Early in LSU’s season, Jordan Thompson texted hitting coach Eddie Smith. The freshman shortstop had homered in his second game, but he also struck out in half his plate appearances opening weekend. Thompson asked Smith if they could work together, separately from the team, before LSU’s next pregame meal.

From that point, a habit formed. Every game day, hours before LSU begins warmups, Thompson requests that Smith meet him in the batting cages behind Alex Box Stadium. They spend about 45 minutes honing Thompson’s swing. Smith shares observations from previous games, and Thompson takes 10 to 15 rounds of batting practice, preparing for his next at-bat.

“We go down there,” Smith said, “and it's his time.”

When the routine began, Thompson clung to a spot at third base. LSU’s defense worried coach Paul Mainieri, who hadn’t seen an infielder other than freshman first baseman Tre’ Morgan consistently make routine plays since the beginning of fall practice. Thompson didn’t start the season opener. He looked timid in the field.

But Thompson asserted himself as the routine continued and he received more playing time. He attacked ground balls and showed his defensive potential. LSU moved him to shortstop in mid-March, and ever since then, Thompson has solidified one of the most important positions on the field while improving his ability as a hitter.

Two weeks ago, Thompson received Southeastern Conference Co-Freshman of the Week for the second time as he batted .600 over four games. His performance helped at least momentarily revitalize an offense that had struggled against SEC teams. Now entering LSU’s series this weekend at No. 9 Ole Miss, Thompson’s batting .277 with five home runs.

“All the things me and Eddie have been working on in the cages are finally starting to click and come together,” Thompson said. “It helps me with my confidence knowing we're on the right track. We're doing the right things.”

The desire to take extra reps that helped him become a starter has always defined Thompson, who would rather play baseball than do anything else.

Growing up in Chula Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego, Thompson often went to Padres games with his parents and older brother. One year, they had season tickets in the upper deck above home plate. Another, they sat in the Toyota Terrace behind right field.

Wherever they watched from, Thompson tracked shortstop Khalil Greene, who played for the Padres from 2003-2008.

“He was always making diving plays to his left and right,” Thompson said. “Ever since I was little, I wanted to play like him because he was my favorite player. That's really where my love of baseball came from was going to those Padres games and seeing guys like that do it.”

Thompson also came from a baseball family. His father played little league. His uncles played through high school. His mother and her sister played softball. His grandfather on both sides played high school baseball. And as the youngest of two brothers, Thompson watched as his older brother, Mason, latched onto baseball, too.

When Thompson’s brother played little league games, his parents brought him to the field. Thompson carried a ball in the stands and jumped into practices with boys 3 years older than him, waiting until he was old enough to join an organized tee-ball league himself.

Jordan Thompson at Petco Park

Jordan Thompson (left) poses with his older brother, Mason, on the field at Petco Park in 2004. Now LSU's starting shortstop, Thompson developed his love of baseball through the Padres.

“I was the one kid they had to tell to stop getting all the balls because other kids weren't getting them,” Thompson said. “If I was playing shortstop, I was fielding the ball out in right field because I wanted to get the ball before the other kid.”

Thompson kept playing with older children and tagging along with his brother. One day, when Thompson was 8 years old and his brother 11, his brother’s travel team needed another player during a tournament. They didn’t have a hit, as Thompson remembers, and the coach stuck him in right field. Batting ninth, Thompson smacked a line drive up the middle to break the no-hitter.

Thompson and his brother played on the same team one year later, then he continued on the travel ball circuit, always playing with older boys despite his size. At that age, Thompson was rail thin, making his mother laugh when he caught because the equipment hung off his frame. He started high school around 140 pounds.

“He was usually one of the smaller kids on the field, but then his athleticism and his IQ on the baseball field took over,” Thompson’s father, Troy, said. “That stuff disappears when you see some of the stuff that he's able to do.”

Thompson remained thin until he noticed the physiques of players at summer tournaments. Thompson packed some power into his swing and had already established himself as an elite player for his age, committing to LSU between his freshman and sophomore years, but he wanted to hit regular home runs like the 6-foot, 200-pound classmates at those showcases.

Around his junior year, Thompson began working with a personal trainer in addition to the weight program at Helix High School. He started a meal plan and trained four or five times a week outside of school.

“He became an absolute baseball nut,” Helix coach Cole Holland said. “He would leave our weight training program and then we'd go to practice. He would have another personal trainer that would help him with footwork and that kind of stuff. He dedicated everything to baseball.”

By his senior year, Thompson had developed into a legitimate major league draft prospect. He played twice inside Petco Park, one time as a local all-star and another as a Perfect Game All-American, which ranked him the No. 53 player in the country.

The second game of Helix’s season, Thompson tweaked his hamstring. The injury forced him to miss the next three games, reducing the number of opportunities for scouts to watch him. He returned for what ended up being the final game of his high school career.

With Helix leading 3-0 in the last inning of a matchup between two of the top teams in the county, Thompson begged to close. He threw a 93-95 mph fastball and complemented the pitch with a decent curveball, even though he had never spent much time refining his skills as a pitcher.

“I was a shortstop that could pitch,” Thompson said. “I was really a thrower.”

At the time, Holland didn’t know about the impending coronavirus pandemic. Helix had championship aspirations, and he figured the team had a long season ahead. With Thompson not quite 100% healthy, he didn’t want to rush the star shortstop back from an injury. Thompson pleaded. Holland relented. Thompson struck out the side.

Jordan Thompson

LSU freshman shortstop Jordan Thompson plays with the San Diego SHOW, his travel baseball team.

“I firmly believe if our season would have went the full season and he would have stayed healthy the entire season,” Holland said, “he would have been a first-rounder.”

Though major league baseball shortened its draft because of the pandemic, rumors swirled about Thompson going in the five-round format. His mother, Joanna, said “there was interest” from teams. But Thompson and his family agreed he should go to college before beginning his professional career, sending him more than a thousand miles from home.

“I could go anywhere on the west coast and be comfortable I guess,” Thompson said, “but being out of your comfort zone, being here at LSU, it pushes me to my limits to do things I probably wouldn't do when I'm back home.”

The decision has worked. Now listed at 6-foot-1 and 167 pounds, Thompson turned into one of LSU’s most important players once he adjusted to the increased speed of college baseball. Even if the Tigers, now 4-11 in the SEC, miss the postseason, Thompson forms a promising core with Morgan and freshman right fielder Dylan Crews.

Last Thursday against South Carolina, Thompson looked at third baseman Cade Doughty in the seventh inning. LSU clung to a 2-0 lead. Thompson had already saved two runs on a diving stop up the middle. South Carolina threatened to score with a runner on third and one out. LSU planned to trade a run for an out. The infielders played back.

“I'm going to throw it home,” Thompson said.

“All right, dude,” Doughty said, somewhat shaking his head. “If you throw it home, you better get him out. Don't be an idiot. You better be positive you can do it.”

“Oh,” Thompson said, “I got this.”

Two pitches later, Landon Marceaux induced a ground ball. As the runner sprinted from third base, the ball zipped toward Thompson. He gathered it and fired to catcher Hayden Travinski, easily throwing out the runner before he reached home plate. Mainieri had seen one other shortstop complete that throw in his 39-year coaching career: Alex Bregman.

“He's a legitimate, high-caliber, elite SEC shortstop now,” Mainieri said. "He has continued to grow with each passing day. He's only going to continue to get better.”

And as he does, Thompson will keep texting Smith to hit with him, doing whatever he can to improve until one day, maybe he plays inside Petco Park again.

“Doing whatever I can to get better, it's all I've ever wanted to do,” Thompson said. “I want to be on the baseball field. There's nothing else I'd rather do.”

Email Wilson Alexander at walexander@theadvocate.com