Another college baseball season is here.
LSU will begin its quest for a third national championship in four years when Milwaukee comes to The Box for the first of a three-game series Friday afternoon.
The Tigers have a wrap-around season-opening weekend with Kent State coming to The Box for a single game Monday afternoon.
LSU coach Jay Johnson will try to accomplish a feat which was not done by legendary coach Skip Bertman. Yes, the Tigers did win back-to-back College World Series titles under Bertman in 1996-97. However, Bertman never won three national crowns in four seasons.
History shows that LSU has a 50/50 chance of reaching Omaha and competing for a CWS championship. This century, there have been 11 SEC national champions who took their shot at winning a second straight title.
Even though only one program was successful – South Carolina in 2011, four other SEC teams advanced to the College World Series one year after capturing the national crown.
In 2018, Florida was eliminated in the CWS bracket finals. Three SEC defending champions lost in the CWS finals – South Carolina to Arizona in 2012 and Vanderbilt to Virginia in 2015 Mississippi State in 2021.
An asterisk can be placed next to the Commodores’ attempt in 2021. Remember there was no College World Series due to COVID-19 in 2020. Vanderbilt won the 2019 national championship by defeating Michigan.
LSU has won four national titles this century – beating Stanford in 2000, Texas in 2009, Florida in 2023 and Coastal Carolina in 2025. In their three previous title defense campaigns, the Tigers failed to win a super-regional series.
In 2001, LSU was beaten by Tulane in a super-regional series in Metairie. In 2010, the Tigers went 1-2 in the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA. In 2024, LSU lost to North Carolina in the finals of the Chapel Hill Regional.
Two teams did not even reach the NCAA tournament one year after winning the national championship – Mississippi State in 2022 and Ole Miss in 2023. Tennessee, which won the CWS title in 2024, was eliminated by Arkansas in the super regionals one season later.
Now, LSU has another opportunity at winning back-to-back national championships. Johnson does not have a built-to-win title team as was the case in 2023. Nor does he have two outstanding pitchers at the top of his rotation as was the case in 2025.
However, Johnson has put together a roster which can be a national seed and win a regional tournament and a super-regional series at The Box. Any team can win once it reaches Omaha. No team has enjoyed as much CWS success as the Tigers.
LSU does have some question marks surrounding its 2026 team – lack of power, no proven starting pitching. The Tigers do have a very deep pitching staff. If three reliable starting pitchers appear, LSU has as good a chance as any team to win the national championship.
Here is a breakdown of the 21st century SEC College World Series champions one year after winning the title.
2000: LSU – 53-17 record; beat Stanford in the national championship game
2001: LSU – 44-22-1 overall record, 18-12 SEC record; lost to Tulane in the super regionals
2009: LSU – 56-17 record; beat Texas in CWS championship series
2010: LSU – 41-22 overall record, 14-16 SEC record; eliminated in Los Angeles regional
2010: South Carolina – 54-16 record; beat UCLA in the CWS championship series
2011: South Carolina – 55-14 overall record, 22-8 SEC record; beat Florida in the CWS championship series
2011: South Carolina – 55-14 record; beat Florida in the CWS championship series
2012: South Carolina – 49-20 overall record, 18-11 SEC record; lost to Arizona in the CWS championship series
2014: Vanderbilt – 51-21 record; beat Virginia in the CWS championship series
2015: Vanderbilt – 51-21 overall record, 20-10 SEC record; lost to Virginia in the CWS championship series
2017: Florida – 52-19 record; beat LSU in the CWS championship series
2018: Florida – 49-21 overall record, 20-10 SEC record; eliminated by Arkansas in the CWS
2019: Vanderbilt – 59-12 record; beat Michigan in the CWS championship series
2021: Vanderbilt – 49-18 overall record, 19-10 SEC record; lost to Mississippi State in the CWS championship series
There was no CWS in 2020 due to COVID-19.
2021: Mississippi State – 50-18 record; beat Vanderbilt in the CWS championship series
2022: Mississippi State – 26-30 overall record, 9-21 SEC record; did not reach the NCAA tournament
2022: Ole Miss – 42-23 record; beat Oklahoma in the CWS championship series
2023: Ole Miss – 25-29 overall record, 6-24 SEC record; did not reach the NCAA tournament
2023: LSU – 54-17 record; beat Florida in the CWS championship series
2024: LSU – 43-23 overall record, 13-17 SEC record; lost to North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Regional finals
2024: Tennessee – 60-13 record; beat Texas A&M in the CWS championship series
2025: Tennessee – 46-19 overall record, 16-14 SEC record; lost to Arkansas in the super regionals
2025: LSU – 53-15 record; beat Coast Carolina in the CWS championship series
2026: LSU – to be determined
