Jay Johnson is already in uncharted territory as a college baseball coach, and his LSU baseball program is just 4 days removed from winning its 2nd national title in 3 years.
Johnson became the fastest baseball coach to win multiple national championships at any school when LSU took down Coastal Carolina in a 2-game sweep in the Championship Finals series. The Tigers took care of business in Game 1 on Saturday in a pulsating 1-0 victory, then prevailed 5-3 in Game 2 on Sunday to nail down the championship, which was Johnson’s 2nd at LSU in his first 4 seasons in Baton Rouge.
Now, Johnson can kick back for a while and enjoy the fruits of another College World Series title run. Right?
Wrong.
LSU celebrated its 2025 national title in front of its home fans at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night, and it was all wonderful. And now? For Johnson, now it’s immediately onto focusing on winning the 2026 title and having another celebration at this time next year.
Johnson was on SEC This Morning on Thursday, just hours after that home celebration, and he was already pushing himself and his program toward another championship.
“When you’re in college baseball, you realize how hard it is to accomplish that. We’ve had a great run here of players, and we’re well-supported by the fans,” said Johnson.
Then he was asked about doing it all over again.
“You know, thinking about it, championships don’t happen overnight. This didn’t happen because we got hot. You kind of have to honor the process of what it takes to do it. The next one, as we’re celebrating this, we’re trying to catch up to transfer portal recruiting. It’s been multitasking and trying to get caught up on going and winning another one. That’s immediately at the forefront of our minds,” explained Johnson.
Now, the work begins again, the process starts again, and Johnson’s focus turns to the 2026 season and bringing a 3rd national title back to Baton Rouge.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
