LSU baseball lands transfer pledge from former Tennessee pitcher, top recruit
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LSU baseball earned yet another victory, this time in the transfer portal instead of in Omaha.
The Tigers got a commitment on Thursday night from former Tennessee left-hander Ryler Smart, according to a report by LSU Tigers On SI. Smart is a former top-200 prospect out of Pearland, Texas, who originally committed to Tennessee but redshirted during his 1 season in Knoxville because of an arm injury.
Just days after winning its second national title in 3 years, LSU has been busy in the portal. Smart is now the 2nd left-handed pitcher and the fourth player overall to transfer to LSU in this cycle. He was also the second transfer to head to LSU on Thursday alone, with the Tigers also getting a commitment from North Dakota State lefty Danny Lachenmayer.
LSU has also gotten transfer portal pledges from Kansas State infielder Seth Dardar and High Point infielder Brayden Simpson.
Smart was rated as the No. 183 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and he was ranked as the No. 25 left-handed pitcher before heading to Tennessee.
Now, the Volunteers’ loss is LSU’s gain, with the defending champion Tigers filling a need at the left-handed pitcher spot with not 1 but 2 southpaws on the same day. LSU is almost certain to lose lefty ace Kade Anderson in next month’s MLB Draft, and getting Smart in the fold for the 2026 season will help fill that potentially huge void.
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.
