LSU Gold
Position
Catcher
Height
6'3
Weight
227
Class
Junior
Hometown
Edinburg, Texas
Previous School
Howard College
B/T
R
High School
Edinburg North HS

2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District
2019 SEC All-Tournament Team
2019 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team
2019 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
2019 First-Team All-Louisiana

MLB Draft: 32nd Round in 2019 (Kansas City Royals); 31st Round in 2017 (St. Louis Cardinals)

A quality defensive player and leader who will also be a force at the plate, as demonstrated by his 23 home runs in 2018 as a junior college player … a very mature and intelligent individual who can assert himself as a leader on the team.

2020 Season
Started and played in 14 games in the shortened season, batting .229 (11-for-48) with one double, one triple, three homers, 12 RBI and nine runs scored … he led the squad in home runs, and he was tied for the team lead in RBI … 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI in LSU’s win over Southern (Feb. 18) … launched a three-run homer in LSU’s season-opening win over Indiana (Feb. 14) … was named 2020 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team … Garza was voted to the Academic All-District squad in District 6, which includes the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming … Garza holds a 3.55 gpa in kinesiology.

2019 Season
Played in 50 games (42 starts), batting .303 (44-for-145) with 10 doubles, five homers, 27 RBI and 20 runs … voted the Co-Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional after hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles, six RBI and three runs … voted to the SEC All-Tournament Team after hitting .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, one RBI and two runs … batted .425 (17-for-40) in LSU’s 10 postseason games (SEC & NCAA combined) with six doubles, seven RBI and five runs … raised his batting average from .188 on April 23 to .303 at the end of the season, batting .395 (32-for-81) from April 23 through the end of the season (22 games) with seven doubles, four homers, 15 RBI and 13 runs … launched a solo homer in May 16 game versus Auburn, marking the fifth straight weekend he homered in an SEC game (vs. Florida, at Alabama, vs. Ole Miss, at Arkansas, vs. Auburn) … Garza had not homered prior to the April 18-20 Florida series … batted .636 (7-for-11) in Auburn series (May 16-18) with one homer, two RBI and three runs … started Games 1 and 3 of the Alabama series (April 26, 28), and he was 3-for-7 at the plate in the series with a double and a solo home run … Launched first LSU career homer – a solo shot – versus Florida on April 18 … was slowed by a torn meniscus injury suffered during fall practice and played primarily at designated hitter through the early portion of the season, but saw his first action at catcher on March 20 vs. Nicholls … 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI in win over Bryant (Feb. 23).

Prior to LSU
Batted .378 in 2018 with 52 hits and 23 home runs at Howard Junior College, and was selected to the NJCAA Division I All-Region Team … selected to participate in the summer of 2018 in the Cal Ripken All-Star Game and the Sun Belt Classic in North Carolina for the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League as a member of the Gaithersburg (Md.) Giants — he produced seven doubles, five homers and 25 RBI during the Giants’ summer season … a four-year starter at Edinburg North High School and selected during his senior year to be a member of the National team by the National High School Coaches Association for Region 6 … three-time All-State catcher for the state of Texas, twice being named to the first team … 2017 District MVP and All-Area Offensive MVP while batting .530 … 2016 District MVP and All-Area Catcher while batting .513 … also played linebacker for the Edinburg North football team and competed in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle for the swimming team.

Personal
Full name is Saul Ruben Garza … parents are Santana and Sandra Garza … Santana was a pitcher at Texas-Pan American from 1984-88 … has two older brothers, Santana Jr. and Samuel … says he chose to attend LSU to get the opportunity to “play in front of college baseball’s greatest fans every day and compete to bring home another national championship to Baton Rouge” … majoring in kinesiology at LSU … born April 9, 1998, in McAllen, Texas.

Garza’s LSU Career Highs 
At-Bats: 6 vs. Ole Miss (5/5/19)
Hits: 3 vs. Air Force (2/17/19); vs. Auburn (5/16/19); vs. Southern (2/18/20)
Runs Scored: 2 four times; most recently vs. Southern (2/18/20)
Doubles: 2 vs. Mississippi State (5/22/19)
Triples: 1 vs. Texas (2/28/20)
Home Runs: 1 eight times; most recently vs. Baylor (2/29/20)
RBI: 4 vs. Southern (2/18/20)

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