Coming soon to a ballpark near you: dingers
Now that the MLB Draft has come and gone, we have a better idea about the holes LSU will need to address ahead of the 2026 season: power.
With Ethan Frey and Jared Jones off to pro ball, the Tiger are going to need to find some thump in next year’s lineup, and Jay Johnson is turning to the portal to try and address that need.
Tuesday afternoon it was reported that LSU is adding a pair of infielders: Zach Yorke from Grand Canyon University, and Trent Caraway from Oregon State.
Yorke absolutely mashed in three seasons with GCU. Yorke went deep 32 times and has 157 RBI in his career. He’s not just a typical slugging first basemen either. He hit .338 in 2025 and in his career he has drawn 122 walks against 91 strikeouts. Yorke’s also pretty sound defensively with a .993 career fielding percentage. He’ll be a plenty big target for Steven Milam, as he’s listed at 6’2” and 295.
LSU lands Grand Canyon transfer Zach Yorke. In his 3 year career with the Lopes he mashed 32 homers and 157 RBI. Electric stuff and huge pick up for the Tigerspic.twitter.com/uBOEPUUe4d
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) July 15, 2025
Like with all of these smaller school transfers, the question will be how doe Yorke handle the step up in competition. The WAC doesn’t have the same caliber of arms as the SEC, but LSU struck gold with nabbing Daniel Dickinson out of Utah Valley. If Jay thinks Yorke can play, I’m going to believe him.
Not long after Yorke announced he would be coming to LSU, former Oregon State third basemen Trent Caraway also tweeted he’s Baton Rouge bound.
This one’s certainly an eyebrow-raiser. Caraway was excellent for Oregon State last season, hitting .267 with 12 homers and 47 RBI. He had a great NCAA Tournament, homering six times throughout Oregon State’s postseason run to Omaha.
Transfer News: 3B Trent Caraway has committed to LSU. Hit .267/.350/.470 this spring with 15 2B, 12 HR and 47 RBIs. Was excellent in the Corvallis Regional. Strong, physical kid with thump. pic.twitter.com/sWvl6R4tMn
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) July 15, 2025
Caraway came into 2025 as a top prospect for this year’s draft but struck out 66 times and hit into 11 double plays. His defense wasn’t much to brag about either, with 12 errors and an .889 fielding percentage. There’s no denying the power in the bat, and if he can cut down on the Ks and clean up the defense, LSU ought to have one of the premier third basemen in the nation next spring.