Will Jay Johnson coach today vs Tennessee? Exploring possible scenarios for SEC tournament game

LSU coach Jay Johnson will coach in the SEC Tournament final against Tennessee on Sunday at the Hoover Met Stadium despite getting ejected in the 10th inning of the Tigers' semifinal game against South Carolina.

SEC Network's Tom Hart delivered the news on X, correcting himself from his earlier statement on live television during the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game.

Hart stated he was initially told that Johnson would not be eligible to coach the Tigers on Sunday's game against the Volunteers, as he was suspended following his ejection.

The LSU coach was tossed from the game after the Gamecocks were awarded a run in the top of the 10th despite being thrown out at home on an attempted steal. Umpires called the play a balk after determining that plate interference was committed.

Fans weren't too pleased with the call and Johnson went out of the dugout for clarification but he was ejected after reacting to the decision.

The call and the subsequent ejection by the LSU coach motivated the 11th-seeded Tigers to storm back at the bottom of the 10th and Steven Milam smacked a two-run home run that handed the squad a 12-11 victory over the No. 10-ranked Gamecocks.

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Jay Johnson left immediately after the ejection

LSU coach Jay Johnson immediately returned to the field after the Tigers won over South Carolina in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The victory allows LSU to face top-seed Tennessee Volunteers in the final on Sunday.

Following the ejection, Jay Johnson immediately left the field, as he feared getting a more severe punishment after the game.

"No, I’m not messing with anything. We got too much important baseball coming tomorrow and the NCAA Tournament… The umpire crew, once I was ejected, it was like ‘You got to leave right now. Otherwise, there’s going to be a suspension.’ We fought too hard to get to this position. So I basically walked off the field," Johnson said in a postgame interview.

The LSU coach insisted he wasn't sure what transpired during the tense moment as he expected to get an explanation on the matter hours before the final.

Johnson hailed the team's toughness amidst adversity and noted he didn't see Milam's game-winner.

"It doesn't matter because these guys are tough and toughness is defined by this. We were 3-12 in SEC play, we just won our 40th game of the season and the NCAA Tournament hasn't started yet. That's toughness. We're playing better than anybody in the country right now," he said.

Up next for LSU is the SEC Tournament final against Tennessee at around 3 p.m. ET. ESPN2 will feature the game on live television while ESPN and Fubo will present the clash via live stream.