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5/2/24 5:50 am CT
Good morning, Tiger Fans,
Now that the spring window for entering the transfer portal has closed, how did LSU fare? What’s the latest on LSU football’s top portal targets? And what’s this I hear about men’s basketball landing a big transfer commitment? Pour yourself a cup of Joe, and let’s break it down…
BOOM! LSU men’s basketball landed a big commitment yesterday when Richmond’s Dji Bailey announced that he’ll transfer to LSU. Bailey, a 6-foot-5 wing from Wilson, North Carolina, spent four years at Richmond and really came on this past season, starting 24 games, averaging 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals per contest, finishing the season ranked first in the A-10 in field goal percentage at 59.4 percent.
With Bailey’s addition, coach Matt McMahon’s 2024-25 roster appears to have reached its limit of 12 scholarship players. LSU is in the final year of its self-imposed scholarship reduction and will return to the standard 13-player scholarship limit in 2025. Content continues below.
LSU Men’s Basketball’s 12 Scholarship Players for 2024-25
Returners:
F Corey Chest
F Daimion Collins
F Derek Fountain
F Jalen Reed
F Tyrell Ward
SG Mike Williams III
Transfer additions:
SG Dji Bailey
SG Cam Carter
PG Jordan Sears
High School Signees:
PG Curtis Givens
PF Robert Miller
SG Vyctorious Miller
I suspect that coach Matt McMahon would like to add a big man to the roster, but if the above count is accurate, he would have to be a walk-on, or there would have to be some attrition. Content continues below.
Turning to football, the spring transfer portal window closed last night for undergraduates. Graduates who intend to transfer have until midnight tonight to submit their paperwork. Of course, those are just deadlines for entering the portal, not signing with a school.
We’re not expecting LSU to have any graduates enter the portal before tonight, so let’s take this opportunity to see how LSU has fared in terms of departures and additions since last season.
To make things interesting, I’ve sorted the names in order of significance. In other words, the departures and additions listed first are the ones I feel will have the most significant impact on the team. Your comments and feedback are welcome.
LSU’s Winter Transfer Departures
RBLogan Diggs(Ole Miss)
OL Zalance Heard(Tennessee)
DT Bryce Langston(FAU)
DT Tygee Hill(Oregon State)
DT Fitzgerald West (UL-Lafayette)
CB Laterrance Welch(Arizona State)
CB Duce Chestnut(Syracuse)
CB Denver Harris(UTSA)
WR Jalen Brown(Florida State)
DE Quency Wiggins(Colorado)
OL Marlon Martinez(Mississippi State)
RB Armoni Goodwin(UAB)
RB Kevontre Bradford(North Texas)
TE Jackson McGohan(Wisconsin)
LSU’s Winter Transfer Additions
CB Jyaire Brown (Ohio State)
S Jardin Gilbert (Texas A&M)
QBAJ Swann (Vanderbilt)
WR CJ Daniels (Liberty)
WR Zavion Thomas (Miss State)
S Austin Ausberry (Auburn)
LSU’s Spring Transfer Departures
CBJeremiah Hughes
SRyan Yaites (Cal)
EDGEJaxon Howard (Minnesota)
LBChristian Brathwaite
WRKhai Prean (Tulane)
TEConnor Gilbreath
OLJoseph Cryer
LSU’s Spring Transfer Additions
DT Gio Paez (Wisconsin)
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So far, LSU has only added one player from the portal this spring, but that will likely change very soon. As has been well documented, LSU is looking to add a couple more defensive tackles, with its two top targets being Michigan State’s Simeon Barrow Jr. and TCU’s Damonic Williams.
Williams was in Baton Rouge the last two days, and his visit is said to have been amazing. I’m getting word that Williams, his brother, his mother and his mentor stayed longer than initially planned and that LSU felt good about where things stood when they departed. It looks like this is coming down to LSU, Texas and Oklahoma, and a decision will come soon.
As for Barrow, the LSU side seemed very confident following his visit last week, but I really don’t know where things stand now that Barrow is coming off a visit to Miami. Like Williams, Barrow is expected to announce his school of choice sometime this week.
LSU really needs to land one of these two DTs and would love to nab both. Another transfer DT on LSU’s radar is Adin Huntington of UL-Monroe.
While DTs have been LSU’s primary focus in the spring portal, the staff has kept an eye on other positions. Yesterday, one entered the portal worth monitoring — CB DaShawn Jones of Wake Forest. Jones, a Baltimore native, started nine games as a redshirt sophom*ore this past season and finished with 37 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a team-best three interceptions and two pass breakups. With three years of eligibility remaining, Jones has garnered the attention of LSU cornerback coach Corey Raymond. It’ll be interesting to see if Jones sets up a visit to LSU in the coming days. He is expected to visit Alabama this weekend. Content continues below.
Closing Tidbits:
•Yesterday, I congratulated longtime LSU football administrator Sam Nader for being named a Louisiana Legend by Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting. I didn’t realize at the time that former Tiger baseball great Todd Walker was also named to this year’s class of Louisiana Legends. Walker, a two-time All-American and arguably the greatest player in LSU baseball history, is a member of the LSU Hall of Fame (2006), the National College Baseball Hall of Fame (2009), and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2011). A true Louisiana legend, Walker is well deserving of this latest honor.
•In NIL news, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne has signed a massive contract with Passes, a platform that helps creators scale their business while creating exclusive content for fans. According to this report, Dunne is set to make millions through this arrangement.
That’s it for today, but be sure to tune in tomorrow for a preview of LSU’s massive baseball series against the top-ranked Aggies of Texas A&M. For more good reads, see our Related Articles.
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