FORT WORTH, Tx. - LSU gymnastics keeps their eyes on a championship alive as they survive and advance in Session I of the NCAA Semifinals. The Tigers scored a 197.4375 to punch their ticket to the National Championship. 

LSU started the meet on vault. They were led by Kaliya Lincoln and Kailin Chio who both scored a 9.9625. If no one in Session II scored higher than Lincoln and Chio, the duo will shared the NCAA vault championship. Chio won that individual title as a freshman in 2025.

The Tigers led the session after that first rotation with a vault score of 49.475.

They then moved over to the uneven bars where Konnor McClain led that rotation. The last time McClain competed on bars, she suffered a fall and did not return to competition in the Regional Final about two weeks prior. 

The junior scored a 9.9125 in the anchor spot for LSU's highest score in the rotation. The Tigers fell to second place at the halfway point of the meet. They trailed Florida by a little more than two-tenths of a point. 

Balance beam started rocky for the Tigers. A few wobbles and balance checks had their first two routines score below a 9.80. In the fourth spot, Kaliya Lincoln scored a 9.4250 that the Tigers dropped. Konnor McClain came up big right after her with a 9.95. Kailin Chio followed in the anchor spot with a 9.8875. LSU was in third place heading into the final rotation.

On floor exercise, the party started with senior Emily Innes in the leadoff spot scoring a 9.8625. Amari Drayton scored big in the fourth spot with a 9.9375, followed by Kailin Chio who went 9.9625. Kaliya Lincoln anchored the rotation with a 9.9125. Those big scores were crucial in LSU keeping their season alive.

The Tigers finished in second place of the session behind the Florida Gators, but it was enough to advance to the finals on Saturday. The Four on the floor is set for Saturday 3 p.m. WBRZ. 

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FT. WORTH, TEXAS - The LSU Gymnastics team will compete in their version of the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship later this afternoon as the Tigers will start in Semifinal Session I Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2 in an attempt to advance on to the NCAA National Championship Finals on Saturday afternoon on WBRZ.

LSU will face off against No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Stanford in the afternoon session and need to be in the top two to advance onto the Finals.

The evening semifinal will include No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 UCLA and No. 14 Minnesota. 

Live stats and individual event stream links for Thursday’s semifinals can be found here.

More information from an LSU release can be read below: 

NCAA Postseason History

Thursday’s meet marks the program’s 35th overall trip to the NCAA Championship and the fourth consecutive under head coach Jay Clark. Under Clark’s leadership, LSU has consistently remained among the nation’s elite.
With a berth in the national finals on the line, LSU will look to secure its 11th NCAA Championship finals appearance in program history.

LSU entered the NCAA postseason as the No. 2 overall seed, beginning their journey to Fort Worth at home in the Baton Rouge Regional, when they successfully claimed their 16th NCAA Regional Championship title and secured their spot in the Elite Eight.

In the NCAA Second Round, the Tigers posted a school-record regional score and a season high 198.375 to finish first in the meet and advance to the regional finals, where they finished on top yet again with a score of 197.825 to book their ticket to nationals.

Stanford finished second in the Baton Rouge Regional Finals with a 197.225 to also secure their spot in the Elite Eight.

On the other side of the bracket, Oklahoma and UCLA both won their respective regional championships while Arkansas and Minnesota finished amongst the top two to secure their spots in Fort Worth. Oklahoma and Arkansas advanced out of the Lexington Regional, while UCLA and Minnesota were the two to come out of the Corvallis Regional. 

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BATON ROUGE — Earlier this week, Brian Kelly made his first television appearance since he was ousted as the LSU Tigers' head football coach. 

Kelly, who was fired by LSU in October 2025 after three full seasons coaching the Tigers, appeared on CBS Sports' "Inside College Football" on Wednesday. 

Kelly joined the panel as an analyst discussing the upcoming NFL Draft, sharing insights into top prospects like Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiyah Love, a running back from Notre Dame, where Kelly coached before LSU.

Is Jeremiyah Love worth a top-10 pick? ??

Here's what @CoachBrianKelly, @KevinCarter_93 and @BeanieWells26 have to say. ?? pic.twitter.com/759Px75H1Q

— CBS Sports College Football ?? (@CBSSportsCFB) April 16, 2026

On the same day as his CBS Sports debut, USA Today published an interview with the former LSU figurehead, during which he said he believes he is meant to be a coach. He still contracts his services out to multiple schools as a coaching consultant, he told USA Today. 

When asked what advice he'd give his successor, Kelly replied simply: "Lane (Kiffin) doesn’t need advice."

"I don’t think he needs any advice. I think you just continue to be who you are. I think that's all you can be. People are going to judge you based upon what they think, anyways," Kelly said. "So, just be Lane Kiffin."

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SEATTLE — LSU women's basketball star Flau'jae Johnson has officially landed in Washington after being drafted by the WNBA's Seattle Storm. 

In a video posted Wednesday night by the Storm, Johnson, wearing a retro Seattle SuperSonics jersey as she disembarked her plane at the airport in Seattle, was greeted by a swarm of cheering fans.

"Go Storm! Let's go," Johnson greeted the fans in the video. 

She called the experience "the most beautiful welcome ever." 

This was the most beautiful welcome ever thank you Seattle ???? https://t.co/YkR3HbVO6U

— Flaujae 4?? (@Flaujae) April 16, 2026

On Monday, Johnson was drafted as the eighth overall pick of the WNBA Draft after spending four years on the court at LSU under the leadership of Kim Mulkey. Johnson is the 25th LSU player to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the seventh since Mulkey took over the Lady Tigers.

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LAFAYETTE - LSU pitcher Jayden Heavener made history on the road as she tossed her second career no-hitter to help the Tigers take out the Ragin Cajuns 8-0 in five-inning Tuesday night at Lamson Park.

Heavener's no hitter was the 48th in LSU program history and the first on the road for a Tiger pitcher since Emily Turner spun one at Arkansas back in 2007.

LSU scored all the runs they would need in the second inning as the Tiger bats went through the order twice and took a 5-0 lead into the third.

Heavener then proceeded to throw her third shutout of the season striking out two and walking two on a crisp 68 pitches.

LSU returns to league play with a three-game series against Ole Miss on April 17-19, at Tiger Park.

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU Tiger baseball team snapped a four-game losing skid with a 4-2 win over visiting Northwestern State on Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU rightfielder Jake Brown drove in the game-deciding three runs with a home run in the fifth inning to lift LSU over the Demons and snap a losing skid that dated back to the Tigers mid-week game from last week.

Tiger head coach Jay Johnson used nine different pitchers and Deven Sheeran came in to shut the door in the eighth inning recording the final five outs with four strike outs.

Santiago Garcia was credited with the win, however the entire bullpen that took the mound tonight combined to allow only two runs on five hits with just two walks.

LSU will host Texas A&M for an SEC series starting this Friday at the Box.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU football's Lane Kiffin is continuing to prepare the Tigers in spring practice ahead of his debut as head coach in September.

LSU football is in the middle of its fourth week of spring training ahead of the 2026-27 season. The Tigers, under the former Ole Miss head coach's leadership, will debut in Death Valley on Sept. 5 against Clemson.

According to ESPN's SP+ rankings, LSU is ranked No. 10 in the nation as of March 27. 

Watch Kiffin's news conference here: 

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NEW YORK — LSU women's basketball star Flau'Jae Johnson was drafted 8th overall to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday night in the first round of the WNBA Draft before being traded to the Seattle Storm for the Storm's second-round pick in 2028 and forward Marta Suarez, the 16th overall pick. 

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BATON ROUGE - Most of you know who have read Spare Notes here and the many years of my former column in the daily publication.

The singles stepladder competition for the state title is my favorite part of the three days of LHSAA championships in the sport. 

And maybe, I was a little more excited when the six qualifiers for the girl’s stepladder were announced because I knew five had more than a little chance to walk away with the gold medal. If the right circumstances were there, all six could have walked away with it.

I also saw something I have to admit I liked very much. There was a very good chance the winner would be a Baton Rouge area bowler.

First Parker Blanchard of St Michael the Archangel showed her stuff with a 221 game in the 4-5-6 first match, before part of that strong contingent of team champion Archbishop Chapelle, Addison Belle, found the way to get through the semifinal match despite a couple of missed 10 pins.

But waiting was one of the stars of the St. Joseph’s Academy team that advanced to the semifinals in top qualifier Ava Doucet. She won top seed honors with a four-game total of 893 and in the final match she used five strikes in a row to get out to a big enough advantage before a pocket 7-10 stopped her progress for a moment. She finished with the title and a 222.

The UAB signee was not quite done yet as she came back over the weekend and won the renamed Louisiana Scratch Championship U18 girls division at Four Seasons.

On the boy’s side, the first two matches were tight but I felt if anyone could run the stepladder, sixth and final qualifier Beckham Lieu of Division II champ Patrick Taylor, would be the one. Lieu bowled 244-236 and then a 215 in the championship match to win. The first two matches put him in pressure shots to win matches, but he delivered each possible opportunity.

Let me also credit third qualifier Dominick Emory of Benton High in Northwest Louisiana. I know I have been critical the last few years with how highly some of the Northwest Louisiana teams have been seeded and unable to either on paper or on lanes deliver. But it is great to see a bowler like Emory get through a decorated field of bowlers to make the semifinal round of the stepladder.

Regarding the team competition, it was another year of watching the New Orleans area teams win and dominate. The St. Amant girls’ team was the only team to get to the final match from outside the New Orleans area in any boys or girls’ bracket.

Patrick Taylor knocked off two-time champion Shaw in Division II (4A & below) with six starters averaging over 200. I just don’t know a Baton Rouge team that can compete with that at present without a lot of help from PT in not bowling well. The Chipmunks in girls are extremely young and even started an eighth grader. Two championships down, they are already the heavy favorites for next year and the route to equaling Denham Springs four straight girls’ championships (2005-08) appears to be available for Chappelle to achieve.

Then there is Brother Martin. They probably didn’t bowl their best, but it’s a ninth championship in 11 years for the Crusaders and they just show up with a confidence and a swagger that seems to be worth a few strikes and spares before the competition even starts. Their crowd has proven to be able to push them forward a bit as well.

I know this will not make local people happy but right now New Orleans teams own the three divisions and where is a city of Baton Rouge potential team champion going to come from?

We’ve had the good state title runs of the Dutchtown and Denham Springs girls in the three years between the 2021 and 2025-2026 championships of Chapelle, but the closest a Baton Rouge city team came this year was the amazing 14-0 run of first-year team Episcopal. Gregory Snee should get a coach of the year nod for what he did. Unfortunately, PT was way too much in the semifinals, but it was a heck of a year and hopefully he can find another group to inch closer.

Give a lot of credit to St. Joseph’s Academy coach Garth Ridge on the girls’ side, getting that team to the semis with just one loss in the first match by one pin to state finalist St. Amant. I watched some of their preseason work on nights before our league bowled and he did an amazing job developing a group of new and young players to a state semifinals spot.

I also have some thoughts on the brackets and the power rankings that we’ll talk about next week.

A Final Note

The PBA finally returns to Bayside Bowl in Maine on Sunday for the Roth/Holman doubles event. This should be a lot of fun with the crazy, but knowledgeable fans at Bayside Bowl. It will air at 4 p.m. on Sunday on The CW.

Back with you next Monday.

Thanks for checking out this week’s Spare Notes, 

                                      Kent Lowe

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BATON ROUGE - The second domino has fallen. Former Iowa State guard Jada Williams committed to LSU women's basketball, making her the second portal add for Kim Mulkey this offseason. The now former Cyclone was in Baton Rouge Saturday for a visit.

An All-Big 12 First Team member, Williams was second in the country in assists per game last season.

With multiple young LSU guards entering the portal, it seemed likely that Coach Mulkey had some new players coming in. Williams fills the void left by Jada Richard.

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OXFORD, Miss. - It looked rather grim for LSU baseball through six innings on Sunday afternoon. A day after getting run-ruled by Ole Miss, the Tigers trailed 7-0 and were getting no-hit. A seven-run inning helped soften the blow of getting swept, and the Tigers lost 8-7 to the Rebels in the final game of the series.

Every single LSU run and hit on the day came in the top of the seventh. The Tigers only had two baserunners outside of that. 

The three straight losses to Ole Miss wraps up a frustrating week for an LSU team that seemed to have turned the corner following a series win at Tennessee. The Tigers also got back into the top 25 rankings for the first time since losing the Vanderbilt series.

A disappointing loss to Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday night halted all of that momentum, and the sweep in Oxford just adds insult to injury.

With the Ole Miss series finished, the Tigers will return home to start a five-game homestand. LSU will host Northwestern State on Tuesday, April 14.

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BATON ROUGE - Former LSU combo guard Bella Hines has committed to TCU, just a few days after entering the transfer portal. The Horned Frogs have been busy in the portal with Hines being the fifth commit headed to Fort Worth.

Hines' commitment marks the conclusion to a head-scratching saga which saw LSU head coach Kim Mulkey saying that she expected everyone on her roster back for next season except for Divine Bourrage, and Hines herself saying on social media that she was staying in Baton Rouge.

Mulkey has already signed former Florida guard Laila Reynolds, and will likely bring in more players in the coming days.

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BATON ROUGE - No. 21 LSU softball was unable to complete the three-game sweep of No. 12 Arizona. The Wildcats scored three in the top of the sixth inning and won 4-2.

For the first time in the series, the Tigers outhit Arizona. LSU tagged the Wildcat pitching staff with eight hits, but they just couldn't bring in the baserunners. LSU left seven base runners stranded.

LSU missed an opportunity in the bottom of the third. They had already brought in 2, but Tori Edwards hit into a double play with the bases loaded.

Paytn Monticelli was the game's losing pitcher, dropping her record on the season to 3-3, but the hard-throwing righty had a solid day in the circle. Montincelli had the Wildcats overpowered for stretches of the game. Her only real mistake of the afternoon was also Arizona's first hit of the ballgame; a solo home run from Sydney Stewart.

LSU softball is back on the road for their next game in Lafayette to take on UL-Lafayette on Tuesday, April 14.

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BATON ROUGE - It took less than 90 minutes for No. 21 LSU softball to clinch the series against No. 12 Arizona as the Tigers beat the Wildcats 3-1 in game two.

Both the Tigers, and a large portion of the fans were wearing teal for the "Geaux Teal" game to honor Ovarian Cancer Awareness as well as the "All for Alex" campaign.

The Tigers only scraped together three hits all game, but that was enough to get the win with CeCe Cellura going a full seven innings in the circle. 

In the bottom of the first, Kylee Edwards hit an RBI triple and was then brought home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alix Franklin for a 2-0 lead. They maintained that score for most of the game.

The win gets the Tigers a series victory over a top 15 opponent. They will try for the sweep on Sunday at 11 a.m.

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OXFORD, Miss. - LSU baseball went from leading, to tied, to being run-ruled by Ole Miss in game two of the series. The Tigers drop game two 12-2.

LSU got on the board first in the first two innings. Steven Milam drove in a run in the first with an RBI double. Chris Stanfield flew out in the second inning to bring another run home, but that would be where the offense stalled for the day.

Things began to fall apart in the fourth inning when the Rebels got on the board. Ole Miss tied the game with an RBI single, and took the lead in the same inning with a two-run home run. 

It only got worse in the bottom of the sixth inning. LSU used four pitchers in that inning and together, they walked three batters, hit one and allowed three singles and a double. Those mistakes allowed the Rebels to go out in front 12-2.

As a whole, LSU used seven arms who struck out 10 batters, but walked eight, hit two and allowed 12 runs on nine hits.

LSU will try to avoid being swept when they play game three on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

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BATON ROUGE - Southern softball improves their SWAC record to 13-5 after sweeping Arkansas Pine-Bluff at Lady Jaguar Field. The Jags took game three 10-2 to secure the sweep.

Southern got out in front early in the series finale. Two home runs and a few RBI singles put the Jags up 8-0 after the first inning.

They'd add onto that lead later when Kira Manganello hit a solo shot to center field. In the fourth inning, Laila Clark would hit the Jags' fourth home run of this game with a solo shot to right field. 

The Jags would give up two runs in the fifth, but still mercy-ruled the Golden Lions 10-2 in five innings.

Southern has six regular season games remaining. They will travel to face Grambling next week before returning home to close out the regular season against Prairie View A&M.

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BATON ROUGE - Kim Mulkey and her staff have signed their first player from this transfer portal cycle. Former Florida Gator Laila Reynolds has made things official with the LSU Tigers.

LSU said in their official release:

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OXFORD, Miss. - Good vibes were plentiful for LSU baseball heading into game one against Ole Miss.

Chris Stanfield, Seth Dardar and Omar Serna Jr. all made the starting lineup after all three dealt with their respective injuries.

The game itself started off on a positive note with Jake Brown hitting a two-run home run in the top of the first inning.

Despite that long bomb of a homer, the Tigers were unable to push another run across home plate until the top of the seventh, which came on a Derek Curiel sacrifice fly.

After a three-run eighth inning, which happened in part due to another costly error in the LSU infield, Ole Miss took the game 6-3.

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BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge's two new head college football coaches, Lane Kiffin and Marshall Faulk, teamed up to speak at LSU's annual Coaches Clinic. Kiffin himself spoke for more than 35 minutes about a variety of topics.

One of those topics was Monte Kiffin, Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator and Lane's father.

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BATON ROUGE - No. 21 LSU took game one over No. 12 Arizona 4-1 Friday night at Tiger Park. It was the first time the Tigers have beaten a team ranked higher than them in a series opener.

Things started rough after LSU committed two errors on a bunt that allowed the Wildcats to score a run in the first inning.

However, Sierra Daniel came through for her team in the bottom of the third with a three-run home run to take the lead.

LSU would add to that in the bottom of the sixth when Char Lorenz hit an RBI single through the right side.

Pitcher Jayden Heavener closed out the game by striking out the side in the top of the seventh inning.

LSU will play Arizona in game two on Saturday at 5 p.m. for the annual Strikeout Ovarian Cancer/All for Alex game.

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