4:45 LRN Sportscast July 9

LSU baseball has made it official by announcing the hirings of Jason Kelly as pitching coach and Dan Fitzgerald as recruiting coordinator. Kelly was at Arizona State last season and helped the Sun Devils reach the NCAA Tournament, despite numerous injuries to their pitching staff. Kelly was also named 2018 National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping Washington reach its first-ever College World Series. Fitzgerald has been at Dallas Baptist for the last nine seasons and he’s considered one of the top recruiters in the country.

Nicholls named Louisiana Tech associate head coach Mike Silva as its new head baseball coach today. Silva also oversaw the Bulldogs pitchers and helped Tech to its best ever season in program history this past year.

In basketball, the Ragin Cajuns leading scorer from last season, Cedric Russell, has reportedly committed to Ohio State. He averaged 17 points a game last season for U-L Lafayette.

A 14-year-old girl from Harvey won the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night becoming the first person from Louisiana to win the bee. Zaila Avant-garde is also the first African American winner of the 96-year-old tournament. She spelled Murraya correctly to win…
cut 12 (10) “….applause fades”
Zaila told Good Morning America she studies 13-thousand words a day. The Jefferson Parish native also spelling is a hobby, but her true passion is basketball and she holds three Guinness World Records for dribbling multiple basketballs simultaneously.

Louisiana Tech football program has announced the signing of three transfers, including former West Virginia Quarterback Austin Kendall, who also spent three seasons at Oklahoma. Kendall was West Virginia’s primary starter in 2019 and threw for nearly two thousand yards and 12 touchdowns. Tech also signed former Vanderbilt running back Keyon Henry Brooks, who rushed for 746 yards in two seasons for the Commodores. And former Jacksonville State cornerback Jacquez Payton, who had three career interceptions for the Gamecocks

6:45 LRN Sportscast

Four-star outside linebacker DeMario Tolan from Orlando, Florida has committed to the LSU Tigers. He’s the first linebacker in the Class of 2022. 24-7-sports rates Tolan as the 31st best linebacker in the nation and he also received offers from Auburn, Georgia, and Texas A-and-M.

Former LSU offensive tackle Dare Rosenthal has announced he’s heading to Kentucky. The six-foot-seven, 327-pounder said on Twitter that leaving LSU is hard, but he believes Kentucky can help mold and shape him into a better person. The former Ferriday standout missed several games because of disciplinary issues.

Former Oklahoma and most recently West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall is transferring to Louisiana Tech. Kendall didn’t play a lot last season, but in 2019 he started in nine games and threw for nearly two thousand yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions for the Mountaineers.

14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde from Harvey became the first person from Louisiana last night to win the Sripps National Spelling Bee. She’s also the first African-American winner in the bee’s 96-year history. Zaila says spelling is a hobby, but her true passion is basketball.

LSU baseball has announced Jason Kelly as the Tigers’ new pitching coach. Kelly was the 2018 National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping Washington reach the College World Series for the first time in school history. This past season, he helped Arizona State reach the NCAA Tournament despite numerous injuries to their main pitchers.

D-1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers is reporting Nicholls will hire Louisiana Tech associate head coach Mike Silva as the Colonels new head baseball coach. Silva has spent the last four years guiding the Bulldogs pitching staff and helped Tech post a 42-20 record this past season.

Rogers also reports former Nicholls head coach Seth Thibodeaux is joining Matt Deggs staff at U-L Lafayette. Assistants Jeremy Talbot and former major league pitcher B-J Ryan have left the Cajuns program.

4:45 LRN Sportscast July 8

The LSU football program received a commitment today from four-star linebacker DeMario Tolan, who is from Orlando. 24-7-sports rates Tolan as the 27th best linebacker in the nation and he’s the 13th commitment in the 2022 recruiting class. Clemson, Miami, and Tennessee are the other schools interested in Tolan.

Former LSU offensive tackle and Ferriday native Dare Rosenthal will continue his college career at Kentucky. The Six-foot-seven, 327-pound lineman missed several games because of disciplinary issues.

Former Oklahoma and most recently West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall is transferring to Louisiana Tech. Kendall didn’t see much playing time last season, but in 2019 he started in nine games and threw for nearly two thousand yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions for the Mountaineers.

And Terrebonne running back Jaylin Lucas has announced he’s committed to Tulane.

Dan Fitzgerald is expected to be named as the recruiting coordinator for new LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson. Fitzgerald has spent the last nine seasons at Dallas Baptist, where’s he gained the reputation as a terrific recruiter. Nine players he helped recruit turned into All-Americans.

And LSU baseball continues to rebuild its roster through the transfer portal. Samford catcher and Slidell native Tyler McManus is reportedly heading to LSU as a grad transfer after hitting .346, with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs. Right-handed pitcher Eric Reyzelman (Raise-el-mun) announced on social media he’s transferring from San Franciso to pitch at LSU. The sophomore had Tommy John surgery and this past year recorded a 6.17 ERA in 35 innings as he struggled with his control. 30 walks in those 35 innings.

D-1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers is reporting Nicholls has hired Louisiana Tech associate head coach Mike Silva as the Colonels new head baseball coach. Silva has spent the last four years guiding the Bulldogs pitching staff.

Rogers also reports that former Nicholls head coach Seth Thibodeaux is joining Matt Deggs staff at U-L Lafayette. Assistants Jeremy Talbot and former major league pitcher B-J Ryan have left the Cajuns program.

11:40 LRN Sportscast July 8

New LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson has reportedly found his recruiting coordinator. D-1 Baseball Reports that Dallas Baptist associate head coach Dan Fitzgerald will join Johnson’s staff at LSU and oversee recruiting after a nine-year run at D-B-U. He’s known as one of the top recruiters in the country. He recruited nine eventual All-Americans at Dallas Baptist and the school made the NCAA Tournament seven times during the nine years Fitzgerald was there.

Samford catcher Tyler McManus has announced he’s transferring to LSU for his final season. The Slidell native hit .346 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs last season. McManus has a chance to start next season as LSU struggled to find a consistent starter last season between Alex Milazzo and Hayden Travinski.

LSU’s marching band will be at every road football game for the Tigers this season, except for the season opener against UCLA. On June 15th, UCLA announced it will be at full capacity for football games this year at the Rose Bowl, but the Golden Band from Tigerland had already decided that it will not attend.

Bleed Tech-Blue is reporting that West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall is transferring to Louisiana Tech. The former four-star recruit will be eligible to play this season. Kendall was a back-up for the Mountaineers in 2020, but started nine games in 2019 and threw for nearly two thousand yards and 12 touchdowns for West Virginia, who went five and seven last season. Kendall will battle for starting playing time against Aaron Allen and Luke Anthony. Anthony is coming off a major injury. Kendall was also at Oklahoma, where he served as a backup to Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.

The American Baseball Coaches Association has named LSU-Eunice coach Jeff Willis as the national coach of the year for NJCAA Division Two. It’s the seventh time Willis has won the award. This past season the Bengals won the division two junior college national championship.

There will be no fans at the Tokyo Games, which will get underway on July 23rd. The Japanese Prime Minister says the country is under a state of emergency because of the delta strain of the coronavirus and to prevent a resurgence of infections from spreading across the country.

6:45 LRN Sportscast July 8

New LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson has reportedly found his recruiting coordinator. D-1 Baseball Reports that Dallas Baptist associate head coach Dan Fitzgerald will handle those responsibilities at LSU after a nine-year run at D-B-U. He’s known as one of the top recruiters in the country. He recruited nine eventual All-Americans at Dallas Baptist.

Samford catcher Tyler McManus has announced he’s transferring to LSU for his final season. The Slidell native hit .346 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs last season. McManus has a chance to start next season as LSU struggled to find a consistent starter last season between Alex Milazzo and Hayden Travinski.

The American Baseball Coaches Association has named LSU-Eunice coach Jeff Willis as the national coach of the year for NJCAA Division Two. It’s the seventh time Willis has won the award. This past season the Bengals won the division two junior college national championship.

1140 Sportscast 7/7

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson has began filling out his coaching staff as he has hired Arizona State’s Jason Kelly as the Tigers’ new pitching coach.  Kelly was recently fired by Arizona State after they learned he interviewed with LSU.  Kelly was named D1 Baseball’s Assistant of the year back in 2018.  He’s been the Sun Devils pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the last three seasons.  Prior to his time in Tempe, Kelly was the Associate Head Coach, recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at the University of Washington.

Former LSU softball player Amanda Sanchez has become the first Olympian in program history after being named to the Mexican National Softball Team.
Sanchez will represent Mexico in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. She is part of Mexico’s first Olympic softball team and the return of the sport to the Game’s for the first time since 2018.

Madison prep QB Zeon Chriss has committed to play football for the ULL Ragin Cajuns. He lead the chargers to a class 3-a championship title last season.

Former LSU Track and Field star Sha’Carri Richardson will not compete for team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.  Richardson was suspended one month after testing positive for marijuana during a drug screening.  She would still be eligible to run on the team’s 4×100 meter relay but was left off the roster.

Game 1 of the NBA finals is in the books and the Phoenix Suns took down the Milwaukee Bucks 118-105.  Former New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul led the way offensively for the Suns, scoring 32 points to go along with nine assists.  Paul is looking for his first title in his 17 year career.  Former Pels guard Jrue Holiday struggled offensively for the Bucks, scoring just 10 points, but he did have seven rebounds and nine assists.  The Suns are now just three wins away from their first championship in franchise history.  Game two will be tomorrow at 8 pm.

1140 Sportscast 7/6

San Francisco Giants pitcher and former LSU Tiger Kevin Gausman has been named to the 2021 National League All-Star team, making him the 13th former LSU player to be named an MLB all-star.  The selection of Gausman marks the sixth straight time that an LSU player has been chosen for the honor.  Gausman is 8-2 this season with a 1.68 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 101 innings.  Gausman is in his ninth season in the big league’s and second with the Giants.

The ULM football coaching staff will once again be allowed on Oak Grove High School’s campus once an evaluation period begins.  They were barred from campus  by coach Ryan Gregory after offensive lineman John Bolding’s scholarship was not renewed with the arrival of new Warhawks coach Terry Bowden.  Bolding, an Oak Grove product, was a Dean’s list student at ULM and set to graduate in December.

The women’s college world series averaged 59 percent more viewers than the men’s college world series.  The most viewed softball game grabbed the attention of 2.1 million viewers, 24 percent more viewers than the 1.7 million that tuned into the most watched men’s game.

Game one of the NBA is tonight at 8 pm as the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks will face off in a best of seven series.  Former New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul and former head coach Monty Williams have led the Suns to the finals as they reunited after their time together in the Big Easy.  Former Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will step on the court for the Bucks.  Holiday is averaging 17.7 points per game this season.

Former College Football head coach Mark Richt announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  Richt coached the Georgia Bulldogs from 2001-2015 before a brief stint with the Miami Hurricanes from 2016-2018.  Richt has a head coaching record of 171 wins and 64 losses, and is 10-7 in bowl games and a pair of SEC Championships.

445 Sportscast 7/5

LSU baseball has officially landed All-American freshman transfer Jacob Berry from Arizona after the former Wildcats third baseman announced that he will be following coach Jay Johnson to LSU.  Berry hit .352 with a team-high 17 home runs and 70 RBI’s for the Wildcats last season.  He started 62 games for Arizona and hit 19 doubles, five triples, and totaled 87 hits.

The LSU football team has landed a commitment from the number two kicker in America for the class of 2022 as Nathan Dibert recently announced his pledge to the tigers.  Dibert performed well at the Kohl’s kicking camp as the left-footer connected on 24-25 fields goals with some in the 50-yard range.  With Dibert now on board that gives the Tigers 12 verbal commitments for the 2022 class.

LSU track star and Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has received a lot of support from many athletes following her disqualification in the 100 meter at the Olympic games due to her positive marijuana test.

According to ESPN’s Mike Triplett, the New Orleans Saints are among a handful of teams interested in veteran free agent cornerback Richard Sherman ahead of the 2021 training camp.  New Orleans now has nearly 10 million in salary cap after extending Ryan Ramczyk. Sherman is a five-time pro bowler and has previously stated he wants to play for a contender.

Also, the Netflix film “Home Team” centering around Sean Payton’s 2012 suspension due to the bounty gate scandal has officially wrapped up filming in New Orleans.  Kevin James is playing the Saints’ head man and rounding out the cast will be Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and others.

While former New Orleans stars Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday will battle it out for an NBA championship there is another matchup to watch for Pelicans fans.  Willie Green and Charles Lee, assistants for the Sun and Bucks are believed to be the leading candidates to fill the Pels’ head coaching vacancy.

1140 Sportscast 7/5

LSU baseball has officially landed All-American freshman transfer Jacob Berry from Arizona after the former Wildcats third baseman announced that he will be following coach Jay Johnson to LSU.  Berry hit .352 with a team-high 17 home runs and 70 RBI’s for the Wildcats last season.  He started 62 games for Arizona and hit 19 doubles, five triples, and totaled 87 hits.

The LSU football team has landed a commitment from the number two kicker in America for the class of 2022 as Nathan Dibert recently announced his pledge to the tigers.  Dibert performed well at the Kohl’s kicking camp as the left-footer connected on 24-25 fields goals with some in the 50-yard range.  With Dibert now on board that gives the Tigers 12 verbal commitments for the 2022 class.

LSU track star and Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has received a lot of support from many athletes following her disqualification in the 100 meter at the Olympic games due to her positive marijuana test.

According to ESPN’s Mike Triplett, the New Orleans Saints are among a handful of teams interested in veteran free agent cornerback Richard Sherman ahead of the 2021 training camp.  New Orleans now has nearly 10 million in salary cap after extending Ryan Ramczyk. Sherman is a five-time pro bowler and has previously stated he wants to play for a contender.

Also, the Netflix film “Home Team” centering around Sean Payton’s 2012 suspension due to the bounty gate scandal has officially wrapped up filming in New Orleans.  Kevin James is playing the Saints’ head man and rounding out the cast will be Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and others.

While former New Orleans stars Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday will battle it out for an NBA championship there is another matchup to watch for Pelicans fans.  Willie Green and Charles Lee, assistants for the Sun and Bucks are believed to be the leading candidates to fill the Pels’ head coaching vacancy.

645AM Sportscast 7/5

LSU baseball has officially landed All-American freshman transfer Jacob Berry from Arizona after the former Wildcats third baseman announced that he will be following coach Jay Johnson to LSU.  Berry hit .352 with a team-high 17 home runs and 70 RBI’s for the Wildcats last season.  He started 62 games for Arizona and hit 19 doubles, five triples, and totaled 87 hits.

The LSU football team has landed a commitment from the number two kicker in America for the class of 2022 as Nathan Dibert recently announced his pledge to the tigers.  Dibert performed well at the Kohl’s kicking camp as the left-footer connected on 24-25 fields goals with some in the 50-yard range.  With Dibert now on board that gives the Tigers 12 verbal commitments for the 2022 class.

LSU track star and Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has received a lot of support from many athletes following her disqualification in the 100 meter at the Olympic games due to her positive marijuana test.

According to ESPN’s Mike Triplett, the New Orleans Saints are among a handful of teams interested in veteran free agent cornerback Richard Sherman ahead of the 2021 training camp.  New Orleans now has nearly 10 million in salary cap after extending Ryan Ramczyk. Sherman is a five-time pro bowler and has previously stated he wants to play for a contender.

Also, the Netflix film “Home Team” centering around Sean Payton’s 2012 suspension due to the bounty gate scandal has officially wrapped up filming in New Orleans.  Kevin James is playing the Saints’ head man and rounding out the cast will be Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and others.

While former New Orleans stars Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday will battle it out for an NBA championship there is another matchup to watch for Pelicans fans.  Willie Green and Charles Lee, assistants for the Sun and Bucks are believed to be the leading candidates to fill the Pels’ head coaching vacancy.