Jay Johnson credits his players after LSU’s emotional championship run
Coach Jay Johnson praised his players after LSU’s national title: ‘I love you guys. I’ll do anything for you.’
NCAA
Coastal Carolina athletic director Chance Miller shared his thoughts on Kevin Schnall’s ejection against LSU in Game 2 of the College World Series championship series on June 22, claiming the move “drastically altered the trajectory” of the game.
“The ejections of head coach Kevin Schnall and assistant coach Matt Schilling in the bottom of the first inning drastically altered the trajectory of a must-win game for our team,” Miller shared on X (formerly Twitter), hours after Coastal Carolina’s 5-3 loss. “These decisions were made with an alarming level of haste, without an attempt at de-escalation, and deprived our student-athletes of the leadership they have relied on throughout a historic postseason run.”
Miller didn’t hold back his thoughts on the situation, which saw Schnall and Schilling ejected from the game in the bottom of the first inning after Schnall argued balls and strikes. Schnall also let his thoughts be known in his postgame press conference after the Game 2 loss.
“This is not about a single call — it’s about process and professionalism,” Miller continued. “In the biggest moment of the college baseball season, our program and its student-athletes deserved better. The NCAA must re-evaluate how it trains, assigns, and reviews umpires in championship environments. We expect consistency, communication, and the same level of excellence from officials that we demand of our teams.
“Our players have represented this university, this conference, and college baseball with integrity and heart, and they deserved the opportunity to compete for a national championship with their leaders and we were denied that opportunity today.”
The Chanticleers entered the national championship series with a 26-game win streak, which was broken after falling to LSU 1-0 in Game 1 of the series on June 21. Coastal Carolina looked to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on June 23, but fell again in Game 2.
Coastal Carolina made its second-ever College World Series appearance in 2025, reaching the CWS finals for the second time in as many tries. The Chanticleers won the championship in 2016m when Schnall was an assistant coach under Gary Gilmore.
Schnall’s ejection was controversial to many fans and analysts, including the ESPN broadcast crew, and Coastal Carolina’s athletic director echoed that sentiment in his statement.
