Wow! That’s about all I can say regarding our LSU baseball team’s outstanding postseason run through the Regional, Super Regional and College World Series.
For us die-hard LSU fans, it’s a huge deal that our Tigers have now claimed their eighth national title—their second in the past three years and second only to the University of Southern California’s 12 national titles.
With this latest championship, LSU became the first Division I baseball program to win multiple national titles in three separate decades (1990s, 2000s and 2020s). Head Coach Jay Johnson, now in his fourth year, also became the fastest coach in college baseball history to win multiple national titles at the same school.
So many of us were glued to our televisions and other media devices this past Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, rooting for our Tigers. Even casual sports fans seemed to get swept up in the excitement. My wife, for example—who becomes a major sports fan when I’m fired up about a particular game—was cheering and rooting hard for the Tigers. She quickly picked up the batting order and even caught up on pitching matchups and at-bat performances.
While she holds degrees from LSU Shreveport and has spent most of her life in Louisiana, she also earned a degree from the University of Tennessee. Still, she transformed into something of an armchair coach during the final championship series—yelling louder than me! I thought it was great.
At moments like this, I can’t help but think of my dad. He was always watching and cheering during any LSU sporting event—no matter the sport. I really miss him.
Tomorrow (June 26, 2025) will mark five years since my father passed. Five years. In many ways, it’s hard to believe that time has moved so quickly. So much has changed in my life over the past five years. And as I choke back tears while writing this part of my column, I’m incredibly thankful for where I am now—and for the journey that brought me here after losing my father.
Our God is so good. I thank Him every single day for what He has done in my life, and I thank Him daily for my wonderful wife and family.
Now, back to LSU sports. I have so many memories tied to my dad and LSU games—memories I’ve shared in columns over the years, memories that are permanently etched in my heart.
One of my earliest is “the night when time stood still”—1972, when LSU quarterback Bert Jones led the Tigers to a 17–16 last-second win over Ole Miss. Back then, most games weren’t televised, so Dad and I listened on his Channel Master clock radio. He was a Channel Master distributor, so of course, that’s what we had at home—for televisions, radios, antennas, you name it. What a memory.
I remember us watching Warren Morris hit a walk-off home run to beat Miami 9–8 in the 1996 College World Series. Then came the 2007 football national championship game, when LSU beat Ohio State 38–24. In 2009, we celebrated again when LSU beat Texas 11–4 in Game 3 of the College World Series to win its sixth national title in baseball.
Dad called me before every game of that 2009 series—just like he always did—to make sure I was coming over to watch it with him. The last LSU game he ever watched was the 2019 national championship football game, when LSU and Joe Burrow beat Clemson 42–25 to cap a perfect 15–0 season. We watched some of that unforgettable run from his hospital room.
Yes, this most recent LSU College World Series championship run brought back a flood of memories. And now, we’ve had the incredible joy of celebrating two baseball national championships in just the last three years.
What a great time to be an LSU Tiger fan!
And what a time in my life. I have so much to be thankful for—and so many precious memories of my father that I will carry with me forever.
Geaux Tigers!
Randy Brown is Executive Vice President of Specht Newspapers, Inc., and publisher of the Minden Press-Herald.