Where LSU baseball's 2024 roster stands following the 2023 MLB Draft

Replacing Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes is the toughest task any college baseball coach in America will be trying to solve this offseason.

But that's the challenge LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson will need to overcome if the Tigers want to repeat as national champions in 2024. Skenes was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday, while Crews was picked right after him at No. 2 overall by the Washington Nationals.

Skenes and Crews were then first two dominoes to fall in an eventful three days for the Tigers, as Johnson took a big step toward rebuilding his championship roster on Tuesday when the MLB Draft came to a close.

By the end of the third day, LSU had four high school signees and 13 players selected by major league clubs. The deadline for them to sign with their major league teams is July 25.

Here's where LSU's roster stands after the MLB Draft.

The state of LSU's high school signees

There's a better chance than not LSU will have 13 incoming freshmen coming to campus this fall, as the only LSU signee bound for professional baseball is catcher Blake Mitchell, who was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the No. 8 overall pick.

The Tigers had three high school signees selected in the final five rounds of the draft on Tuesday: Left-handed pitcher Jake Brown (16th round, Texas Rangers), left-handed pitcher Cameron Johnson (20th round, St. Louis Cardinals) and outfielder Ashton Larson (20th round, Minnesota Twins).

But none of them are expected to ink deals with their respective major league clubs.

Brown, according to a source, will not sign with the Rangers and is coming to LSU. Johnson and Larson have not indicated their intentions yet, but given their high-profiles as recruits — Johnson was the No. 42 overall prospect in MLB.com's draft rankings, while Larson was a top-300 prospect in ESPN's rankings — it's doubtful that either ball club will have enough bonus pool money to sign them.

LSU's other high school signees include, shortstop Steven Milam (he did not get drafted but was a top-105 prospect in MLB.com's draft rankings) who told The Advertiser that he is coming to LSU, left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson (who pulled his name from the draft before it started), third baseman Trenton Lape, shortstop MJ Seo, outfielder Derrick Mitchell, shortstop Austen Roellig, shortstop Ryan Kucherak, shortstop Dylan Thompson, outfielder Griffin Cooley and outfielder Dallas Dale II.

Potential returning veterans

The Tigers had seven players selected on Day 3 of the draft after Skenes, Crews, Ty Floyd and Grant Taylor were picked on Day 1 and Tre Morgan and Gavin Dugas were drafted on Day 2.

But not every LSU player picked on Tuesday is a shoe-in to sign with their respective major league clubs.

Especially Jordan Thompson.

Jordan, a top-150 draft prospect in ESPN's rankings, did not get selected until the 15th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is from Southern California, adding an interesting wrinkle into his situation, but given his stature as a three-year starting shortstop in the SEC and a national champion, it will be a question to see if he is willing to sign with the Dodgers for less money than what he was likely expecting and start his professional career.

LSU also had a handful of notable players who were not picked, including Hayden Travinski, Nate Ackenhausen, Alex Milazzo, Ben Nippolt and Bryce Collins, all of whom are eligible to return in 2024. Ackenhausen has told The Advocate that he is coming back, but Travinski, Milazzo, Nippolt and Collins' LSU futures are a little less clear.

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How the transfer portal may affect LSU's 2024 roster

LSU has already added Xavier left-handed pitcher Justin Loer, Alabama right-handed pitcher Kade Woods, UCLA left-handed pitcher Gage Jump and South Carolina shortstop Michael Braswell from the transfer portal.

Loer and Woods give the Tigers veteran right and left-handed options out of the bullpen, Jump is a potential left-handed starter and Braswell adds more middle infield depth — he will be especially useful if Jordan departs for MLB.

But even with a big freshmen class, the Tigers likely aren't done adding players from the portal. For example, Alabama right-handed starting pitcher Luke Holman is expected to visit LSU next week, according to On3 Sports.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball 2024 roster after MLB Draft 2023