Griffin Herring joining LSU, ‘best program in the country’
SOUTHLAKE, Texas (BVM) – LSU baseball commit Griffin Herring showed flashes of stardom as a freshman at Southlake Carroll High School. The left-handed pitcher went head-to-head with the nation’s No. 1 team at the time, Argyle High School, and proved he belonged among the best.
He pitched 4.2 shutout innings, allowing just one hit, striking out 10 batters and picking up the win. The promising outing would be Herring’s last start for two years as a bicep and shoulder injury ended his freshman season before Covid-19 erased his sophomore campaign.
“That was really a humbling experience and something that was really good for me at that time,” Herring said of the time away from the game. “Being able to face that adversity, being able to see how it felt for things to go how you wanted to and for things to go not how you wanted to really matured me as a player and person.”
Herring returned for his junior season in 2021 as the Dragons went 29-18 and fell just short of a state championship. But the future Tiger and his Southlake Carroll teammates put it all together this past season during Herring’s final run.
After a slow 3-3 start to the season, the Dragons went on a dominant run all the way to the Class 6A semifinals where Herring had an outing similar to the gem of his freshman season. He once again hurled four scoreless frames and was just three innings away from becoming only the third pitcher in UIL Baseball State Tournament history to throw a perfect game.
Herring’s perfect-game bid was ended by a single to left field, but the Dragons’ ace remained in control. He struck out half of the batters (13 of 26 and 12 swinging) he faced with no walks as Southlake Carroll won 6-1 to advance to the 6A state title game.
The Dragons took care of business in the final to claim their fifth overall state championship and third since 2018.
2022 Texas 6A STATE Champions pic.twitter.com/Mrw1VPAvPo
— Carroll Dragon Baseball (@DragonBaseball) June 12, 2022
“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end it, especially after kind of being on the sideline watching the 2019 championship and falling just short in 2021,” Herring said. “It was amazing; I couldn’t think of a better way to have ended it.”
The Dragons (34-8) ended the championship season on a 16-game winning streak, and Herring was a major reason why. The lefthander was dominant all season – compiling a 13-1 record with a 0.24 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 87 innings – but he was especially lights out when it mattered most.
Herring was 6-0 during the Dragons’ playoff run with 71 strikeouts and a mind-blowing 47-inning scoreless streak. The spectacular season landed Herring on the 2022 MaxPreps All-America team and provided plenty of momentum heading into the next chapter of his baseball career.
BASEBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR@GriffinHerring1
Southlake Carroll13-1 record
0.24 ERA
145 strikeouts
.108 batting average against
6-0 playoff record
71 strikeouts
47+ scoreless inning streak
4-6A champ
4-6A pitcher of the year
6A state champ@DragonBaseball pic.twitter.com/fTGjCq9vbO— Brian Gosset (@Gosset41) July 9, 2022
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound lefty has garnered interest from talent evaluators since his freshman season at Southlake Carroll and was an intriguing prospect for the 2022 MLB Draft. The conversations with pro scouts has helped Herring gain a better understanding of where he wants to end up and what it’ll take to get there.
“It was pretty surreal just talking to a couple Major League teams and going to a pro workout,” Herring said. “It really makes you realize the depth of talent around the country. There’s guys that you’ve never heard of going out and throwing 96, 97 mph. It gives you that feeling that you’re uncomfortable because you know where you want to go and you know the talent level that it’s going to take to get there.
“It makes you want to put in the work. It’s definitely eye-opening for me, seeing the level of talent across the country and obviously seeing guys make their dreams come true so that’s the next goal for me.”
Best pitching performance from yesterday’s @thsbcaStar game was from @DragonBaseball LHP and @LSUbaseball signee Griffin Herring (@GriffinHerring1). Punched out 3️⃣ across 2.0 dominant frames.
FB: 91-93, T94 MPH
SL: 86-87 MPH (swing/miss)
CH: 86 MPH (w/conviction) @FiveToolTexas pic.twitter.com/dMBfQFuqD1— Dustin McComas (@DustinLMcComas) June 20, 2022
Herring committed to LSU as a freshman in October 2018 and just saw eight fellow 2022 Tiger signees – including Orange Lutheran’s (CA) Mikey Romero — selected in the 2022 MLB Draft.
“I couldn’t be happier for those guys,” Herring said of the drafted LSU commits. “That’s the dream of every guy who’s coming here and if it’s not, then I’m not sure exactly what you’re doing playing at this high of a level.
“Obviously, LSU, I’m biased but I think we’re the best program in the country right now. Coach Jay Johnson has done a really great job with our recruiting class, almost to a fault because we had so many guys go (get drafted). But we have a lot of great talent returning and everybody is really excited about it.”
Herring may be biased, but he has a case. LSU just signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation and ranks second all-time with six national championships.
The goal, of course, is to add to that trophy case and Herring believes his preparation will allow him to play a role in that pursuit as a starter or otherwise.
“Weeks before the season, weeks before anything, I’m just constantly trying to get better and trying to fix things because even guys at the major league level, they’re constantly tweaking things,” Herring said. “I’ve seen it at places that I’ve worked out, guys who are multi-year big leaguers and they’re still trying to get better.
“I’m ready to fill any role that they (LSU) need me to. I know a lot of times, underclassmen will come more out of the pen and I’m ready to learn more about being a bullpen guy and just contribute any way I can.”
