BATON ROUGE, La. – Coach Jay Johnson and the 2026 Fighting Tigers greeted an enthusiastic throng of supporters at the LSU Baseball First Pitch Banquet Thursday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The First Pitch Banquet, presented by David Thornton and administered by the Tiger Athletic Foundation, is an annual event that signifies the start of the college baseball season, and it provides boosters an opportunity to support the Tigers’ program.

Thursday night’s event raised a record $500,000 for the LSU Baseball program.

The members of the Tigers’ 2026 team were introduced at the start of the evening, which also featured remarks by Johnson, who directed LSU to the 2023 and 2025 NCAA National Championships, the seventh and eighth in school history.

Johnson spoke to a packed house of over 1,000 fans in the Crowne Plaza, expressing his gratitude for their tremendous devotion to the LSU program and looking forward to enhancing the Tigers’ glorious tradition.

“Our team is completely all in on what’s happening right now,” Johnson said. “You will not see any type of complacency by any player or coach, so I need the same from our fans. Keep supporting our players at such a high level, and I promise you will see a team that’s going to be completely selfless and will honor the process of winning.

“There is an incredibly high standard here, and that standard means you will see a team that respects what it takes to play that brand of baseball that you are extremely proud of. We are going to hold each other accountable, tell each other the truth and be front-and-center with what makes a great team.”

The audience also heard from shortstop Steven Milam, outfielder Jake Brown, pitcher Zac Cowan and outfielder Chris Stanfield, who provided an inside look at the 2026 squad.

Brown, a native of Sulphur, La., discussed his role as a leader on a reigning National Championship team that is No. 1 in the 2026 Perfect Game preseason poll.

“I’m super excited,” Brown said. “I’ve had the opportunity for the past three years to be around not only extraordinary athletes, but extraordinary people. My goal is to try to lead the team both on and off the field, and to help our younger guys become grown men. Not only are we a team of great baseball players, we’re going to be a team of great men, too.”

The event’s featured guest on Thursday night was former LSU All-American pitcher Ben McDonald, the 1989 Golden Spikes Award winner and No. 1 overall MLB Draft selection by the Baltimore Orioles. McDonald enjoyed a nine-year MLB career and is now a prominent baseball TV/radio analyst for ESPN and the Orioles.

McDonald engaged in a Q-and-A with the Tiger players and with LSU legend Skip Bertman, who reflected upon his arrival in Baton Rouge in 1983 and how, with the help of many in the Baton Rouge community, he was able to build a college baseball dynasty.

LSU opens the 2026 season at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, February 13, when the Tigers play host to Milwaukee in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.