Winning championships has become common practice for LSU recently.
The women’s basketball team made history in April by securing the school’s first NCAA Tournament title. Months later, the Tiger baseball team clinched its seventh College World Series crown.
And while it may feel like ages, it was just four years ago that LSU football made its undefeated national championship run.
At the heart of each of those title-winning teams was a star player who emerged as the face of the program throughout the season. Angel Reese stole the show after her stellar tournament performance. Paul Skenes dominated the baseball headlines all season long. And Joe Burrow quickly became a household name while leading LSU back to the pinnacle of college football. So what do these three athletes have in common, aside from being arguably the best players in their respective sports at the time? They all arrived at LSU by transferring—a move that has become far more common in the current climate thanks to the NCAA transfer portal.
Since its introduction in 2018, participation in the portal has been steadily building each year. The 2021-2022 transfer numbers were up by nearly 3,000 from the previous year, according to NPR.
If the 2023 Tigers hope to follow in the title-winning footsteps of Reese, Skenes and Burrow this fall, they’ll need contributions from the group of transfer athletes Brian Kelly has brought to Baton Rouge. Quarterback Jayden Daniels—who boasts the second-best Heisman odds heading into the season—transferred to LSU in 2022.
Kelly has relied heavily on the transfer portal to mold LSU into his vision. 225 magazine takes a deep dive into what that means for LSU football, in its August cover story.
Flip through it online here or pick up the print copy at Capital Region newsstands now.
