Another tall arm headed to Baton Rouge in 2024’s Gonzales

by David Folse II

At this point, the basketball team Jay Johnson’s pitching staff could be has the chance to be scary good. 

Andrew “Stunner” Gonzales is a 6-7, 195-pound hard-throwing right-handed pitcher out of Carlsbad, California. Gonzales said he chose the Tigers over USC. 

“So the story goes that before I was born my dad always wanted to name a kid Stunner,” he said about his unique middle name. “I’m named after (Andrew) my mom’s brother who died in a car accident before I was born. I go by Stunner.(joking) It would have been bad if I didn’t do anything right now. Then I would have to go by Andrew.

“(self scouting report) I have a big imposing frame and at times I can be effectively wild and make at-bats very uncomfortable for hitters. I really like how I’m landing him my curveball right now and the fastball is good. Topping out at 93 and working on a good change-up.”

Fresh off of recent official visit to Baton Rouge, Gonzales credited Recruiting Coordinator Josh Jordan in being the biggest reason for developing such a quick and deep relationship with the Tigers. 

“(Jordan) was the first one to text me and then we hoped on a call,” he said. “This was very recent, like a month ago. He connected me with (pitching coach Wes Johnson) and we lined up a visit for me to come and check things out. 

“To be honest with you, on my way to the visit I kinda knew LSU was going to be the place for me. I didn’t think I was going to commit during the visit, but man when I was there it all clicked. I loved everything about it and I committed to the visit.”

Familiar with the LSU program growing up because of its national successes, Gonzales said the ability to connect and pitch under the tutelage of Wes Johnson was an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. 

“Coach Wes is amazing and when you go on the visit, the first thing you see is the field and you are like ‘wow,’ he said. “Great fanbase. They had a ton of people there for a scrimmage in October. I mean who does that? It wasn’t even a real game. I love the player housing too. Everybody gets their own room and their own bathroom, I like that a ton actually. 

“But let me tell you about the meeting with Wes. It’s simply amazing. He understands everything about the game. His use of technology when it comes to stress tests and adjusting as the season progresses, I was just blown away. He focuses on getting you better. He was in the Big Leagues man. 

“His ability to understand and utilize technology to the advantage of his pitchers was just very impressive. He’s a coach that you want to listen to because you know you are going to be better because of it.”


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