Skip Bertman is being remembered as a man who was much more than a championship baseball coach. The former LSU head baseball coach and athletic director passed away early Friday morning at the age of 88. Ryan Theriot, who won a College World Series title while playing for Bertman in 2000, says the hard work that Bertman did in building the LSU baseball program basically from nothing rubbed off on the entire Baton Rouge community.
“There’s business leaders in this community that have learned from that; there’s politicians. I mean, the list goes on and on. And so, this is far deeper and far bigger than baseball for us,” Theriot said.
Theriot says Bertman’s influence on him went far beyond the baseball field, including his eight-year Major League career that included two World Series titles.
“Trust in your family members, trust in a greater power, is one thing that I’ve taken away from him for sure. Not making everything about yourself; making it about the team and your family or your business or whatever it is that you’re running,” Theriot noted.
Dan Canevari, who served on Bertman’s coaching staff at LSU, says Bertman was an incredible influence on so many people, whether they were baseball players or not.
“He could have been anything in the world besides a baseball coach, at the top 1% of the population, because he was immense. He had the most brilliant mind that I’ve ever known,” Canevari said.
Before joining Bertman’s staff, Canevari played for Bertman at the University of Miami when Bertman was the pitching coach. Canevari says Bertman was much more than a coach; he was a mentor.
“He tried to learn every player, what made them tick, figure out what buttons to push; and then influence his life and make him a better human being, a better son, a better father, a better brother, a better worker,” Canevari noted.
A public Celebration of Life for LSU baseball legend Skip Bertman will be held on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the program starting at 7 p.m.