LSU Gold
Position
Outfield
Height
6'0
Weight
160
Class
Junior
Hometown
Ruston, La.
B/T
R
High School
West Ouachita HS

2019 ABCA Gold Glove Team
2019 SEC All-Defensive Team
2019 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team
2018 U.S. Collegiate National Team Member 
2018 ABCA Gold Glove Team
2018 SEC All-Defensive Team
2017 Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game, D1 Baseball, Baseball America)
2017 Freshman All-SEC
2017 College World Series All-Tournament Team
SEC Freshman of the Week (May 8, 2017)

MLB Draft: 3rd Round in 2019 (Baltimore Orioles)
40th Round in 2018 (Boston Red Sox) 

Extremely talented player who was the Tigers’ starting centerfielder from March 11 of the 2017 season through the 2019 season … named to the ABCA Gold Glove Team in both 2018 and 2019 … regarded in high school as the fastest player in the state of Louisiana … an immediate game-changer on the base paths and has a quick bat with a very level swing that stays through the zone … was an infielder throughout his high school career but adapted successfully to the outfield at LSU … hit .280 in 14 games in the summer of 2018 with the U.S. Collegiate National Team with two doubles, one homer, three RBI and a team-best seven runs scored.

2019 Season
Played in 60 games (59 starts in center field, batting .308 (73-for-257) with 17 doubles, seven homers, 42 RBI, 52 runs and 11 steals in 12 attempts … hit .318 (35-for-110) in SEC regular-season games with nine doubles, four homers, 19 RBI, 26 runs and five stolen bases … voted to the 2019 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament team after blasting two homers and driving home seven runs … collected 11 RBI in LSU’s 10 postseason games (SEC & NCAA combined) … blasted a three-run homer in fourth inning of Game 2 at Alabama (April 27); the HR proved to be the difference in LSU’s 5-2 win … hit .429 (6-for-14) in the Texas A&M series (April 5-6) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI and four runs … tied career high with four hits in Game 3 against the Aggies (April 6) while providing two doubles, one homer, three RBI and three runs scored … posted a 10-game hit streak from March 9-24, batting .450 (18-for-40) with four doubles, two homers, 10 RBI, 12 runs .. in LSU’s three-game SEC series sweep of Kentucky (March 16-17), Watson hit .615 (8-for-13) with one double, one homer, six RBI and eight runs scored … in LSU’s Game 2 win over Kentucky (March 16), he tied his career high with four hits, as he was 4-for-4 at the plate with one double, one homer, five RBI and four runs … recorded a career-high four hits in March 13 win over Texas Southern … Watson was 4-for-4 at the plate with one double, his first homer of the season, three RBI and three runs scored.

2018 Season
Started 57 games in center field, batting .308 (72-for-234) with 15 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 34 RBI, 47 runs and 14 steals … missed nine games during the season from February 21 through March 4 due to a strained oblique muscle … named one of three outfielders on the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove team for NCAA Division I … posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 2018, and he recorded six outfield assists … also was named to the 2018 SEC All-Defensive Team … batted .343 (23-for-67) on the year with runners in scoring position … hit .310 (36-for-116) in SEC regular-season games with nine doubles, one triple, three homers, 16 RBI, 27 runs and five stolen bases … hit .353 (6-for-17) in the NCAA Corvallis Regional with one double, one homer, two RBI, two runs and one steal … launched two-run homer in sixth inning of SEC Tournament semifinal vs. Arkansas (May 26), erasing a 1-0 deficit and proving to be the game-winning hit in a 2-1 LSU victory … 3-for-5 in win at Auburn (May 18) with one double, one RBI and two runs … 3-for-4 on May 6 versus Arkansas with one double, two RBI and one run … homered three times in four games from March 29-April 3 … posted a 10-game hit streak from March 9-24, batting .422 (19-for-45) during the streak with five doubles, two triples, two homers and 11 RBI … 3-for-3 vs. Tulane (March 24) with two doubles, three RBI and three runs … led the Tigers to an SEC series victory March 16-18 over 24th-ranked Missouri, batting .571 (8-for-14) with two doubles, one homer, five RBI, four runs and two steals.

2017 Season
Batted a team-best .317 (70-for-221) on the year with nine doubles, three triples, nine homers, 37 RBI, 42 runs and 12 stolen bases … the Tigers’ second-leading hitter in SEC regular-season games, batting .298 (34-for-114) with six doubles, one triple, one homer, 13 RBI, 15 runs and three steals … LSU’s leading hitter in NCAA Tournament games, batting .333 (16-for-48) with one double, five homers, 10 RBI, 12 runs and four steals … voted to the 2017 College World Series All-Tournament team after batting .346 (9-for-26) in seven games with one double, one homer, two RBI, five runs and two steals … 3-for-5 in CWS win over Florida State (June 21) with one double, one RBI and one run; 3-for-3 in CWS win over Oregon State (June 23) with one run scored … 2-for-8 in NCAA Super Regional versus Mississippi State (June 10-11) with one RBI and two runs; provided game-tying RBI single in bottom of 8th inning in Game 1 as LSU rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead … blasted two home runs in consecutive games against Texas Southern and Southeastern Louisiana in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional (June 2-3), becoming the first LSU player to homer four times in a regional since Zeph Zinsman in 2001 … Watson hit .357 (5-for-14) in the NCAA Regional with four homers, seven RBI and five runs …led LSU’s offensive effort in the Auburn series (May 11-13), batting .545 (6-for-11) with one homer, two RBI and two runs … named SEC Freshman of the Week on May 8 after batting .500 (5-for-10) with four RBI, two runs scored and a .583 on-base percentage to help lead LSU to an SEC series victory over South Carolina … Watson was also 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts and he recorded an outfield assist … in LSU’s 10-inning win over South Carolina on May 7 to clinch the series, Watson was 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run … his two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning tied the game at 5-5, and he then led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a single and later scored the game-winning run on leftfielder Antoine Duplantis’ walk-off base hit … Watson was also 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run in the May 6 victory over the Gamecocks … Watson’s 15-game hitting streak, the longest in 2017 by an LSU player, ended on April 25 at Tulane; he batted .351 (20-for-57) during the streak with two doubles, two triples, one homer, four RBI, seven runs and three stolen bases … 3-for-3 vs. Grambling (April 4) with one triple, one homer, two RBI and two runs scored … 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in win at Florida (March 26) … 3-for-6 on March 17 vs. Georgia with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored … earned full-time starting role in the outfield beginning with March 11 game vs. Wichita State…3-for-4 at the plate in that game with a home run and four RBI.

Prior to LSU
Ranked No. 1 in Louisiana and No. 139 in the Class of 2016 by Perfect Game … named to the 2016 ABCA/Rawlings High School All-Region Team, Perfect Game All-Region Team and USA Today All-Louisiana Team … four-year starter at West Ouachita High School in West Monroe, La., where he batted over .400 each year with 31 career homers … batted .481 in 2016 with 18 doubles, four triples, 10 homers, 28 stolen bases and only eight strikeouts … also pitched as a closer in 2016, recording seven saves and helping West Ouachita reach the state final game … a three-time first team All-State selection and four-time All-District selection, and was named 2016 District MVP … earned All-Northeast Louisiana Big School Player of the Year honors three years in a row, becoming the first player to receive the honor in multiple years.

Personal
Full name is Zachary Layne Watson … parents are Sonny and Stacey Watson … father is a self-employed painter, mother is a certified public accountant … has two older siblings, Kris and Marley … majoring in interdisciplinary studies at LSU … born June 25, 1997, in West Monroe, La.

Watson’s LSU Career Highs
At-Bats: 7 vs. Ole Miss (5/5/19)
Hits: 4 three times; most recently vs. Texas A&M (4/6/19)
Runs Scored: 4 vs. Kentucky (3/16/19)
Doubles: 2 six times; most recently vs. Texas A&M (4/6/19) 
Triples: 1 five times; most recently vs. UL-Lafayette (3/27/18)
Home Runs: 2 vs. Texas Southern (6/2/17); vs. Southeastern Louisiana (6/3/17)
RBI: 5 vs. Kentucky (3/16/19)

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