LSU Baseball Suffers First Loss of Season

Coach Jay Johnson looks to rebound after midweek defeat to McNeese Cowboys

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The defending national champion LSU Tigers baseball team suffered its first loss of the 2026 season, falling 7-2 to the McNeese Cowboys in a midweek matchup. Head coach Jay Johnson acknowledged that the Tigers created opportunities for McNeese and gave up too many free bases, allowing the Cowboys to capitalize early. Despite a late comeback effort, LSU couldn't overcome the early deficit.

Why it matters

LSU had won its final 8 games of the 2025 season en route to the national title, and started the 2026 campaign with 8 straight wins before the loss to McNeese. This defeat ends the Tigers' hot start and raises questions about how the team will respond and bounce back as they prepare for conference play.

The details

In the 2nd through 4th innings, Johnson felt the Tigers got "outside of just taking a quality at-bat" and allowed McNeese to build a 7-2 lead. While LSU scored in 3 of the final 4 innings, the early deficit proved too much to overcome. Johnson cited free bases and a defensive mistake that led to a triple as key factors in the loss.

  • The loss was LSU's first since June 4, 2025, when they were defeated in an NCAA Regional game by Little Rock.
  • The Tigers had won 8 straight games to start the 2026 season before the loss to McNeese.

The players

Jay Johnson

The head coach of the LSU Tigers baseball team, who led the program to the national championship in 2025.

McNeese Cowboys

The baseball team from McNeese State University that defeated the defending national champion LSU Tigers in a midweek matchup.

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What they’re saying

“Congratulations to McNeese, they competed well in the game and deserved to win. We created some opportunities for them; there's no point in belaboring it, we just gave up way too many free bases tonight.”

— Jay Johnson, LSU Head Coach (LSU Tigers Baseball)

“If I was to pinpoint something, I'd probably look at the second to the fourth inning. We'd been behind before in multiple games early on, but our response wasn't as good tonight. Maybe we got outside of just taking a quality at-bat.”

— Jay Johnson, LSU Head Coach (LSU Tigers Baseball)

What’s next

Johnson is hopeful that outfielder Chris Stanfield, who has been dealing with a hand injury, will be available to play this weekend as the Tigers look to rebound from their first loss.

The takeaway

This loss serves as a learning opportunity for the defending national champion LSU Tigers, who will need to refocus and get back to the fundamentals that led to their success last season. How the team responds in the coming weeks will be crucial as they prepare for the rigors of SEC play.