by David Folse II
The vaunted LSU 2024 baseball recruiting class continues to grow.
Jay Johnson’s 2024 recruiting class continues to keep a stranglehold on the top ranking with the commitment of hard-throwing Texas right-hander Casan Evans.
The 6-3, 185-pound dual-threat Evans, who also plays in the middle infield, chose the Tigers over offers on the table from Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas and TCU.
“It was the right time to make the decision because of the process I went through,” Evans said of his commitment to the Tigers. “I waited a while (for this commitment) because I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. I talked it over with my family and I chose LSU because of not only the coaches and the program, but the fanbase and the community around me. It’s awesome. I’m also looking forward to trying to take advantage of the opportunity of being a two-way player.”
Playing for St. Pius X out of Houston, Evans quickly developed relationships with both Coach Johnson’s at LSU in his future pitching coach (Wes Johnson) and head coach (Jay).
Hey #LSU fans, @LSUCoachJ got a really good one last night with ‘𝟐𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐬.
— Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) December 13, 2022
𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 📋: Up to 95, good athlete & FAST arm, can miss bats with both the SL & CH, impactful as a 2-way, #55 overall in 2024. pic.twitter.com/nIPoYNYz7q
“(Wes), I just knew he is going to be able to make me a better pitcher,” Evans said. “The technology and the tools that they have at LSU to make pitchers better is just amazing. He’s been at the highest level coaching some of the best players in the world. He knows what he is doing. You can just tell. He’s a big analytics guy and we were able to go over some numbers and some figures to show how the current pitchers at LSU have progressed since he has gotten there.
“When it comes to (Jay), he and I talked alot about how loaded of a 2024 class is coming in and how much he wanted me to be part of it. The 2024 class wants to bring home a National Championship, and that is definitely something I want to be part of.”
Playing for the Marucci Elite Texas team, Evans admitted he didn’t know a lot about LSU baseball prior to the last two years, but his knowledge of not only the program’s history, but of the current program itself, has grown immensely.
“I’ve gotten to play at Alex Box Stadium with my summer ball team already,” Evans said. “It was pretty sweet to be able to play there. Then about a year ago I got a call from one of the members of the coaching staff and they started expressing interest and recruiting me. That was pretty sweet. Then I took the visit and fell in love with the place.”
Baton Rouge is calling it’s time to Geaux! Thanks to all those who supported me along the way!
— Casan Evans (@CasanEvans) December 13, 2022
Love y’all!
Geaux Tigers! 💛💜🐅@LSUbaseball @LSUCoachJ @coachmeevans @MarucciEliteTX @StPiusX pic.twitter.com/Hjr4w7zAPT
There have only been a handful of players in the modern history of LSU baseball to both pitch and play the field. However, since the day Jay Johnson was hired, the second-year Tigers head man has shown his openness to two-way players. Evans discussed why he believed he can also be a two-way player once he arrives on campus.
“I’ve been a two-way player my entire life,” he said. “Doing it on the high school level is pretty hard right now, but I know that I am going to have to grind even harder once I get to LSU. My goal is to make it work and I strive to be one of the best players in college baseball.”
Evans said his commitment to LSU is now 100-percent pure.
“Shut it down, I’m done for good,” he said of his recruitment process. “There is no other school or anything like that. I’m committed to LSU.”