Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Paul Gervase are looking to become the 19th former LSU star to earn a World Series ring. Game 1 of the World Series will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Gausman, a member of the Blue Jays’ starting rotation and a 13-year MLB veteran, will make his first career appearance in the World Series. Gervase, who is in his first MLB season, is currently on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and is eligible to be assigned to the 26-man World Series roster.
Gausman posted 10 wins in the 2025 regular season with a 3.59 ERA and 189 strikeouts in 193.0 innings. He has made four appearances (three starts) in the 2025 playoffs, logging a 2-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in 18.0 innings with 12 strikeouts and a 1.06 WHIP.
He was voted to the 2023 American League All-Star team, and he helped lead Toronto to a playoff berth that season by recording a 12-9 mark with a 3.16 ERA and 237 strikeouts in 185.0 innings.
Gausman pitched at LSU in 2011 and 2012, was also a 2021 National League All-Star with the San Francisco Giants, recording a 14-6 mark with a 2.81 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 192 innings. He was selected in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.
Gervase, meanwhile, made his MLB debut in June 2025 with the Tampa Bay Rays and was traded to the Dodgers on July 31. He made his first appearance with Los Angeles on August 20 against the Colorado Rockies, working 2.0 innings.
Before joining the Dodgers, the right-hander pitched 6.1 innings in five appearances this season for Tampa Bay, recording six strikeouts. He pitched at LSU in 2022, and he was the 12th-round draft choice of the New York Mets that season.
Eighteen former LSU Tigers have played for, managed, or coached World Series championship teams on 22 occasions, beginning with infielder Alvin Dark of the New York Giants in 1954. Catcher Hunter Feduccia became LSU’s most recent World Series champion when he played for the Dodgers last season.
MLB World Series Champions from LSU
INF Alvin Dark, New York Giants – 1954 (Player); Oakland Athletics – 1974 (Manager)
1B Joe Bill Adcock, Milwaukee Braves – 1957
Third-Base Coach Connie Ryan, Milwaukee Braves – 1957
LHP Mark Guthrie, Minnesota Twins – 1991
LHP Eddie Yarnall, New York Yankees – 1999 and 2000
LHP Randy Keisler, New York Yankees – 2000
RHP Russ Springer, Arizona Diamondbacks – 2001
RHP Curtis Leskanic, Boston Red Sox – 2004
RHP Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants – 2010 and 2012
INF Mike Fontenot, San Francisco Giants – 2010
LHP Brian Tallet, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011
INF Ryan Theriot, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011; San Francisco Giants – 2012
RHP Louis Coleman, Kansas City Royals – 2015
3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros – 2017 and 2022
RHP Will Harris, Houston Astros – 2017
OF Andrew Stevenson, Washington Nationals – 2019
INF Josh Smith, Texas Rangers – 2023
C Hunter Feduccia, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2024