LSU Baseball's transfer portal class ranked No. 2 by D1 Baseball

With college baseball growing nearer and nearer, D1 Baseball has begun to put out their preseason rankings. On Wednesday, D1 Baseball released their transfer portal rankings for this season, and the defending national champs brought in the second ranked class.

The Tigers brought in seven transfers who are expected to play an immediate role on this team for the 2024 season. I thought we'd go through and take a look at where each of the transfers came from and how they performed at their old homes.

Michael Braswell made his way to Baton Rouge from Columbia, South Carolina. Braswell was one of the best shortstops in the SEC last season and Jay Johnson has said he will be the day one starter.

Braswell enters his third season in college and gives the Tigers probably the best defensive shortstop in the conference. He's not a huge offensive threat, but he can put the bat on the ball and get on base. In 2022, Braswell hit .284 with nine doubles and two home runs en route to All-SEC freshman honors.

He'll replace Jordan Thompson, and barring any injuries, he'll likely start at shortstop pretty much every game this year.

Mac Bingham transferred to LSU from Arizona where he spent two years (2020-2021) under Jay Johnson. The outfielder earned All-Pac 12 honors in 2023 while batting .360 with 86 runs scored, 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 51 RBI's.

Johnson is very excited about the talent he has in the outfield, and I'm sure the plan is for Bingham to play a lot in 2024. He's a fifth year and was recruited by Johnson twice now, so they duo are very familiar with each other and have a lot of trust between them.

Holman is a junior who played his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide. The former Alabama right handed pitcher has made 31 appearances in his career and has an ERA of 4.05 with 111 strikeouts in exactly 100 innings of work.

Holman was ranked as the 28th best junior entering this season by Perfect Game and should play a big role in this pitching staff in 2024. He was also named to PG's preseason All-American Third-Team.

Holman will likely be a weekend starter for the Tigers this year. He was the Tide's No. 1 option last season and he could work his way to be the Tigers No. 1 arm this season.

Gage Jump is a name you need to remember for this season. He transferred to LSU from UCLA, but he didn't pitch at all in 2023 coming off of Tommy John surgery.

Jump made seven appearances as a freshman in 2022, holding opponents to a .172 batting average while striking out 22 batters in 16.1 innings. He was ranked as the 43rd best junior by Perfect Game, but I think he has the talent to be higher than that.

Jump looked really good in fall ball, even though he didn't pitch all that much. Whether he's starting or coming out the bullpen, Jump has some electric stuff and will be must watch TV when he's on the mound.

Loer is a left handed pitcher who spent his first two seasons at Xavier. Loer earned Second-Team All-Big East honors in 2023 as he helped lead Xavier to the Big East conference title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

In his two seasons with Xavier, Loer appeared in 29 games, making only one start, and posted a 6-2 record behind a 1.89 ERA. He totaled 63 strikeouts in 57 innings while holding opponents to a .182 batting average.

He'll play a key role in the Tigers bullpen this season and should be one of the save leaders on this team.

Ulloa is probably a name you haven't heard before. He transferred to LSU from San Joaquin College where he played his first two seasons of college baseball.

In his time there, Ulloa appeared in 14 games, making 10 starts, and earned a 5-1 record. He posted a 4.09 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 55.0 innings of work.

I don't know how much of Ulloa we'll see this season, but he'll get some work and will likely play a bigger role in the 2025 season.

Woods is a native of West Monroe, Louisiana and played his first two seasons alongside Luke Holman at Alabama.

He made 17 appearances with the Tide and threw a total of 29.1 innings. He posted a 4-1 record behind a 5.52 ERA while striking out 38 batters and making one save.

Out of his 17 appearances, Woods made one start, so I'd expect to see him come out of the bullpen for the Tigers in 2024.