Why prized LSU baseball transfer Paul Skenes said he left the Air Force Academy
BATON ROUGE - New LSU baseball pitcher and designated hitter Paul Skenes explained Thursday his reasoning why he entered the transfer portal this offseason.
Skenes, a star pitcher and hitter at Air Force, realized last year that he wanted to pursue professional baseball. But in order to do that without potentially getting enlisted to serve, he had to transfer before his junior year.
"So even if you're still in Minor League Baseball, Major League Baseball. If you're still in the Air Force, they can pull it away from you, which isn't a super common thing but you see it occasionally," Skenes said ahead of LSU's first day of fall practice. "I didn't want anyone to take it out from under me."
A career in baseball was never a serious thought for Skenes when he arrived. But after hitting 24 home runs and posting a 2.77 ERA in two seasons at Air Force, he believed that baseball was something worth pursuing.
"I think (going to Air Force) was the best thing for me," Skenes said. "I don't know where I would be from a baseball standpoint going into my junior year because, to be honest, I think I would have developed more if I spent two years at a program like this.
"But in terms of personal development, meeting the people that I did, and I think just becoming the person that I am right now, I think that was the best place for me."
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Injury updates
UCLA transfer pitcher Thatcher Hurd, who suffered a spinal injury in April that sidelined him for the season, will pitch in LSU's scrimmage on Sunday, according to coach Jay Johnson.
Left-handed pitcher Javen Coleman has begun to throw lightly after missing the vast majority of last season due to Tommy John surgery. And right-handed pitcher Jason Bollman will throw at least an inning this weekend but may only throw fastballs. Bollman was a medical redshirt last season.
Johnson also said that catcher Alex Milazzo is 100% healthy after they "finally got to the root of what was wrong" with him this summer.
"(Milazzo) had a procedure very similar to Jordan Thompson's right before (last) season that obviously really affected Jordan," Johnson said. "It kind of was the same thing in (where) Alex couldn't bend."
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Paul Skenes: LSU baseball transfer on why he left Air Force Academy
