistent hitter, Dardar tallied 60 hits, 45 RBI and 13 home runs last season for his Wildcats squad.
BREAKING: Jay Johnson strikes again in the Transfer Portal with a commitment from Kansas State infielder Seth Dardar.
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) June 8, 2025
The Louisiana native had a strong 2025 season after hitting .326 with 18 doubles, 13 HR + 45 RBIs.#LSU adds the talented infielder to the mix after a visit. pic.twitter.com/PfWe1RFa9Y
The New Orleans (La.) Holy Cross standout started in 50 games for Kansas State on his way to becoming a coveted transfer in the portal.
Now, he's made his move. Dardar will head home to suit up for the Bayou Bengals in his final season of eligibility.
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After finally coming to terms with previous allegations, the Wisconsin Badgers athletics department once again must address bold claims. Previously, multiple Wisconsin women’s basketball players came forward to speak out about the toxic culture created by coach Marisa Moseley. The players claimed that Moseley would make threats to players who were not performing and would not allow a former player to take a leave from the team due to mental health struggles. Moseley subsequently resigned and nearly the entire roster left Wisconsin without having much to say about the situation. With the Moseley situation done and dusted and coach Robin Pingeton now controlling the team, another issue has developed. Former Wisconsin Badgers cross country runners who were a part of the 2021 team that finished 12th in the country have made various allegations towards former coach Mackenzie Wartenberger. The former coach resigned in 2022 and subsequently vanished for a while from the public eye afterwards, enduring a major career change that led the coach away from sports. Wisconsin Badgers Runners: Ran Fearful of Coach, Potentially Performing Poorly Five former runners including Alissa Niggemann, Brogan MacDougall, Madison Mooney, Alexa Westley, and Victoria Heiligenthal recently spoke up about the situation since nothing had come of previous conversations with the school. The runners accused Wartenberger of emotionally abusing them through a series of guilt trips and body shaming comments. The former coach would allegedly speak to the runners about the importance of winning and performing well to “produce results” in order for her to “keep her job” in the future. Wartenberger also allegedly disclosed her contractual situation with the runners, claiming the success of the Wisconsin Badgers each year was directly correlated to her next contract. The former Wisconsin Badgers runners not only felt like the coach would over extend with some comments, but also faced verbal and sometimes physical abuse when the comments about job security would fail. Niggemann claims Wartenberger once pulled her off a practice trail by the hair due to slow times while MacDougall noted that she would be body shamed when struggling to perform. Plenty of time has passed since the incidents occurred and Wartenberger has since pursued a career outside of collegiate sports. However, the situation has come about again after the runners claim the Wisconsin Badgers athletic department was notified of the situation, but did not act upon any of the complaints. A December 2021 email sent by the mother of MacDougall to athletic director Chris McIntosh was allegedly never acted upon. Wartenberger announced her shocking resignation less than a month later via video call and later declined to speak about what the runners have had to say. The only response coming from the former coach was in reference to the stress faced in the position and the eventual mental breakdown that it had allegedly led to. Wartenberger claims that prior to her resignation the walls had felt like they were closing in and the stress of balancing a rolling contract and producing incredible results led to her resignation. Currently, the former coach now works as a security architect and states that she felt “inspired” by the “fearlessness” of her former athletes to challenge herself and change careers. Fear was exactly what her former runners felt during her tenure with the Wisconsin Badgers however as Westley stated that fear actually led to such a delay in telling anyone about the situation. The former runners allegedly felt scared about what Wartenberger would do if she had found out about the complaints, and even after her resignation many runners still felt speaking up about the situation could result in some sort of response from the coach.
With the trade for Ryan McMahon now complete, it would seem New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has fulfilled one of his three priorities. He can now cross third base off the list, which leaves the rotation and bullpen as his remaining priorities. However, according to one Yankees writer, Cashman might not be done with the infield. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported this after the McMahon trade: “The Yankees may not be done adding to their infield. A team source said the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed hitter who could play the infield.” Kirschner adds that the Yankees have had interest in Willi Castro and Amed Rosario. But the question now is, how would another player fit in the Yankees’ infield? Needless to say, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. aren’t going anywhere, and McMahon is just getting there. That leaves the low-hanging fruit. Anthony Volpe has been at the center of controversy all this season. His 13 errors, many of which had come at make-or-break moments, amount to the second-highest total in the game. In addition, his bat has not been able to compensate, hitting .214/.286/.407 with 14 home runs. There was always a lot to like about Volpe. He won a Gold Glove in his rookie year, his power has always been promising and his speed is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, his glove has become a liability and his speed has also produced very few results. Volpe has swiped just 10 bags in 17 attempts. His power is the one thing that still has some upside, but it hasn’t been enough to justify a spot in the lineup. Both Castro and Rosario have been far more productive at the plate this season than Volpe. Kirschner doesn’t clarify how serious the Yankees are in their pursuit of another infielder, but that most likely isn’t available information. Having just turned 24, Volpe could still become the type of player that was expected from him as a top prospect. However, his recent performance has weighed heavily on his team’s efforts and it may be buying him a ticket out of the Bronx — or at least a spot on the bench.
After years of speculation and nothing materializing, the New York Yankees have at last acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz are headed to the Mile High City in return. They were the number eight and 21st-ranked prospects in the Yankees' farm system, per MLB.com. Given the Yankees' struggles at the third-base position over the last few years, bringing in a guy who was an All-Star in 2024 and will be much more reliable is a win. Former MLB player and current analyst Cameron Maybin certainly believes that, as he was pushing the McMahon-to-New York narrative over the last week and feels it could be a great fit for both sides. "The third baseman they need plays in Colorado...I'm telling you! Defensively more than adequate and Taylor made for the ballpark offensively," Maybin wrote on social media. Maybin went on to mention how McMahon will feel reinvigorated joining a World Series contender like the Yankees after the last six-and-a-half years of being at the bottom in Colorado. The 30-year-old is not having his best season, slugging 16 home runs and 35 RBI with a .217 average through 100 games with the Rockies, per MLB.com stats. However, he's consistently been a 20-plus home run hitter who drives in runs at a strong rate and has a large sample size of doing so. Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez (.252 average, 36 HRs, 86 RBI) has seemed to be No. 1 target for most teams, and for good reason, but given the Yankees' current situation and weaknesses, McMahon made more sense. Not only does he play a better third base, which New York desperately needs, but he has another two years of control after 2025, whereas Suarez would have been a rental. The acquisition cost was nothing crazy, and adding a lefty bat with some power to potentially take advantage of the short porch at Yankee Stadium is always a bonus. Some may not be satisfied until they see McMahon positively impacting the New York Yankees, but rest assured, this is a very solid pickup.
The Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached an agreement with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, putting an end to what became the story of the offseason for the team. Stewart, drafted 17th overall in this year's draft, has finally agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, according to his agent Zac Hiller of LAA. Now with this deal done, every first-round pick is signed. The road to this deal was a bumpy ride. For months, negotiations between Stewart’s camp and the Bengals front office stalled due to disagreements over contract language, particularly around guarantees. The team pushed to include contract language that could void the deal under certain off-field circumstances, but since other Bengals first-round picks did not face similar terms, Stewart stood firm and refused to sign. Both sides remained firm throughout the offseason, leading to a long standoff and a lot of reports of frustration from both sides. Despite the frustration and disagreement, the Bengals and Stewart’s group continued to engage in conversations, trying to find a resolution to the issue. And finally, after weeks of back and forth and weeks of controversy surrounding what Stewart may be forced to do, both parties appear to have met in the middle and found common ground. For the Bengals, getting Stewart signed and ready for training camp is a major win. Stewart was viewed as a developmental prospect who needed plenty of on-field reps to reach his full potential. Stewart's absence from earlier camps had slowed a lot of his progress. With the contract dispute resolved, he can now focus entirely on gaining important reps and continuing his development over the coming weeks. Now with this contract done and over with, the team can put their full focus on Trey Hendrickson, who is also seeking a long term deal. If the Bengals can get a deal done with Trey before the season kicks off, they would secure their edge-rushing room for not only 2025, but for years beyond. For a team looking to go all in on making the playoffs, signing Stewart was long overdue. Now it will be vital for the team to get Stewart up to speed with the rest of the roster, and allow him to get as many reps as possible before the 2025 season begins.