LSU president Tom Galligan, AD Scott Woodward comment on Jay Johnson

TOM GALLIGAN: Thank you very, very much. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today as we begin writing a new chapter in the storied history of LSU Tigers baseball. We're extremely excited to welcome Jay Johnson and his wife Maureen into our LSU family. Welcome.

We really look forward to celebrating many Tiger wins with you in the years ahead.

Jay is a proven leader, a talented recruiter, a dedicated student of the game who is great at developing hitters. He's well prepared to build upon the legacy of our baseball program and lead our Tigers to even greater success in the seasons ahead.

I want to congratulate athletic director Scott Woodward on making yet another great coaching hire for LSU. I also want to really thank Coach Paul Mainieri for all the wonderful memories he's given us over the past 15 seasons and all the work that he's been doing to ensure a seamless transition into the next era of excellence for our baseball program.

Thank you again. Welcome, Jay and Maureen. Geaux Tigers!

And now I will turn it over to the person who I think is the best athletic director in the United States of America, my friend and colleague, Scott Woodward.

SCOTT WOODWARD: Thank you, President Galligan. That's too kind of you.

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, and thank you for all of those who are watching here inside Alex Box Stadium. I'm thrilled to welcome our new baseball coach Jay Johnson and his wife Maureen to LSU. I can't think of a better place for this introduction than the Champions Club because that is the legacy Coach Bertman built, the legacy Coach Mainieri continued and the legacy Coach Johnson inherits today.

It is a legacy that I'm certain Jay will continue to build upon and build upon quickly because everywhere he goes, he wins immediately. At the University of Nevada he inherited a team 14 games back in the conference standings and turned them into the Mountain West champions in two seasons. At the University of Arizona he inherited a team with six winning seasons in the conference in 30 years and brought them to the College World Series the first year to the final game. Last season he let the Wildcats to the Pac-12 championship and back to Omaha. That success is not an accident. It is the product of the most prepared coach in college baseball.

Jay's teams aren't just prepared, they produce, too. Last year his offense scored more runs than any team in the country. The last two seasons his team has led the Pac-12 in runs, hits, walks on-base percentage, slugging percentage and batting average. Needless to say, that's the kind of offense we're looking forward to.

I know these stats will be music to the ears of those LSU fans who remember fondly Coach Bertman and the "gorilla ball" days. Eddy Furniss, wherever you are, we love you, babe. We have fond memories of that. Coach Bertman is a man who established an unprecedented legacy of excellence for LSU baseball and Coach Mainieri carried it forward for 15 seasons.

When Paul announced his retirement one month ago today, I had a clear picture of the qualities I wanted in the next head coach of the premier college baseball program in the country. I wanted to hire a teacher, someone who was passionate about our student-athletes and their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. That's Jay Johnson.

I wanted to hire a winner, someone who had proven he knew how to build championship programs and bring them to Omaha. That's Jay Johnson.

Most of all, I wanted to hire someone who was ready, ready for this moment, ready for the expectations, ready to win championships, and there is nobody in the world who is more ready for this job than Jay Johnson because he's been preparing for this moment for his entire life.

It is now my pleasure to introduce to you the 26th head baseball coach of the LSU Fighting Tigers, Jay Johnson.