Johnson named 20th men’s basketball coach in LSU history

Trent Johnson, who served as the head coach at Stanford for the past four seasons, was named the 20th head men’s basketball coach at LSU last week.

In Johnson’s nine years combined as a Division I head coach at both Stanford and Nevada, he has won 159 games and taken teams the last six years to postseason play, including four NCAA appearances. Both Johnson’s 2004 Nevada and 2008 Stanford teams reached the NCAA Sweet 16. He has also been named Coach of the Year in both the Western Athletic Conference and Pac-10 Conferences and was a finalist this season for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which is given at the NCAA Final Four to the Division I head coach who best represents the high standards of the coaching profession.

Johnson, 51, took the Cardinal to the NCAA Sweet 16 this past season, recording a 28-8 overall record, earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Stanford had wins over USC, 22nd-ranked Arizona State and an overtime victory at No. 9 Washington State during the course of the year. Stanford finished 13-5 in the Pac-10 Conference, second to UCLA, earning Johnson Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. He was the only head coach in Stanford history to guide the Cardinal to the postseason in each of his first four seasons, going to the NCAA’s three times and the NIT in 2006.

Johnson replaces John Brady, who was relieved of his duties on Feb. 8 and interim coach Butch Pierre, who coached the final 10 games of the 2008 season. LSU finished the season 13-18 overall and 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference.

The Tigers did not have a senior on this year’s roster.

Freshman Anthony Randolph has announced he is entering the NBA Draft, meaning the 2008-2009 LSU squad will have the rest of its players back, including Tasmin Mitchell, who was lost for the season well before conference play began.

BASEBALL TEAM SALVAGES SERIES AT OLE MISS

Junior left-hander Ryan Verdugo fired the first complete game of his LSU career Sunday and catcher Micah Gibbs drove in four runs to lead the Tigers to an 8-2 victory over No. 18 Ole Miss at Swayze Field in Oxford.

LSU improved to 22-13 overall and 6-9 in the SEC with Sunday’s victory. Ole Miss, which saw its nine-game win streak end, fell to 24-12 overall and 9-6 in league play.

The Tigers fell to the Rebels on Friday, 2-1, and on Saturday, 7-1.

Right-hander Jared Bradford was scheduled to start Sunday’s game for LSU, but had problems with a blister on his hand during pre-game warm-ups. Verdugo (6-2) was called into action, and he responded with a gem, limiting the Rebels to two runs on three hits in nine innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Gibbs led LSU’s 13-hit attack, as he was 3-for-5 at the plate with a homer and four RBIs.

LSU travels to New Orleans to take on UNO at 6:30 p.m. today. The Tigers will host Georgia over the weekend with games on Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (noon).

OLE MISS WINS SOFTBALL SERIES

The LSU Lady Tigers won 3-of-5 SEC softball games in the past week, but was unable to win a series at home this past weekend against Ole Miss.

LSU posted a doubleheader sweep of Kentucky on Wednesday in Lexington, 13-2 (in six innings) and 5-2. The Lady Tigers also beat Ole Miss, 8-5, in the first of a twin bill on Saturday, but fell 3-1 in the second game and dropped Sunday’s contest, 2-0.

Against Kentucky, Erika Sluss had two hits (including a home run) and four runs batted in. Rachel Mitchell added three hits and a couple of RBIs. On the mound, Dani Hofer had nine strikeouts and allowed two hits and two runs in the complete-game effort.

In the second game, Sluss had three more RBIs and another home run. Cody Trahan got the win after allowing seven hits, two runs and striking out four. In the only victory of the series against Ole Miss, Hofer (18-5) got the complete-game win after allowing five hits, five runs and striking out eight. Mitchell had three hits, while Casey Faile drove in three runs.

The Lady Tigers (32-12, 11-8) head to Knoxville this weekend.