Did Jay Johnson win a national championship at Arizona? LSU HC's coaching career explored 

Jay Johnson is one of the most popular names in college baseball. Johnson has made three College World Series appearances so far and is a one-time National Coach of the Year.

Before Johnson became the head coach of the LSU Tigers, he was at the helm of the Arizona Wildcats. Here's a closer look down memory lane to his time with the Wildcats.

Did Jay Johnson win a national championship at Arizona?

No, Jay Johnson never won a national championship with Arizona. However, he came pretty close to achieving the feat in 2016, as he guided the program to its seventh appearance in the CWS, where they lost to Coastal Carolina in the championship series.

Johnson guided the Wildcats to Omaha in 2016, his first season with the program. The team ended up losing narrowly to Coastal Carolina by a 2-1 scoreline in the best-of-three championship series. Johnson took Arizona back to the College World Series in 2021, but they were eliminated after suffering consecutive losses. Within days of elimination, Johnson was announced as the new head coach of the LSU Tigers.

Jay Johnson wins his first national championship at LSU

Jay Johnson led arguably one of the most gifted rosters in recent college baseball history to a national championship in 2023. Johnson's Tigers never looked like they were losing in 2023, as they went 4-0 in elimination matchups, threw two shutouts and survived two 11-inning games en route to their College World Series victory.

Johnson guided the Tigers to the national championship in his second year since leaving the Arizona Wildcats. He made some history in doing so, as no head coach had become a national champion that quickly with the Tigers before. But then again, Johnson nearly won it all with Arizona in his first year at the helm.

Of course, the victory wouldn't have been possible without the players, and Johnson had the privilege of working with two of the very best in college baseball: Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes.

Crews racked up 100 runs and reached base in all 71 games in 2023, while Skenes was named the Most Outstanding Player in Omaha. With players like those, a head coach's life is significantly easier, especially at the business end of the season.

Both left LSU to join the major leagues soon after, with Crews getting selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Nationals, while Skenes was the No. 1 pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2023 MLB draft.

Do you think Jay Johnson can lead the LSU Tigers to win back-to-back College World Series championships in 2024? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.