As No. 2 LSU prepares to host the Maryland baseball team this weekend, Tigers catcher Jordan Romero expects to send his former LSU-Eunice teammates on the Terps roster nothing more than a “good luck” text message.
While the Terps look to bounce back and the Tigers look to build on their start, the three-game series will serve as a mini reunion. Maryland outfielders Will Watson and Madison Nickens played with Romero and Tigers infielder Nick Coomes at LSU-Eunice, which won the National Junior College Athletic Association championship in 2015.
Now, they’ll be in separate dugouts, perhaps playing for more than earning signature nonconference wins.
“I haven’t yet [had any conversations] with them,” Romero said. “Maybe put something on the line, whoever wins the series will have to do something when we meet up after the season’s over.”
Though Nickens said isn’t focused on playing against his former teammates, his ties to the trio are strong. After he joined the Terps from LSU-Eunice in 2016, associate head coach Rob Vaughn hoped to use Nickens’ connections as a recruiting tool. He wanted Nickens to persuade Watson and Coomes to continue their careers in College Park.
Watson first needed to familiarize himself with Maryland’s program, so once the Terps started to recruit him, he routinely checked in with Nickens.
On Watson’s first visit, Vaughn detailed his projected role. He wanted the 6-foot-2 slugger to hit in the middle of the order.
The idea sold Watson.
“Rob told me he wanted me to come in here and be a guy looking to get some RBIs,” said Watson, who played left field and served as the designated hitter during Maryland’s opening weekend. “That excited me I guess. I saw the campus and the field, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Coomes, who toured with Watson, was also impressed with Maryland. He particularly enjoyed learning about the new turf field at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium and the Under Armour gear Maryland athletes receive. Still, he chose to join the Tigers, a move he anticipates will add a spark to this weekend’s games.
“I’m going to take [the series] a little bit personal,” Coomes said. “You don’t want to get beaten by a school I could have chosen to go to. I want to be on the winning side.”
Nickens said he and Watson are focused on responding from Maryland’s disappointing first weekend. Szefc’s team lost two of their three games at the Clearwater Tournament last weekend to begin the season.
So, both players are excited for a few chances to secure marquee wins, especially against some of their former teammates.
“I have a bunch of family and a lot of friends who go [to LSU] who are excited to see me play,” Watson said. “It’s a big deal for me to get there and try to perform to my highest level.”
