Good morning, Tigers.
The LSU family is mourning the loss of a giant. J. Stanley "Skip" Bertman, the legendary baseball coach and athletics director, passed away Friday morning in Baton Rouge at 88 years old. Bertman guided the Tigers to five NCAA National Championships and 11 College World Series appearances across 18 seasons, compiling an 870-330-3 record while transforming "Baseball At The Box" into a must-see event.
He later served as athletics director from 2001-08, hiring four coaches who won national titles at LSU. His No. 15 jersey is retired, and the field at Alex Box Stadium bears his name.
⚾ REMEMBERING SKIP BERTMAN:
🎥 LSU+: THE SKIP BERTMAN COLLECTION
The Skip Bertman collection on LSU+ is now streaming, free for everyone.
🔼 Second-Half Surge. LSU soccer turned it on after the break! The Tigers erupted for five second-half goals to put away Northwestern State in the home opener. Ava Galligan opened the scoring before Allie Fryer, Ryann Denecour, Mia Conard, and Linka Ono all joined the party.
Next up: LSU hosts UCF on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.
🔼 International Impact. LSU women's basketball is going global for its newest addition! Coach Kim Mulkey announced the signing of Anna Minaeva, a 6-5 Russian post player who arrives from MBA Moscow, where she averaged 11.2 points and 9.6 rebounds in 29 games this season against professional competition.
🔼 Grad Day. It's graduation weekend in Baton Rouge, and Tiger student-athletes across multiple sports are earning their degrees!
👟 Track & Field/Cross Country: Five current and former Tigers — Callie Hardy, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Jevan Parara, Gregory Prince, and Jordan Turner — are set to graduate, with three earning bachelor's degrees and two collecting master's degrees.
⛳ Women's Golf: Elsa Svensson, a member of LSU's 2022 SEC Championship team and three NCAA Championship squads, received her MBA at Friday's commencement exercises.
🥎 Softball: Maci Bergeron, a 2025 NFCA All-American and LSU's all-time fielding percentage leader, earns her bachelor's in general business, while versatile infielder Avery Hodge collects her degree in communication studies.
🏀 Men’s Basketball: Former LSU star and 2009 SEC Player of the Year Marcus Thornton received his diploma, completing his degree through LSU's Project Graduation program, while teammate on staff-side connections continued as 2025-26 Tiger Jaden Bobbett collected his MBA at the same ceremony.
⚾ Baseball: Former LSU pitcher Jaden Noot, a two-time National Champion who played a key role in the Tigers' 2025 College World Series title run, has earned his degree in interdisciplinary studies, becoming the 138th LSU baseball student-athlete to graduate over the past 19 years.
🏖️ Beach Volleyball: Aubrey O'Gorman, who went 50-41 in her Sandy Tigs career, earned her MBA, while Gracey Campbell received her bachelor's degree in sports administration.
🏊 Swimming and Diving: Team captain and two-time SEC Champion Michaela de Villiers collected her MBA and two-time All-American Stepan Goncharov earned his degree. Ezra Dickerson, a Tiger for five years as a swimmer and graduate assistant, also walked the stage.
🤔 TIGER TRIVIA
In what years did Coach Bertman lead the Tigers to NCAA National Championships?
Think you got it?
Scroll to the bottom of this email for the answer!
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📅 THE SCHEDULE AHEAD
*All times are in CT
Thursday, August 20
⚽ Soccer vs. UCF @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 22
🏐 Volleyball vs. UL-Lafayette (Exhibition) @ 1 p.m.
Sunday, August 23
⚽ Soccer vs. Florida Gulf Coast @ 1 p.m.
Thursday, August 27
⚽ Soccer vs. Arizona State @ 9 p.m. (Tempe, Ariz.)
Friday, August 28
🏐 Volleyball vs. Wake Forest @ 6 p.m.
Saturday, August 29
🏐 Volleyball vs. Incarnate Word @ 6 p.m.
Tuesday, September 1
🏐 Volleyball @ Michigan @ 6 p.m. (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Wednesday, September 2
🏐 Volleyball vs. Michigan State @ 3:30 p.m. (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Friday, September 4
👟 Cross Country @ Battle For New Orleans (New Orleans, La.)
Saturday, September 5
🏈 Football vs. Clemson @ 6:30 p.m. | ESPN College GameDay | Watch: ABC
🐯 GO HERE FOR LSU’S ALL SPORTS CALENDAR
🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER
Answer: 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000.
🐯 Have a great Monday, Tigers!
