Published Jun 11, 2024
Transfer Portal: Which eight players have left LSU Baseball?
Luke Hubbard  •  Death Valley Insider
Analyst
Twitter
@clukehubbard

With LSU Baseball's season over, the transfer portal becomes the main area of concern for Jay Johnson and company. So far, the Tigers haven't made any additions outside of some JUCO transfers during the season, but they have lost seven players already in the early stages of the portal, clearing up room for some moves.

There have been four pitchers and three position players to leave thus far, so let's recap the Tigers early losses from the transfer portal:

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Cam Johnson - LHP

Cam Johnson was one of the highest ranked freshman in last year's class, and LSU was very lucky to get him on campus. He was ranked as MLB's 42nd ranked draft prospect, but fell to the 20th round, most like due to the amount of money he wanted.

Johnson arrived on campus and looked very good during fall ball, but once the season came around, he struggled a bit. He made 13 appearances where he threw 9.0 innings, surrendering 12 runs on five hits and 16 walks. Command was an issue all season, but with another offseason, it felt like he could've had a big role in 2025.

Aiden Moffett - RHP

Aiden Moffett saw his role on this team significantly increase in 2024. He went from just one appearance in 2023 to 16 in 2024. He threw 17.2 innings where he gave up 11 runs on 18 hits, but had 21 strike outs.

Moffett had the biggest arm on the pitching staff. He could consistently throw in the high 90's and even hit 99 a couple times this season. It felt like he was due to be one of the top relievers for LSU next season, but he has moved on.

Micah Bucknam - RHP

Micah Bucknam had a very strong non-conference performance early in the season. Outside of a bad outing against Stony Brook, Bucknam a combined one run in six innings against NIU, LA Tech, Southeastern and Southern, however, after that Southern game on April 1st, he was hardly used for the rest of the season.

Bucknam pitched three more times against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Missouri. In those games, he totaled 3.0 IP where he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out one batter. After the season was over and he didn't pitch in the last month of the season, he entered the transfer portal to find a place where he can contribute.

Nic Bronzini - LHP

Nic Bronzini came to LSU as the 19th ranked LHP in his class, but hasn't really panned out for the Tigers. He made just six appearances as redshirt freshman where he threw 4.2 innings. He gave up three runs all season, but they all came in one outing against Mississippi State - his only SEC appearance.

He became the fourth LSU pitcher to hit the portal, leaving quite a bit of room for Jay Johnson to go add some talent.

Paxton Kling - OF

Paxton Kling is the latest causality as he entered the transfer portal on Tuesday morning. He came to LSU with very high expectations as the No. 6 recruit in his class, but it never panned out.

Whoever gets him gets a talented player with a ton of upside, he just needs to put it together.

Zeb Ruddell - OF

Ruddell was the No. 3 player and No. 1 outfielder in the state of Louisiana in the 2023 class. The talented outfielder redshirted his freshman season and saw just 10 at bats in 2024 where he recorded two hits, both of which drove in two-runs.

The Tigers have a lot of talent in the outfield, leaving little room for Ruddell to fight for a spot entering his sophomore season, so he will be playing ball elsewhere in 2025.

Austen Roellig - SS

Austen Roellig is a true freshman short stop from California. He was ranked as the 11th best SS and 37th overall player in the state of California by perfect game before signing with LSU.

In 2024, Rellig had a decent fall, but never touched the field as a true freshman. He'll likely redshirt this year with hopes of playing as a redshirt freshman elsewhere.

Derrick Mitchell - OF

Derrick Mitchell was another true freshman who entered the transfer portal after not playing for the Tigers this season.

Mitchell ranked as Texas' 5th outfielder in the 2023 class, but like Roellig, never saw the field this season.

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