Baseball is the national pastime for a reason, and each pocket of the country has its own unique connection to the sport. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of this nation, we’re taking you on a summer road trip across the U.S. with Baseball in America, presented by Booking.com, 50 stories from all 50 states. Follow along here.
World Series winners. Respected veterans. Bright young stars. Top prospects on the cusp of the big leagues.
Arguably college baseball’s premier powerhouse, the Louisiana State baseball program has produced them all.
In addition to its on-field success -- the school’s eight Men’s College World Series championships are the second most in Division I history, behind only USC’s 12 -- LSU has a long-held track record of producing quality Major Leaguers.
Pirates ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is a recent example. But he’s just one of 16 alums who have appeared in a big league game in 2026, including Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman and Phillies righty Aaron Nola.
According to Baseball-Reference, 104 Major League players spent time at LSU, including some well-known names such as three-time All-Star shortstop and manager Alvin Dark, Milwaukee Braves first baseman Joe Adcock and Cleveland slugger Albert Belle.
Year in and year out, the top of the MLB Draft is laden with LSU stars. As of 2026, 76 draft picks from the school have reached the Major Leagues, including two No. 1 overall selections -- Ben McDonald by the Orioles in 1989 and Skenes in 2023. Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews (Nationals) made history by becoming the first pair of teammates to go No. 1 and No. 2 in the Draft. Thirteen players in all were drafted from LSU in 2023, with right-hander Grant Taylor becoming the third player alongside Skenes and Crews to reach MLB.
With that kind of talent on the roster, perhaps it’s little surprise that LSU won the national championship in ’23, defeating Florida in the best-of-three finals of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb. It was the school’s seventh national title, and it was soon followed by an eighth: The Tigers swept Coastal Carolina in the championship series of the 2025 MCWS to bring home another Division I crown. All eight titles have come in a fairly short span, with LSU winning it all in 1991, ’93, ’96, ’97, 2000, ’09, ’23 and ’25.
In its most recent championship series, LSU’s winning pitchers against Coastal Carolina were Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, both current MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects. They were two of the nine Tigers selected in the 2025 Draft, a year after nine were picked in 2024 as well. There are more to come this summer: On LSU’s 2026 squad, outfielders Derek Curiel and Jake Brown are among MLB Pipeline’s top Draft prospects.
There’s a reason elite baseball talent is drawn to LSU. The school in Baton Rouge, La., boasts a state-of-the-art, 10,000-square-foot team facility that includes batting cages and a pitching lab. And Alex Box Stadium, with its capacity expanded to 10,718 in 2025, provides one of college baseball’s best atmospheres. It’s the perfect backdrop for a renowned program with a storied history and a ton of modern-day success.