How each of LSU baseball's true freshmen fared in 2024 (2024)

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Milam is just a freshman, but he quickly became one of the most recognizable figures in the sport over the last month. Milam delivered with a walk-off home run in the SEC Tournament semifinal and did it again, not more than a week later, in the regional opener against Wofford.

Milam didn’t garner the same hype as some of his peers coming out of high school and went undrafted, but he was the top player in the state of New Mexico.

On the year, Milam hit .326 with eight homers. His strikeout rate was just 13.7%, which puts his bat-to-ball skill among the best in the SEC. The way Milam finished the year should have fans excited for his sophom*ore campaign. Going back to the start of the SEC Tournament, Milam posted a .727 slug.

Cam Johnson was LSU’s top-ranked signee of the class. Perfect Game slotted Johnson as the second-best lefty in the country and the No. 11 ranked player overall. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 20th round but opted to go to school.

The book on Johnson as a recruit was he had all the right stuff, but the command needed some touching up. He saw limited action in 2024, but that scouting report looked accurate. Johnson struck out 13 in nine innings but walked 16. Opponents hit just .167 off the lefty, but they didn’t need to hit much given the amount of free passes.

The strikeout rate and batting average are reasons for optimism, and Johnson still projects as a weekend starter in the future.

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Anderson is another pitcher the LSU faithful should get excited about. He was the No. 19 ranked LHP in the class and put that stuff on display in 2024, striking out 59 in 38.1 innings pitched.

Jay Johnson went to Anderson a lot this postseason, and he didn’t allow a single earned run in the SEC Tournament or the Chapel Hill regional.

He’ll have to put it all together and he’s still figuring some things out, but Anderson looks like a slam-dunk for the weekend rotation as soon as next year.

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Larson didn’t see many consistent ABs until late March, but when he did get his chance, he did enough to become an everyday outfielder. He hit just under .300 and his .827 OPS was middle of the pack in the SEC, but those are respectable numbers for a first-year player.

Larson homered three times and swiped six bases, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take a leap in both of those categories next year.

LSU will count on Larson to be a key bat in 2025.

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Jake Brown was a two-way star in high school but stuck to hitting his first year in Baton Rouge. He was Louisiana’s top-ranked recruit in the 2023 class, and the talent is evident when you watch him on the field.

On the year, he made 21 starts but hit just .264. He flashed his power with four homers and eight of his 24 hits went for extra bases.

Like Larson, he didn’t see much time early but became a fixture in the lineup late in the year. If Brown puts it all together, he has the tools to be one of the best all-around players in the SEC.

Kucherak was the No. 15 ranked player in the state of Arizona when he signed. The infielder appeared in 16 games but made just one start. Just two of his ABs came in conference play.

In the limited sample, he posted an OBP of .471. That’s promising, but there’s still a lot of unknown here. With opportunities opening up on the infield, he should compete for a starting spot.

• MJ Seo
• Trenton Lape

• Dylan Thompson
• Austen Roellig (Entered transfer portal on June 3)
• Derrick Mitchell
• Dallas Dale (Entered transfer portal on June 5)
• Griffin Cooley