LSU Baseball Adds Third Pitcher Via the Transfer Portal as UCLA’s Thatcher Hurd Commits to Tigers

Pitching was a big issue for the LSU Tigers baseball team this past season and coach Jay Johnson has wasted no time in addressing that deficiency.

It appears yet another pitcher is transferring to Baton Rouge as D1 Baseball's Kendall Rogers is reporting that former UCLA Bruin Thatcher Hurd has committed to LSU.

Hurd only played one season for the Bruins and appeared in nine games. He pitched 34 innings, allowed only 16 hits, seven runs, walked 10, while striking out a whopping 48 batters.

On March 8, Hurd was named the Perfect Game/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week and the NCBWA National Co-Pitcher of the Week after a pair of standout outings against Long Beach State and Oklahoma. His combined stats that week were 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 15 K.

Unfortunately, Hurd missed the remainder of the season due to a back injury which included a stress fracture of the bones of the lower spine.

A native of Manhattan Beach, California, Hurd will have three years of eligibility remaining.

As mentioned earlier, he's the third pitcher to join the Tigers via the transfer portal. The other two are Creighton's Dylan Tebrake, a two-time Big East Pitcher of the Year, and Vanderbilt right-hander Christian Little.

Hurd is also the fifth player overall to join the Tigers through the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.