Let’s acknowledge our charmed lifestyle as LSU Baseball fans.
The Tigers are eight-time national champions, have won two of the past three titles, are at or near the top of every major poll every single year, boast one of the home atmospheres in the country, and are led by the best coach in the game who has shown any sign of slowing down nor any inclination of every leaving Baton Rouge.
While program pedigree and amenities are nice, what about on the field? What makes LSU so charmed? Well how about this:
this year’s LSU team is replacing last year’s starting left fielder. And how will they do so? With a senior who has started for three years in the SEC, was your own starting centerfielder last season, and best hitter in SEC play.
*At McLennan Community College
Chris Stanfield is back and entering his fourth year as a starting outfielder in the SEC. After coming over from Auburn, Stanfield was an instant impact player for the good Tigers. Stanfield led LSU with a .326 batting average in SEC games and his defense in centerfield was nearly flawless with just one single error all season.
Stanfield opened up the 2025 season as LSU’s leadoff hitter, but eventually settled down into the 9-hole and became a weapon at the bottom of LSU’s order. Not many schools can say that they’re best hitter in conference games bats ninth, but things are different around these parts.
Over LSU’s 11 NCAA Tournament games, Stanfield was at his best. Stanfield drove in 10 runs, scored seven, and hit his lone home run of the entire season in the Baton Rouge Regional against Dallas Baptist. Stanny also drove in LSU’s first run in its College World Series opener against Arkansas, and drove in two to break a 1-1 tie against Coastal Carolina in the championship-clinching game.
For an LSU lineup that’s going to be looking for power, Stanfield’s almost definitely not going to help out the cause that much, if at all. Which is fine, because nobody needs him to try and be one. Instead, what Jay Johnson needs from Chris Stanfield in 2026 is…well for him to be the Chris Stanfield of 2025: hit .300 at the bottom of the lineup, be fast, and catch everything.
LSU’s starting outfield for 2026 has been set in stone the moment Stanfield returned for his senior season, so there’s no backup that’s going to come close to threaten Stanfield’s playing time. That said, we know Jay Johnson loves to tinker during the non-conference and if someone were to give Stanfield a day off, it looks like Daniel Harden would be first off the bench. Harden is a hometown kid who played football and baseball at Catholic but went the JUCO route. Harden tore it up at McLennan last season, but let’s see how he fares against D1 pitching.
