BATON ROUGE — Baseball signees Jonathan Zeringue and Jay Mattox, the third and fourth-round draft picks, respectively, of the Chicago White Sox, have opted to play at LSU and forgo their pro signing options.
Zeringue and Mattox attended class at LSU Monday — the first day of the fall semester — which means they can no longer negotiate with the White Sox.
Zeringue is a catcher from E.D. White High School in Thibodaux, La., and Mattox is an outfielder from Conway (Ark.) High School.
Another signee confirming his intention to play at LSU by attending class Monday was left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas of Apple Valley (Calif.) High School, the 43rd-round selection of the Minnesota Twins.
Two drafted members of LSU’s 2001 team, outfielder Sean Barker and right-handed pitcher Billy Brian, also attended class Monday, and they will play for the Tigers this spring. Barker was drafted in the 46th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, and Brian was the 47th-round pick of the Cleveland Indians.
LSU is waiting on the decisions of second baseman Mike Fontenot and outfielder Todd Linden, neither of whom attended class Monday.
Fontenot was the first-round selection (19th pick overall) of the Baltimore Orioles, and Linden was the supplemental first-round pick (41st selection overall) of the San Francisco Giants. Fontenot and Linden are expected to make final decisions on their playing status within the next 24-48 hours.