Winning championships has sort of 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 forever ago, it’s only been four years since LSU Football took the nation by storm with an 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. And if the 2023 Tigers hope to follow in the title-winning footsteps of Reese, Skenes and Burrow this fall, they’ll need contributions from an abundance 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 and instantly made his mark.
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As participation in the transfer portal explodes across the country, Kelly has relied heavily on it to mold LSU into his vision. We take a deep dive into what that means for LSU Football in our August cover story. In this month’s edition, find stories on Southern University’s Dancing Dolls, the rise of sports betting in Baton Rouge, a review on Bistro Italia and much more. And inside the issue, readers will also find the 2023 commemorative edition of Tiger Pride, our annual celebration of the passion and pageantry of LSU football.
Flip through it all below, and be sure to pick up the print copy on newsstands now around the Capital Region. Let us know what you think at [email protected].
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