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: 40th Round in 2018 (Boston Red Sox); 3rd Round (79) in 2019 (Baltimore Orioles)
Extremely talented player who has been the Tigers’ starting centerfielder since earning the job on March 11 of the 2017 season … . regarded in high school as the fastest player in the state of Louisiana … can be 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 in 2017 … 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 … named Baseball America’s No. 1 pro prospect in the 2017 Northwoods League, as he batted.342 (13-for-38) with four doubles, two homers, 14 RBI and 11 runs.
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: 6 vs. Hawaii (3/11/18); vs. Georgia (3/17/17)
Hits: 3 16 times; most recently at Auburn (5/18/18)
Runs Scored: 3 four times; most recently vs. Tennessee (4/14/18)
Doubles: 2 three times; most recently at Ole Miss (4/26/18)
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: 4 twice; most recently vs. Texas Southern (6/2/17)