Former Bulldog football star commits to LSU

Former Ascension Catholic standout and current St. James senior Khai Prean officially announced his college commitment on Tuesday night.

Prean decided to stay close to home with his commitment to LSU. His pledge to Brian Kelly and the Tigers continued a tremendous hot streak by the program, which has skyrocketed its class ranking inside the top 10.

Prean became the 21st commitment in LSU’s 2023 class.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior began his career at Ascension Catholic. As a freshman, he quickly established himself as an all-district performer.

In his sophomore campaign of 2020, Prean played running back for the Bulldogs. He was named the District 7-1A Co-Offensive MVP.

Prean helped Ascension Catholic win two district championships and make two straight state quarterfinal appearances in his first two seasons there.

Last year, Prean transitioned to receiver. In just five games played, he piled up 700 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

Prean has transferred to St. James, where he’ll look to fill the shoes of Shazz Preston Preston was an All-State receiver for the Wildcats last season. He ultimately signed with Alabama.

In 2021, St. James finished the regular season with a 6-3 record and reached the Class 3A playoffs. However, they were ousted by Madison Prep in round two.

The Wildcats will be under new leadership this season. LaVanta Davis steps in as head coach. He takes over for Robert Valdez, who left to become the offensive line coach at Grambling State.

Prean’s addition to LSU’s 2023 recruiting class is significant. Prean is one of the highest-ranked prospects in the state.

He is rated as a four-star recruit by 247sports. The recruiting service ranks Prean as the 15th-best prospect in Louisiana and the 256th-ranked player nationally. He is also ranked as the 27th-best athlete in the country.

Prean received a plethora of scholarship offers. Outside of LSU, he had offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Florida State, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Purdue, Southern, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Early on, Prean was considered an Auburn lean, but then he finally picked up an offer from LSU. From then on, the Tigers became the front-runner.

Prean is a versatile athlete who has shown the ability to play multiple positions throughout his high-school career. He has played running back, wide receiver, defensive back and he has been a return specialist.

Another one of his great strengths is his speed. While at Ascension Catholic, he was a member of the Bulldog track and field team, where he ran a 10.94 in the 100.