Sulphur’s Jake Brown is in a win-win situation: get selected in the amateur draft and turn professional or remain at LSU with the reigning national champions. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)

The future of former Sulphur High School pitcher Jake Brown has two possible paths, and both are the dreams of just about any baseball player.

Brown is at LSU, getting ready for his freshman season with the reigning College World Series champions, but then there is the amateur draft this weekend. To play for the national champion or pursue a professional career right out of high school, is a tough decision for anyone.

Brown said he has a plan. He said he’s talked to a handful of MLB teams and will be watching the draft this weekend, but it is going to take a sweet offer to convince him to give up the opportunity to play for the national powerhouse Tigers.

Brown wouldn’t say how much the offer needed to be, he’s keeping that to himself.

“If the money was there for me in the draft, then, yes, I would sign,” Brown said. “But I set my number pretty high to get me away from campus because playing baseball at LSU is something that I have dreamed about my whole life.

“It is going to take a lot for me to turn that down. I was in Omaha, so it is something I really want to be a part of. Like I said, it is going to take a lot for me to turn that down.

“I have had a few in-home visits with (MLB) teams and scouts, then I went to the draft combine and completed some interviews. I have reached out to teams and some teams have reached out to me, really talk and get to know each other and build a foundation and a relationship if I don’t sign now and what will happen in three or four years.”

MLB.com lists Brown, a 6-foot-2 180-pound left-handed pitcher, 93rd on list of draft prospects, while ESPN has him pegged at No. 134.

This year’s draft could see the two stars of LSU’s national championship run go 1-2 in right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and power-hitting out fielder Dylan Crews. Ten current or incoming LSU players are listed in ESPN’s top 300 list.

If he chooses to stick with LSU, Brown will have to wait two years to re-enter the draft. But he said that time would improve his draft stock.

“Hopefully, I go to LSU and end up like Crews or Paul Skenes,” Brown said. “If I get a top pick in the draft, that would be nice.

“It is crazy. I committed to LSU after my freshman year, so this is something that I have been waiting on for a long time and even longer before I committed. I am excited to finally be here and get going.”

Brown pitched and played in the outfield for the Tors and was one of their top bats, so he has been looked at as a two-way player, a rarity in the pro ranks other than the Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani.

“There are a few pro teams that like me both hitting and pitching,” Brown said. “Right now, at LSU for the fall, I am scheduled to do both. We will see what happens, but ultimately I think my future is in pitching.”

Brown, the Gatorade Louisiana Player of the Year, led the Tors to the nonselect Division I semifinals last season and a 34-5 record. In his final season as a Tor, he went 10-2 with a 1.71 earned run average and his second consecutive 100-strikeout season (118). He improved his control from 2022 to 2023, going from 46 walks and 17 hit batters in 73 innings to 27 walks and four hit batters in 732/3 innings.

Brown said he believes he can quickly find a role in the LSU lineup.

“I think I can make a contribution right away and help keep the bar that was set last year going,” Brown said. “Put me on the mound, I will be good. Wherever you need me, starting or relieving. I can go out there and get outs and do what the team needs me to do. If I am hitting, I will put together competitive at-bats.”