LSU Gold
Position
Outfield
Height
6'2
Weight
173
Class
Junior
Hometown
Monroe, La.
B/T
L
High School
Ouachita Christian School

2015 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2015 SEC All-Defensive Team
2015 Second-Team All-Louisiana
2014 SEC All-Tournament Team
2014 SEC Academic Honor Roll
2013 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

MLB Draft: 9th round in 2015 (Philadelphia)

LSU’s primary starter in right field for three seasons (2013, ’14, ’15) … batted .308 (223-for-724) in his LSU career (186 games) with 27 doubles, four triples, one homer, 69 RBI, 139 runs and 40 stolen bases … brings a left-handed hitting presence to the lineup that can handle the bat and absolutely fly around the bases … possesses a tool that cannot be taught, game-changing speed … a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll as a kinesiology major … batted .358 in the 2014 Cape Cod League for the Bourne Braves with four doubles, two triples, one homer, 22 RBI, 23 runs and 17 steals … also played in the ’14 Cape Cod League All-Star Game … selected in the ninth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and signed with the Phillies in the summer of ’15.

2015 Season
Played in 64 games (63 starts), batting .323 (84-for-260) with 10 doubles, one triple, one homer, 24 RBI, 53 runs and 25 stolen bases … finished No. 4 in the SEC in stolen bases (24); No. 12 in the SEC in runs scored with 53; voted to the SEC All-Defensive Team by the league coaches … 4-for-12 in the College World Series with one double and one RBI … batted .323 (10-for-31) in LSU’s eight NCAA Tournament games with one double, two RBI, three runs and one steal … hit .375 (6-for-16) in the Miss. State series (April 30-May 2) with three runs scored and two steals … the Tigers’ leading hitter in the Auburn series (April 10-12), batting .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, two RBI, three runs and two stolen bases … hit .353 (6-for-17) in four games vs. Tulane and Kentucky (March 24-29) with one triple, one homer, three RBI and four runs … Laird’s homer, an inside-the-park dinger in LSU’s win March 24 at Tulane, was the first HR of his college career … Laird’s home run was the first inside-the-park homer for an LSU player since Tyler Moore accomplished the feat on June 1, 2014 versus Houston in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional … batted .500 (7-for-14) in the Arkansas series (March 19-21) with three RBI and three runs scored … 3-for-5 vs. Stephen F. Austin (March 3) with one double and one run scored … batted .400 (6-for-15) in four games from Feb. 26-28 with one double, one RBI, five runs and one stolen base … hit .455 (5-for-11) in the Princeton series (Feb. 27-28) with one double, one RBI and four runs.

2014 Season
Played in 59 games with 58 starts (53 in right field, five in left field) … batted .291 (65-for-223) with 10 doubles, two triples, 27 RBI, 38 runs and 10 stolen bases … hit .333 (12-for-36) in LSU’s eight postseason games with one double, one triple, five RBI and nine runs scored … named to the SEC All-Tournament team after hitting .471 (8-for-17) with one double, one triple, four RBI and six runs … delivered his second game-winning, walk-off hit in less than two weeks in 8-7 win over Tennessee (April 25); Laird’s two-out single with runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth lifted LSU to the victory … Laird also lined a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning on April 12 to give LSU a 5-4 win over Arkansas … hit .412 (7-for-17) in the Tigers’ four games during week of April 15-19 (vs. Southern Miss and Ole Miss) with one double, two RBI and three runs … batted .462 (6-for-13) in the Tigers’ four games from April 2-6 (vs. McNeese State and Mississippi State) with two doubles, one triple and five RBI … 3-for-4 in April 6 win over Miss. State with two doubles, two runs and a career-best four RBI … collected six hits in 14 at-bats in the Tigers’ four games during the week of March 19-23 (vs. South Alabama and Georgia), batting .429 with one double, one RBI, two runs, three walks, one steal and a .529 on-base percentage.

2013 Season
Played in 63 games (59 starts – 33 in right field; 26 in center field) … batted .307 (74-for-241) with seven doubles, one triple, 18 RBI, 48 runs and six stolen bases … 5-for-9 (.556) in the College World Series with one double … hit a team-best .400 (14-for-35) in all of LSU’s postseason games with one double, two RBI and three runs … batted .478 (11-for-23) in five NCAA Tournament games with one double, one RBI and three runs … 5-for-9 (.556) in NCAA Super Regional vs. Oklahoma with one RBI and two runs … 2-for-5 with one double, one RBI and two runs scored in win over McNeese State (April 30) … batted .500 (6-for-12) against Auburn (March 22-24), recording one double and one RBI while scoring seven runs in three games … 4-for-5 vs. Washington (March 10) with one RBI and one run scored; also 4-for-5 vs. BYU (Feb. 21) with one double and two runs scored.

Prior to LSU
The 2012 and 2010 Louisiana Class 1A Most Valuable Player … also named Northeast Louisiana Pitcher of the Year in 2012, and was voted to the All-State Academic Composite Team … recorded a career batting average at Ouachita Christian of .454 with 168 hits, 52 stolen bases and a 1.00 pitching ERA … batted .474 as a senior in 2012 and posted a 0.72 ERA on the mound … hit .492 with 18 steals as a sophomore and .462 with 17 steals as a freshman … was also the 2011 and 2010 MVP of the Louisiana state football title game as a wide receiver and defensive back … earned All-America and All-State accolades as a football player … received the Buddy Blair Award for Academic Excellence as a dual-sports performer … a member of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Full name is Mark Joseph Laird … parents are Jack and Beth Laird … dad is a graduate of LSU Law School … has three older brothers, John, Matt and James … brother Matt played baseball at UL-Monroe … chose to attend LSU because “I’ve always wanted to go to LSU to further my education. I also dreamed of playing college sports at one of the best schools like LSU” … majoring in kinesiology at LSU … born March 29, 1993 in Monroe, La.

Laird’s LSU Career Highs
At-Bats: 7 at Mississippi State (5/2/15)
Hits: 4 twice; most recently vs. Washington (3/10/13)
Runs Scored: 4 three times; most recently vs. Princeton (2/28/15)
Doubles: 2 vs. Mississippi State (4/6/14)
Triples: 1 four times; most recently at Tulane(3/24/15)
Home Runs: 1 at Tulane (3/24/15)
RBI: 4 vs. Mississippi State (4/6/14)

 

Full Bio