LSU Baseball Adds First-Team All-American Paul Skenes

The Air Force transfer is a true dual threat athlete, playing both pitcher and catcher, lethal weapon for Tigers

When many thought this roster was just about complete, head coach Jay Johnson had other plans, adding yet another dominant piece via the transfer portal. The Tigers landed the most coveted player remaining in the portal after Air Force two-way athlete Paul Skenes announced his commitment Thursday evening. 

Skenes can do it all on the diamond. A rotational caliber pitcher who can also play catcher, Skenes showed off his diverse skill set in 2022 while earning First-Team All-America honors from D1 Baseball.

Forever a Bird | #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/AjGXvJiPt8

— Paul Skenes (@Paul_Skenes) July 29, 2022

Related: LSU Baseball Offseason Summary 

The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder tallied a 2.73 ERA in 15 starts with 96 strikeouts in 85.2 innings of work, while also limiting teams to a .224 OBA last season for Air Force.

Skenes also started 51 games at catcher in 2022.

A big-time hitter, the dual threat athlete hit .314 with 10 doubles, 13 home runs and 38 RBIs, along with a 1.046 OPS. Skenes did this after tallying a 2.70 ERA two seasons ago with a .410 batting average, 11 home runs and 43 RBI’s.

Newly named pitching coach Wes Johnson now adds a weekend rotational piece to his bullpen in Skenes. One question mark surrounding this program still was the depth of the bullpen after losing Eric Reyzelman, Paul Gervase and Creighton transfer Dylan Tebrake to the 2022 MLB Draft, but now this program fills a position of need in Skenes.

Related: LSU Bullpen Takes Hit Aftet Two Tigers, One Transfer Get Selected in MLB Draft

Jay Johnson struck gold after landing Skenes, now adding another top transfer portal player to this roster. Pairing Skenes with N.C. State transfer Tommy White and Vanderbilt transfer Christian Little, among others, this haul has been eye-opening.

The purple and gold head into the 2023 season with one of the most lethal rosters in all of college baseball as they look to make a College World Series run and put Johnson in position to prove once again why he is one of the most gifted coaches in the game.