LSU senior outfielder Gavin Dugas was chosen to wear the prestigious No. 8 for the 2022 baseball season.
The No. 8 is the LSU baseball equivalent of the football team’s No. 18. Per the baseball program, the No. 8 is given to “the upperclassman who exemplifies the spirit of LSU Baseball through his leadership and dedication to the program.”
There’s only one Gavin Dugas
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) October 22, 2021
No. 8 | #TheReboot pic.twitter.com/ukbOBQDkol
“As I researched the team and players upon my arrival at LSU, Gavin was the clear-cut choice to wear No. 8 here this year,” new LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson said. “Not only is Gavin a great player, but he is a great competitor, a leader, has elite character, and constantly has a positive effect on his teammates and everyone around him. Gavin will be a tremendous representative of what wearing No. 8 at LSU means and add to the legacy of great players and leaders that have worn the number in the purple and gold.”
The tradition started with Mikie Mahtook who then passed the number down to Mason Katz ahead of the 2012 season. Since then the number has been worn by Alex Bregman, Jake Fraley, Cole Freeman, Antoine Duplantis, Daniel Cabrera, and most recently by Matthew Beck.
Dugas had a breakout junior season, leading the SEC in RBIs with 66. He also finished third in the conference in home runs (19), fifth in slugging (.641), and eighth in total bases (141).
“It is truly a blessing to be able to wear No. 8 on my back and carry on a legacy that has so much rich history,” Dugas said. “I will do everything in my power to represent that number to the fullest and honor that great players who have carried on this tradition before me.”