Jay Johnson on Thursday became the 5th straight SEC coach to be named the National Coach of The Year by Collegiate Baseball.
The LSU skipper earlier this week led the Tigers to their 7th national baseball championship at the College World Series. LSU posted a 54-17 overall record as the Tigers defeated Florida, 18-4, for the title as the Tigers posted 11 wins during the NCAA Tournament, 6 of them against SEC teams.
LSU was ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball in its preseason poll compiled last December and was ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball 13 times during the 2023 season.
After a 3-2 loss to No. 1 seed Wake Forest early in the College World Series, LSU powered through the loser’s bracket by eliminating Tennessee before it earned consecutive wins over the Demon Deacons to setup a best-of-3 championship series against No. 2-seeded Florida.
LSU won Game 1 of the series, 4-3 in 11 innings, then Florida answered with a 24-4 victory in Game 2. Then the Tigers clinched the title in Game 3.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
