The most nerve-wracking point of the offseason is almost here for LSU .
The 2026 MLB Draft is coming to take some of LSU's players , whether it be guys who have already suited up in the purple and gold or those that just graduated high school. Out of the 335 attendees, four are current Tigers and 15 are commits.
The draft begins on July 11, but can't start before the combine, which goes from June 23-25 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. Potential draftees will showcase their skills via on-field testing, workouts, interviews with teams and more.
Derek Curiel flips his bat in a 2026 game | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Four current Tigers will be heading to Phoenix: sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel,junior outfielder Jake Brown,junior right-handed pitcher Cooper Mooreand redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Deven Sheerin.
Curiel and Sheerin are two players that are almost certainly going to become professionals once the draft comes. But the former has teased a potential return.
"I definitely don't have all my eggs in one basket yet," Curiel said in an interview with ESPN 104.5 FM.
This came two weeks before shortstop Steven Milam announced he would withdraw from the draft and return for his senior season. But Curiel just isn't as likely of a returner.
He is projected as a first-round pick and has the talent to reach the major leagues by 2029 if he increases his power. Curiel will be hard to lure back.
Sheerin has shown all he can in college and is physically ready to make the next step in his game by exploring a professional career in the minor leagues.
Brown and Moore are more interesting prospects. Moore has confirmed that he will be back for the 2027 season, so his appearance at the combine is a little strange. Though, he is likely just checking out the process of the draft to be more prepared for the 2027 draft.
But Brown has been pretty silent on his future. He, like Milam, finished his junior year with a season that would make the word disappointing an understatement. Baseball America has him ranked as the No. 41 prospect in this draft, and ESPN has him just two spots lower.
That slot would typically see a guy leave, but Brown would be leaving LSU with some unfinished business. He broke his hamate bone and missed the final month of the season.
And while Brown was LSU's best hitter before his injury, he did only hit .214 against SEC pitchers over 70 at bats. That number can certainly get cleaned up to improve his draft stock. His future might become more clear after the combine.
Jay Johnson walks on the field before a 2026 game | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
While LSU head coach Jay Johnson told The Advocate that he only expects to lose six to eight commits to the MLB, 15 of his high school prospects will be attending the combine. Most of the attendees are at the top of LSU's high school class.
The list of attendees consists of Logan Schmidt, Jensen Hirschkorn, Malachi Washington, Nathaneal Davis, Anthony Murphy, Dominic Santarelli, Lucas Nawrocki, Cooper Sides, Dylan Blomker, Will Adams, Spencer Evans, CJ Weinstein, Wessley Roberson, Coleton Brady and Kolby Stringer.
Some of the players at the top of the list such as Schmidt and Hirschkorn are almost certain to be heading to the draft, while some at the bottom like Weinstein and Brady are more likely to make it to campus.
While the combine will likely help the draft stock of some of the guys expected to campus, it can also give them some much needed experience against the best in their age group before they get to campus.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/lsu as Which LSU Baseball Players and Commits Will Be at the 2026 MLB Draft Combine? .
