SLIDELL – Bottom of the ninth. Hit a home run. Win a World Series.

So many little boys dream of this scenario, but it’s usually just that – a dream.

However, this far-fetched concept became a reality for Northshore High School graduate Brayden Jobert, who just came back home to Slidell after his LSU team won the College World Series.

Jobert is the starting right-fielder for the LSU Tigers baseball team, and that squad just completed the task of defeating the best teams in the country to win the coveted College World Series in Omaha, NE.

Jobert was the center of attention this past Saturday in Slidell as nearly 1,000 people turned out for a rally in his honor at Northshore High School. Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer and Parish President Mike Cooper both proclaimed a “Brayden Jobert Day.”

“It’s been crazy since I’ve been home and it’s been 100 miles per hour every day,” Jobert said on Saturday as fans sought hundreds of pictures and autographs from the Slidell star. “The support I have here is unbelievable and it’s really crazy to think that I have that many people behind me. It’s super cool. I’m very thankful to the people who have supported me.”

Jobert is a native of Slidell and attended both Boyet Jr. High and Northshore High School. He was the District 6-5A MVP and All-Region 10 Hitter of the Year, as he batted .380 with five home runs in H.S., and then signed a scholarship to continue his baseball career at Nicholls State University.

Jobert’s dad, Jacques, also played college baseball at Nicholls, so it was a solid fit. After his freshman season there, the young Jobert had a .365 batting average along with squad-highs in hits (23), RBI (11) and runs scored (11), and he posted a 13-game hitting streak. He was also named to the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American (at Nicholls).

Following his season at Nicholls, he then transferred to Delgado Community College where he earned JUCO All-America honors and batted .386 with 15 doubles, 16 homers, 71 RBI, an .813 slugging percentage and a .469 on-base percentage.

After those two monstrous seasons, LSU came calling. They wanted Jobert to come play for them, and the Slidell boy said it was a no-brainer.

“I couldn’t say no,” Jobert said. “It’s everything I dreamed of as a kid. I went to LSU games as a kid since they were always the big team to me. As a kid, if you told me I would be a national champion, I would have told you that you’re lying.”

In his two seasons at LSU, Jobert batted a combined .273 (107-for-392) with 21 doubles, three triples, 32 homers, 107 RBI and 86 runs. In the College World Series run, he was the Tigers’ CWS leader in home runs (3), and he was second on the club in CWS RBI (7).

“If you told me four years ago that all this would have happened, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I wouldn’t have changed anything along the route. I’m very thankful to God for that, and it’s been such a crazy ride,” Jobert said. 

To win the College World Series, LSU had to beat Florida in a best-of-three series to be named the winners. LSU won Game 1, 4-3, in an 11-inning thriller, but then lost Game 2 by an overwhelming score of 24-3. However, the Tigers bounced back in Game 3, winning it 18-4, and Jobert hit a home run in the ninth inning for his last at-bat as an LSU Tiger.

“I texted him the start of the first game and said, ‘This is what you’ve been playing for your whole life,’” dad Jacques said. “I didn’t have to talk to him every day of the tournament, though, because he knew what to do. If he had a tough game, he knew it and he knew what to do the following game. But on the morning of game three of the World Series, I went to his room and told him to him lay it all out on the field and he did.”

Jobert still has one year of eligibility left at LSU but has been rated a major league baseball prospect who might get drafted, or get an offer to sign. However, he said that if the offer doesn’t look right at this time, he plans to return for one more season at LSU.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions from winning close games and then winning by a lot. It’s been an unbelievable month that it’s hard to put into words. It’s been amazing,” Jobert said. “My goal was to get drafted out of Nicholls when I was there because I knew I had the talent, I just needed the opportunity. So, once I did what I did there, I took a step back and looked at my situation differently and I thought it was best for me to leave and pursue my dreams somewhere else.”

The 22-year-old said his advice to kids who are playing sports here in Slidell now would be to make sure you’re working hard.

“You’re exactly where I was so just keep pushing and working hard. God has a plan for you, so make the most of it when the opportunity comes,” Jobert said. “We had a lot of guys on our team at LSU who didn’t play, but they had played every other second of their life on a baseball field. The way they supported us when we were playing is what helped win us a national championship.

“Guys who would come in to pinch hit even if they didn’t play every game proved how the little things matter. Being a good teammate and supporting your team no matter what happens is such an important factor in being successful.”

Jobert played alongside several of his teammates who garnered a tremendous amount of national attention. In fact, LSU’s Paul Skenes went #1 in the MLB draft earlier this week and LSU’s Dylan Crews went #2. Jobert was actually a roommate with Crews.

“Our whole team was super close. We had a lot of meetings all season to find out what we could do better. With Paul (Skenes) and Dylan (Crews), they were the leaders. There were a lot of things that went into winning, and those two were a big part of it. We would always pick each other up no matter what,” Jobert said.

The Jobert family has been an involved part of the Slidell community with Jacques owning SportsU, and mom Amy being a mortgage lender at Union Home Mortgage Corp. Brayden’s sister Reese goes to Northshore High School and plays softball.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am without my family. They’ve sacrificed hundreds of thousands of hours for me to get me where I am today. I give all the credit to them. If anyone ever sees anything with ‘Brayden Jobert’ on it, I give all the credit to them,” Jobert said.

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