While the Tigers had been busy in the transfer portal with 5 commits so far, only one was a pitcher. The entire rotation is returning for 2027 and while that is important, there was no doubting that the bullpen needed to be revamped. LSU fans have been ecstatic about the signings of guys like Bino Watters and Jason Wachs, but the one question that lingered was, “Where are the pitchers?”
On Tuesday evening, Jay Johnson said on Tiger Rag Radio that he had received another commitment. Glenn Guilbeau
then first reported that Diego Velazquez was the commitment that Johnson was referring to, becoming the second pitcher to commit through the transfer portal.
As a freshman in 2026, Velazquez pitched 29.2 innings with a 4.55 ERA. He struck out 34 while only walking 9 batters and had a .205 batting average against in his 13 appearances.
Coming out of Crespi Carmelite High School in California, he was a top-15 player in the state and ranked as the #55 player in the country. Velazquez made the Big-10 All-Freshman team.
Although LSU plans to use him only as a pitcher, he did record 18 at-bats during the 2026 season, but only hit .167. As a former shortstop, the athleticism is clearly there.
When Johnson described the player on Tiger Rag Radio, he compared his potential role to the likes of Casan Evans and Zac Cowan in 2025. Clearly, LSU’s staff has high hopes for the to-be sophomore. He also mentioned that they see him as a future starting pitcher down the line in Velazquez’s second year in the program.
LSU is now up to six transfer portal additions during this cycle, which matches the number of departures, so far. More portal news is sure to follow and we’ll have you covered here.
For comprehensive coverage of both the additions and departures, check out my ATVS Portal Tracker, as it will be updated with each move.
