With coach Jay Johnson and LSU baseball losing all three of their starting catchers (sophomore Brady Neal, senior Hayden Travinski, senior Alex Milazzo) from this past season, things are going to look very different for the purple and gold behind home plate in 2025. With that said, there might not be too significant a drop off, as the Tigers most recently landed a commitment from talented transfer portal catcher Eddie Yamin IV.
LSU baseball adds impressive transfer portal catcher from the University of Dayton
With third baseman Tommy White and first baseman Jared Jones both looking likely to make their way to the 2024 MLB Draft, thereâs a chance that the Tigers could be losing plenty of offense from this past seasonâs roster, as the duo combined for an eye-popping 42 home runs in 2024.
In turn, while it wasnât entirely plausible that they were going to regain all of that production through just one or two transfer additions, coach Jay Johnson is at the very least inching his way towards some solid replacements. Just yesterday, the program landed their seventh pledge of the offseason, with slugging transfer portal catcher Eddie Yamin IV announcing his decision over Twitter.
As a part of the Dayton baseball program, Yamin IV showed immense improvement over just a two-year span, boosting his batting average from just .178 as a freshman all the way up to .342 this past season as a sophomore.
Possibly even more impressive, though, the 6-foot-5, West Sand Lake, NY, product nearly doubled his slugging percentage, going from .393 to .608 while hitting 13 home runs in 2024.
Furthermore, while his hitting numbers undoubtedly pop off the page, itâs important to note that the transfer portal catcher is no slouch from behind the plate on defense. As a sophomore, Yamin IV totaled 415 putouts and 22 assists, logging a solid .986 fielding percentage, keeping mistakes to a minimum for his team.
Expect the former Dayton Flyer to come in and immediately battling for a starting spot, as JUCO transfer Blaise Priester is likely his biggest competition heading into the 2025 season.
With yesterdayâs commitment, coach Jay Johnson and the Tigers now sit at seven commitments this offseason, as Eddie Yamin IV joins infielder Luis Hernandez (Indiana State), outfielder Chris Stanfield (Auburn), and right-handed pitchers Chandler Dorsey (USF), Zac Cowan (Wofford), Deven Sheerin (Mount Saint Maryâs) and Luke Hayden (Indiana State).
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