My LSU 2018-19 men's sports report card: Two SEC titles, record moments
The 2018-19 LSU sports season is in the books.
It’s time to exhale and issue my final report card on all Tigers’ men’s and women’s sports teams.
For the first time since 2011, the Tigers won three SEC regular season championships in an academic school year.
In 2018-19, LSU won league titles in men’s basketball, men’s outdoor track and women’s gymnastics. Also, the women’s soccer team captured its first-ever SEC tournament title.
According to the annual Learfield IMG Directors Cup standings, if Arkansas doesn’t win the College World Series, LSU will finish this school year with the SEC’s third best overall athletic program in the SEC (behind Florida and Kentucky) and 14th nationally.
Today, it’s the Tigers’ men sports report card in which LSU won the SEC basketball title for the first time since 2009. Also, the outdoor track team became the first Tigers’ squad outside of football, basketball and baseball to win a league championship since men’s tennis in 1999.
Basketball A
Even the end-of-the-year suspension of head coach Will Wade couldn’t take the shine off a season when LSU won the SEC regular season championship with 16-2 record including a 9-0 league road performance. Without Wade for the postseason, the Tigers still managed to finish 28-7 overall and advance to the Sweet 16 before losing to Michigan State.
The ups: The Tigers demonstrated the resonance and the poise of a team that seemed to play its best with its back to the wall. LSU had seven comeback wins, was 10-4 in games decided by five points or less and had a Division 1-leading five wins in overtime.
The downs: The sordid mess of Wade being suspended after refusing to meet following a Yahoo Sports report was a postseason albatross. The story provided details of a transcript of an FBI wiretap that had Wade telling recruiting middleman Christian Dawkins on a cell phone call about a “strong-ass offer” Wade made in recruiting a prospect that appears to be Tigers’ freshman signee Javonte Smart. Wade was reinstated in April.
The all-arounds: Sophomore guard Tremont Waters was named All-SEC first team, All-SEC Defensive team and co-SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 15.3 points per game, set a school steals record with 96 and hit the game-winning drive against Maryland to send LSU to the Sweet 16.
Track and field A
Sparked by jumper JaVaughn Harrison and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, the Tigers won their 23rd SEC outdoor team championship, finished third at the league indoor meet, was seventh at the NCAA outdoor championships and third at the NCAA indoors.
The ups: Duplantis’ record-breaking year in which he set the all-time college pole vault record at 19-8¼ at the SEC outdoor championships was equaled by Harrison’s history-making NCAA outdoors championship performance when he became the first man in the history of the meet (that dates back to 1921) to win both the high jump and the long jump.
The downs: If you call it a “down,” Duplantis had his season-long winning streak spoiled by finishing second in the NCAA outdoors. He was the NCAA indoors champ and won the SEC outdoors and indoors titles.
The all-arounds: Duplantis turned pro on Monday after his one season at LSU and signed an endorsement contract with Puma on Tuesday.
Football B plus
After being picked at SEC media days last July to finish fifth in the Western Division, the Tigers posted a 10-3 overall record, went 5-3 in the West tied for second with Texas A&M and finished 6th and 7th in the final AP and Coaches Polls. Graduate transfers Joe Burrow at quarterback and Cole Tracy at placekicker had a hand or a foot in 63.4 percent of the Tigers’ 421 points for the season.
The ups: LSU served notice that the preseason predictions may have been wrong when it blasted then-No. 2 Georgia 36-16 in Tiger Stadium a week after the Tigers suffered their first loss of the year at Florida. LSU converted four fourth-and-short gambles against the Bulldogs to sustain three drives that produced 13 points.
The downs: Then-No. 1 Alabama played its best game of the season in a 29-0 shutout of the Tigers in Tiger Stadium. The Crimson Tide outgained LSU 576-196 in beating the Tigers for the eighth straight time.
The all-arounds: Devin White was picked No. 5 overall by Tampa Bay in the 2019 NFL Draft after a junior season in which he was LSU’s first winner of the Butkus Award as college football’s top linebacker. He also earned consensus first-team All-America honors, as did safety Grant Delpit.
Baseball B
A preseason No. 1 choice in several polls, LSU’s season was derailed by pitching injuries that started back in fall preseason practice and continued through to the very end. Considering the Tigers batted just .273 and had a 4.64 earned run average, it’s amazing they finished 40-26 and hosted a Super Regional in which they were edged in two straight games by Florida State.
The ups: Senior outfielder Antoine Duplantis closed his storied career as LSU’s all-time hits leader with 359 hits. In his final game as a Tiger in LSU’s 5-4 Super Regionals loss to Florida State in 12 innings, he was 4-for-6 and a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He finished with a career batting average of .324, starting 268-of-269 games.
The downs: Injuries prevented the Tigers from developing a steady pitching rotation. LSU had a starting pitcher last six or more innings just four times in the last 33 games, a reason why the Tigers won just six of 10 SEC series and finished 17-13 in league play. Against the four SEC teams that have advanced to the College World Series – Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn and Arkansas – LSU was a combined 7-6.
The all-arounds: The Tigers had six players selected in the major league draft, led by shortstop Josh Smith picked by the New York Yankees in round two and outfielder Zach Watson by the Baltimore Orioles in round three.
Golf C
After finishing ninth in the SEC championships, LSU rallied to qualify for its eighth NCAA national championship tournament appearance in 10 years. But the Tigers failed to advance to the fourth round of stroke play.
The ups: In the final round of the NCAA Stanford Regional, the Tigers erased a three-stroke deficit to Ole Miss and advanced to the NCAA national championships by a single stroke over the Rebels.
The downs: LSU was 20-over par and in 19th place after the first day of the NCAA national championships and never gave itself a chance. Senior Luis Gagne, the Tigers’ best player, eventually finished in a tie for 77th.
The all-arounds: Gagne, Philip Barbaree and Trey Winstead were named to the PING Southeast All-Region team. Also, Gagne and Barbaree were voted All-SEC second team. Gagne finished his career second in school history in stroke average (71.54) just behind Sam Burns. He’s also second with 32 top-20 career finishes. Gagne qualified to play in this week’s U.S. Open.
Swimming and diving C minus
LSU finished 10th at the SEC championships.
The ups: At the league championships, diver Juan Celaya-Hernandez won the gold medal on the one-meter springboard with a score of 440.30 and took the bronze on the platform with a score of 409.35. At the 2019 NCAA championships, he won the one-meter consolation final and finished third platform to earn All-American honors. He won 19-of-24 events during the season.
The downs: The Tigers failed to win a single dual meet against SEC opponents, going 0-for-6.
The all-arounds: Celaya-Hernandez was the only LSU diver or swimmer to earn All-SEC first-team honors.
Cross-country D
LSU didn’t finish higher than fourth in any of its six meets, including a last place finish in the SEC championships and was 15th in the NCAA South Central Regional.
The ups: None.
The downs: This team was never a threat to win any meet.
The all-arounds: LSU had no runners selected for All-SEC postseason honors.
Tennis D
After going 11-1 in non-conference play, LSU was introduced to reality. The Tigers went 5-9 the rest of the way, including 3-8 in the SEC and going one and out in the league tournament.
The ups: Opening the season with six shutouts in its first 11 wins made the year look promising until. . .
The downs: LSU lost six of eight in SEC play by a deficit of three matches are more.
The all-arounds: Boris Kozlov was the only Tiger to earn post-season honors, named to the All-SEC freshman team. He tied for the team lead with 21 overall wins on the year, compiled 17 victories in the dual season with wins on courts three and four and had a team-best seven wins in conference play.