By Robert Fulton

Coming into the 2009-2010 baseball season, LSU baseball star Micah Gibbs was considered one of the top college catchers in the country. And for good reason. Last year as a sophomore, he batted .294 with 42 RBIs and 58 runs scored while anchoring a team that won its sixth national championship. He was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team and the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team as well.

However, those numbers were down from his freshman year, when Gibbs batted .322 and played in far fewer games and earned freshman All-SEC honors.

So Gibbs got to work last fall. He showed up to the stadium to work on his swing at 7:30 a.m. His weight dropped from 225 pounds to a more svelte 205. And he has refocused himself mentally, to let the game come to him.

“The biggest thing for me, last year I was trying to do too much,” said Gibbs, 21, during a recent phone interview. “I keep it simple and not try to hit it out of the park. That’s the good thing. When I do get under the ball, it goes out of the park.”

All of Gibbs’ hard work has paid off. Through 40 games this season, he is leading his team with a .413 batting average. He’s driven in 40 runs, scored 29 runs and has hit five home runs.

“The thing that helped me was the season I had last year,” Gibbs added. “I was taking a bad approach.”

Also a big difference was shaving 20 pounds off his frame, through diet and exercise. Gibbs said he felt lethargic by the end of last season and wanted to be in better shape. This year, he’s even added some speed to his game with seven steals.

At press time, LSU was 32-9, coming off three consecutive losses on the road to Ole Miss. Having won the College World Series last year, the Tigers don’t feel as much pressure to win it all. Gibbs believes that the pressure is now on Texas, who LSU defeated in the finals last season, and also thinks this year’s Tigers team is better than last year’s.

“We got off to a good start,” said Gibbs. “A lot better than last year. We have a lot better team overall. It’s a lot more well-rounded.”

Gibbs attended Pflugerville High his senior year, but was ineligible to play because of transfer rules. He was all-state as a sophomore and junior at Leander High.

At LSU, he’s majoring in sports administration.

“When I’m done with baseball, I want to stay with baseball,” he said. “I can’t see doing anything else.”

While Gibbs’ goal of making the Major Leagues is shared by thousands like him, if he continues the way he has this season, a professional career is not out of the question.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen after this year,” Gibbs said.