Gut feeling leads Lawson McLeod to commit to LSU

Death Valley still hits people in fantastic ways. 

It wasn’t only the blinding heat of Tiger Stadium that was the story of LSU’s football win over UCLA last weekend, but Jay Johnson and his staff also nabbed another big-time 2026 arm. 

Making only his second-ever trip to Baton Rouge, Virginia native Lawson McLeod had his official visit last weekend and it turned into a verbal commitment from the 6-6, 220-pound flamethrower. 

McLeod, who boasts offers from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, got the chance to pitch at Alex Box Stadium this summer and that’s where his love affair with the Tigers began. 

“If I get the chance to throw at this place I wanna come here,” he said. “Luckily I balled out enough this summer and got the chance to come visit officially and become a Tiger. On the plane ride home that Sunday, I just thought I can’t pass this up. This is something I have been thinking about the past seven months. I called Coach Johnson on the car ride home and told him I’m a Tiger.

“A very good friend of mine told me that whatever school I choose I’m going to get that ‘gut feeling.’ As I stepped on that football field at Tiger Stadium and saw all of those fans and when they played ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’, I felt that gut feeling. This is where I need to be. I’ve been locked in ever since.”

The explosion of college baseball across the country in terms of games being on television and no longer a regional sport allowed McLeod to learn about LSU from an early age. “It’s electric down there,” he said. “It’s the winningest program in college baseball. All Coach Johnson cares about is winning. That’s how I live my life. I wanna win at everything. 

“I want to win at school, if I am playing poker with my friends or if I’m playing pool or golfing. I’m passionate about winning. I think being around Coach Johnson was the best fit for me. I also felt very at home with (Pitching Coach Nate Yeskie).”

(self-scouting report) “This summer I was 90-94 on the fastball. I’m a tall righty that throws from a low three-quarters slot and have developed a power slider this summer. It guys out when I need it. I attack hitters with the fastball and use the change-up to get outs. I can really spin that slider and fool some guys. Playing against the best competition this summer really allowed me to get better. It’s my bread and butter.”

Getting better also included a massive body improvement for McLeod. Always one of the tallest players amongst his age group, the body transformation McLeod has put himself through recently is quite impressive. 

“Over the past two years I have put on around 65 pounds,” he said. “It has been super beneficial to me. I was a good pitcher, 86-87, two summers ago. Then I went into the fall and put on a bunch of weight and got up to 195 and it allowed me to touch 90 for the first time. I knew if I wanted to throw hard I had to put on a bunch of weight. I stayed in the weight room and got into my training. Putting on good weight and still staying mobile.”

Not set to arrive on campus until the 2027 season, that hasn’t stopped McLeod from setting impressive goals for his future. 

“I have to continue to grind,” he said. “The goal is to come in and be a weekend starter my freshman year (at LSU). Whatever it takes for me to do that, I’m going to work towards it.”