Konnor Griffin ready to end prep career with a bang
NOTE: THE 2024 LSU BASEBALL RECRUITING CLASS IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY RANKED CLASSES IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT. CULTURE MEDIA STAFF WRITER DAVID FOLSE II OFFICIALLY BEGINS A SERIES OF BREAKDOWNS AND INTRODUCTIONS OF THE 2024 CLASS WITH KONNOR GRIFFIN
To be able to live up to the hype of athletic expectations, in particular in a social media world of today, is almost unheard of.
Don’t tell that to one of the best prep baseball players in the country, who thus far, has only gotten better with each and every season.
With the eyes of the prep baseball world on him from a young age, all Jackson Prep outfielder/pitcher and LSU commit Konnor Griffin has done in his first two years at the powerhouse program is help lead his team to back-to-back state championships (six consecutive overall) and hit .472 as a freshman and .537 as a sophomore. On the mound, the 6-4, 205-pound Griffin went 6-2 as a freshman with a 1.64 ERA and got even better in 2023 going 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA.
“Playing high school ball I really had to learn how to mature as a baseball player,” he said. “I had to become mentally and physically stronger quickly; you have to adapt when you are playing against talented older players. I learned I belonged right in the mix with those guys.
“I point back to that first game I threw on the mound as a 9th grader as sort of my ‘aha’ moment. The opening game of the season and I threw three innings. That’s when things got really real and I realized I belong with these guys.”
With two-way players becoming more and more of a trend on the collegiate level, Griffin, who is projected to play in the outfield on the collegiate level, admitted he would love the chance to be able to do both at LSU.
“It’s definitely something I would love to be able to take (to the collegiate level),” he said. “Being able to play all over the field and get on the mound to help your team is huge man. I’m going to try and do that at LSU for sure.”
The only thing that may perhaps outshine his exploits on the baseball field are his exploits in the classroom as Griffin has actually reclassified thanks to taking summer classes and will graduate high school in three years.
“The benefits of reclassifying is playing against the older players immediately really benefited my baseball career,” he said. “I struggled at times during the beginning of my second season, but in the end I only grew from that experience. Of course, getting to take the official visits and get the collegiate decision out of the way was a huge benefit.
“The biggest drawback obviously was the workload at school. Doing the classes in the summer was tough but I’m better because of it. Best decision I have made in my career and it’s going to only lead me to the right places in the future.”
Spending all of his time at Jackson Prep either at shortstop or on the mound, Griffin’s only time playing his future position in the outfield has come during his summer ball career with the Louisiana Knights.
“This upcoming season I think I may have the chance to play some more center field (at Jackson Prep),” he said. “It’s important to get reps of course, but it really doesn’t matter where I play. My approach is to trust my skills and be the best athlete I can be.”
A multi-sport star at Jackson Prep on the football field, basketball court and track, Griffin admitted he won’t be playing football this year in his senior season.
“I’m trying to decide about basketball,” he said. “Basketball is my second love. It’s a hard decision, but I’m still in between on making a decision.”
Speaking of his future, Griffin talked about the fun of watching his future school win a National Championship in Jay Johnson’s second season at the helm.
“It was awesome,” Griffin said. “My family and I knew Jay Johnson and the coaching staff do things right over at LSU. That’s why we chose them. You could see the program coming together in year one and when he landed those key guys in the transfer portal for the past season, it all took off. The atmosphere at Alex Box Stadium was insane.”
Griffin went into more depth in regards to his feelings of the transfer portal and the unofficial free agency that it has brought to collegiate athletics.
“It kind of stinks for some of these high school seniors who are planning to come to college and boom, a coach can go out and get a player (in the portal), fill that position and leave the high schoolers out to dry,” he said. “But I realize that this is a business and you have to do what you have to do to help your team win championships.
“High schoolers have to just bet on themselves and continue to work because at any time, someone can grab a player out of the portal and you are done. It kind of stinks for high school players.”
Ranked only behind fellow 2024 commit Derrek Curiel in the National Rankings courtesy Perfect Game, Griffin said the relationships between many of the future Tigers has already started to develop.
“We have a group chat on Snapchat and we are always talking to each other together on events,” he said. “We are always hanging out, the chemistry is already coming together. I can’t wait to get to Baton Rouge. It’s going to be fun to watch.”