ESPN put out its ranking of top transfer portal classes and LSU is number one. ESPN says coach Lane Kiffin lived up to his reputation as a dealmaker by securing multiple players in the portal including quarterback Sam Leavitt, safety Ty Benefield and the top ranked edge rusher Princewill Umannielen. ESPN is also impressed with the wide receivers Kiffin has brought in. Jackson Harris, who was at Hawaii, is one of those pass catchers that is expected to help Kiffin’s big play offense. Harris says Kiffin connects with the team because he’s as dedicated as the players are…

Cut 29 (13) “…wants to win”

LSU could still land offensive tackle Jordan Seaton. Oregon and Miami are also in the picture for the former Colorado Buffalo.

Three weeks from today it’s the season opener for the LSU baseball team. Last year, the Tigers hit 103 home runs in 68 games, tied for 17th in the country. In addition to returning Jake Brown, Steven Milam and Cade Arrambide, LSU added more power to the lineup with transfers Trent Caraway, Zach Yorke, Seth Dardar and Brayden Simpson. Brown says he expects the long ball numbers to go up this year.

Cut 20 (08) “…balls this year.”

In basketball….Louisiana Tech had a huge second half this afternoon and rallied to beat Kennesaw State 82 to 76. Scooter Williams came of the bench to score a season high 28 points in 31 minutes.

ULM remained winless in the Sun Belt with a 59-43 loss to App State.

LSU’s game against Arkansas tomorrow has been moved up to 4 PM because of the winter storm that will hit Fayetteville.

LSU has signed 40 players from the transfer portal, with the first player to commit being wide receiver Jackson Harris, who had a standout season at Hawaii last year. Harris caught 49 passes for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Rainbow Warriors. Harris says he brings a variety of skills to Baton Rouge…

Cut 18 (16) “…on the field”

Three weeks from today, LSU baseball begins the defense of its national title. Tigers right fielder Jake Brown says there has been an emphasis on chemistry, which was a key part of last year’s team…

Cut 19 (12) “…the field”

Brown was a guest on Tiger Rag Radio this week.

The sixth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team scored 37 points in the third quarter on its way to an easy 98-54 win over Texas A&M. MiLaysia Fulwiley led the way with 23 points, and Grace Knox was a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor and finished with 19 points.  Also, LSU made all 20 of its free throws.

And second-ranked South Carolina went down, losing to 16th-ranked Oklahoma 94 to 82 in overtime.

The Lady Techsters won their fifth straight as La Tech defeated Missouri State 60-51. Paris Bradley had 20 points. The McNeese Cowgirls won their eighth straight, an easy win over Southeastern Louisiana 72-30.

The UL-Lafayette and ULM men’s basketball teams both lost yesterday. The Warhawks have a quick turnaround as they play App State today at 11 AM.

Louisiana Tech hosts Kennesaw State today at 1 PM. Tech is third in the country in scoring defense, while the Owls are 17^th in scoring offense.

Lane Kiffin’s already No. 1 Transfer Portal class got even stronger with the addition of the number one edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen (ooh-MAHN-me-ellen), who led Ole Miss with nine sacks last season. Umanmielen is rated as the fifth best prospect in the portal by 247sports.

Kiffin may not be done yet. The Tigers are fighting to land Colorado sophomore Jordan Seaton, who is rated as the number-one offensive tackle in the transfer portal. Zack Nagy who covers LSU for Sports Illustrated says LSU and Oregon are in a recruiting battle for Seaton.

Cut 18 (22)  “…open up the checkbook.”

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is also a finalist and so is Patriots running back Tre’Veyon Henderson. Panthers wide receiver T-Mac McMillan and Bucaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka (uh-MEH-kuh eh-BOO-kuh) are the other two finalists.

Hometown hero Josh Brantley is returning to Ruston as he’s committed to play for Louisiana Tech. As a quarterback, Brantley led Ruston High to a state championship in 2023. He was on Tulane’s roster last season, but didn’t play. Matt Belinson of the Ruston Leader reports Brantley is expected to play tight end for the Bulldogs.

Tonight In women’s hoops, the sixth-ranked Lady Tigers look for their fourth straight win as they travel to Texas A&M. The Lady Techsters are looking for their fifth straight win as they visit Missouri State. McNeese Coach Ayla Guzzardo returns to Hamond tonight as the Cowgirls look for their eighth straight as they face Southeastern. Guzzardo is an S-L-U alum and led the Lady Lions to the NCAA Tournament as their coach in 2023.

The top edge rusher in the transfer portal has committed to LSU and it’s an expensive acquisition. Princewill Umanmielen (ooh-MAHN-me-ellen) had nine sacks for the Ole Miss Rebels last season.

Umanmielen signed a revenue-sharing agreement with Ole Miss to play for the Rebels in 2026, however, on Friday, he announced his intention to enter the portal and officially got in yesterday and quickly committed to LSU. Zack Nagy covers the Tigers for Sports Illustrated and says LSU will pay Umanmielen’s buyout…

Cut 17 (18) “….agreement Umanmeilen”

The buyout is a reported 500-thousand dollars and the pass rusher will reportedly receive one-million dollars in his revenue-sharing deal.

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Josh Brantley led Ruston to a state championship in football as a quarterback in 2023. He brought the Bearcats back to the state title game in 2024 and then spent last season at Tulane, but didn’t play. According to his Instagram account, Brantley is coming back home and has committed to La Tech.

Because of the approaching winter storm, U-L Lafayette and ULM have early games today. The Cajuns will face App State at 11 AM and the Warhawks will visit Marhsall also at 11 AM. After today’s game, ULM will travel to North Carolina to play App State tomorrow at 11 AM. The Cajuns game at Old Dominion on Saturday has been rescheduled for February 16^th.

In women’s hoops, the sixth-ranked Lady Tigers look for their fourth straight win as they travel to Texas A&M tonight. The Lady Techsters are looking for their fifth straight win as they visit Missouri State. McNeese goes after their eighth straight victory as the Cowgirls are at Southeastern Louisiana.

The Pelicans lost to the Pistons 112 to 104 last night

In a move that was expected to happen, the number one edge rusher in the transfer portal, Princewill Umanmielen  (OO-mAn-me-Ellen) has committed to LSU according to multiple reports. He’s six-five, 245 pounds and is coming off a big season at Ole Miss, where he recorded nine sacks and 45 tackles.

According to 247Sports, LSU has the number one transfer portal class in the country.  The class features three quarterbacks, four running backs, nine receivers, eight offensive linemen and now three edge rushers. Kiffin spoke at the Baton Rouge Business Report Power Breakfast and says  these players want to be part of the next great team at LSU.

Cut 18 (18)  “…this special thing.”

The defending national champion Florida Gators easily defeated the LSU Tigers 79 to 61 in Gainesville last night, despite the return of starting point guard Dedan Thomas. Thomas played for the first time since December 29^th, because of a lower leg injury and had 2 points. The story of the game was what happened on the glass, as Florida outrebounded LSU 50 to 30.

The Pelicans will host Detroit tonight. The Pistons have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 31-10. New Orleans has the worst record in the West at 10-35. Zion Williamson is questionable with an illness and Herb Jones is questionable because of an ankle injury.

The Saints have signed safety Julian Blackmon to a one-year contract extension. Blackmon was signed during training camp, but suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the season opener.  He’s now missed 28 games in his six-year career.

Louisiana Tech has announced the signing of offensive lineman Tye Hylton, a transfer from Florida State. Hylton never played for the Seminoles and has three years of eligibility remaining.

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin went into a little more detail on why he left Ole Miss to be the head coach of the Fighting Tigers. Kiffin spoke at the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Power Breakfast. He said he was torn over whether to leave Ole Miss for LSU, but former LSU coach Nick Saban told him he would regret not taking the LSU job, because it’s the best job in America.

Cut 17 (15)  “…to another level.”

LSU is not done signing players out of the portal. The Tigers are still trying to land offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, who is ranked as the fourth-best player in the portal. Kiffin said at the Baton Rouge Business Report event that the Tigers were on the verge of signing the greatest transfer portal class in the history of college football.

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The LSU men’s basketball team was outclassed last night as they lost to the defending national champion Florida Gators 79 to 61. The Tigers trailed the 16th-ranked Gators by double figures for nearly the entire game. Point guard D-J Thomas made his long-awaited return from a lower leg injury and scored two points in 17 minutes. LSU is at 20th-ranked Arkansas this Saturday. The Razorbacks beat 15th-ranked Vanderbilt 93-68 last night.

Due to the potential for a winter storm in north Louisiana, Louisiana Tech’s game against Kennesaw State has been rescheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center. The Bulldogs are 3-4 in Conference USA play. The Owls are 4-and-3 and play tonight at Sam Houston.

The Pelicans host the Detroit Pistons tonight. New Orleans is 10-35 on the season, while the Pistons are 31- 10. Tip-off is at 7 PM at the Smoothie King Center.

Indiana won its first national championship in college football last night, beating Miami 27 to 21 to finish off a perfect 16-0 season. ESPN has LSU ranked 15^th in its 2026 Way-Too-Early Top 25. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel has LSU ranked 16^th.

The 2026 LSU baseball team begins its national title defense in 24 days, as the Tigers host Milwaukee February 13th. The Tigers were led by two outstanding starting pitchers, Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, who are now in professional baseball. After a fantastic freshman season, Casan Evans is the likely Friday night starter this year. Coach Jay Johnson…

Cut 16 (16) “…excited for that.”

Evans mainly pitched out of the bullpen last season and went 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA and had seven saves. He also struck out 71 in 52.2 innings pitched.

LSU men’s basketball will try to win its second straight game tonight when they visit Florida. The Tigers might get their starting point guard back. D-J Thomas has yet to play in an SEC game after suffering a lower leg injury in practice prior to the start of conference play. Thomas is listed as questionable to play tonight. The Gators are 4-1 and tied for first place in the SEC.

Stephen F Austin leads the Southland Conference with a 9-1 league record after handing Nicholls its third consecutive loss, a 79-62 drubbing inside Stopher Gymnasium.

McNeese improved to 8-2 in the Southland after dribbling past A-and-M Corpus Christi 69 to 53. Freshman Larry Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds. McNeese returns home to host UNO on Saturday. The Privateers defeated Lamar 89 to 76 last night.  Northwestern state fell to H-C-U 82 to 80.

The college football season ended last night with Indiana winning its first national championship. The Hoosiers held on to beat the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 to complete a 16-0 season. For LSU fans hoping the Tigers are in the national championship game next year. The C-F-P title game will be in Las Vegas on January 25^th.

Now that the college football season is over. That means the college baseball season is right around the corner. Coach Jay Johnson has several pitchers who could start on the weekend, one of them is Kansas transfer Cooper Moore…

Cut 18 (09) “…one of those guys”

We are 24 days away from the season opener on February 13^th against Milwaukee, and LSU is ranked second in Baseball America’s preseason Top 25, behind UCLA.

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In a battle for first place in the Southland Conference at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, it was all Stephen F Austin as the Lumberjacks slammed the Colonels 79 to 62. S-F-A is now 9-1 in league play, Nicholls is 7-3.

McNeese is all alone in second place as the Cowboys beat Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi 69-53. Larry Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Tough loss for Northwestern State as the Demons missed a shot at the buzzer to tie the game as N-S-U fell to Houston Christian 82-80.

In other Southland action….UNO upended Lamar 89-76 and UT Rio Grande Valley beat Southeastern Louisiana 68-65.

The LSU men’s basketball team will try for its second straight SEC win when they visit 16^th ranked Florida tonight. Tigers starting point guard DJ Thomas is listed as questionable as he’s getting closer to returning from a leg injury suffered before the start of SEC play.

LSU has added nearly 40 players from the transfer portal and the class is ranked number one by 2-4-7 sports. And the Tigers are not done adding to the class. The number one offensive tackle in the portal, Jordan Seaton, who started 22 games at Colorado, reportedly had a great visit to LSU on Sunday.

Great win for the LSU women’s basketball team on Sunday as the sixth ranked Lady Tigers defeated 13^th ranked Oklahoma 91 to 72 for their third consecutive SEC win after starting league play with back to back to losses. Flau’jae Johnson had 23 points and 10 rebounds, but in the postgame she talked about the team’s effort on the defensive end of the court as they were able to slow down a high-scoring O-U offense…

Cut 16 (11) “…that way”

LSU’s next game is Thursday night at Texas A-and-M.

The LSU men’s basketball team finally won its first SEC game on Saturday as the Tigers put together their best performance of the year for a 78 to 70 win over Missouri. It was a nice bounce-back victory for LSU, which lost a heartbreaker last Wednesday to Kentucky, blowing an 18-point lead and losing on a last-second shot. Forward Marquel Sutton led the way with 26 points…

Cut 19 (17) “…40 minutes.”

In the NFL playoffs yesterday, the Patriots forced five turnovers as New England defeated Houston 28 to 16 to advance to the AFC Championship game. Former LSU Tiger K’ Lavon Chaisson put pressure on Houston QB CJ Stroud all afternoon long…

Cut 22 (15 ) “…for sure”

One of the top players in the transfer portal was on LSU’s campus on Sunday. Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is ranked as the 4th-best player in the transfer portal by 2-4-7 sports. The former five-star recruit started 22 games over the last two seasons at Colorado. He’s also visited Miami and Mississippi State and will also reportedly visit Oregon.

Make it three in a row for the Lady Tigers as the sixth-ranked team in the nation took down 13th-ranked Oklahoma, 91-72, in Norman yesterday afternoon. Senior guard Flau’jae Johnson was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points and said LSU was able to neutralize Oklahoma’s fast-paced style of play.

Cut 16 (12) “…in that way.”

LSU is 3-2 in league play and will visit Texas A-and-M on Thursday night.

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Tonight is the national championship game in college football as Indiana looks to complete the undefeated season as they face Miami on their home field.

Former LSU star and New Iberia native Kayshon Boutte made the catch of the NFL playoffs yesterday, a beautiful one-handed grab to complete a 32-yard touchdown pass as the Patriots are back in the AFC Championship Game after beating the Texans 28-16. New England will take on Sean Payton and the  Broncos this Sunday in Denver.

The LSU men’s basketball team finally got a win in the SEC on Saturday as the Tigers defeated Missouri 78 to 70. The Tigers are now 1-4 in league play heading into tomorrow night’s game at Florida. Coach Matt McMahon says the goal now is to stack some wins together.

Cut 18 (11)  “…great fashion.”

Big game in college basketball tonight as Nicholls hosts Stephen F Austin. The Colonels have lost two in a row and they are a game back of the first-place Lumberjacks, who are 8-1 in league play. Tip off is at 6:30.