Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
Overall Rank: #16
Conference Rank: #1 Sun Belt
Louisiana has made a very nice ascent towards the top of the college baseball world under the direction of head coach Tony Robichaux. The Ragin’ Cajuns won 43 games last season and won a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship and the conference tournament as well. This resulted in the opportunity to be a regional host, but the postseason was not kind to Louisiana as they ran into a team of destiny in Arizona that rallied to win both regional championship games to eliminate the Ragin’ Cajuns. With a winning culture in place, look for Louisiana to quickly reload and be a frontrunner for the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
2016: 43-21, 21-9
2016 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tony Robichaux
Key Departed Players:
Kyle Clement, OF, .353 BA, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 9 SB
Nick Thurman, C, .281 BA, 2 HR, 29 RBI
Stefan Trosclair, IF, .277 BA, 7 HR, 39 RBI
Brian Mills, OF, 269 BA, 4 HR, 37 RBI
Key Returning Players:
Alex Pinero, IF, .312 BA, 2 HR, 24 RBI
Joe Robbins, IF, .286 BA, 10 HR, 37 RBI
Brenn Conrad, IF, 280 BA, 4 HR, 43 RBI
Gunner Leger, P, 91.2 IP, 2.26 ERA, 24 BB, 81 SO
Nick Lee, P, 87.0 IP, 3.31 ERA, 27 BB, 75 SO
Evan Guillory, P, 74.2 IP, 4.34 ERA, 15 BB, 58 SO
Dylan Moore, P, 49.2 IP, 0.91 ERA, 15 BB, 59 SO, 14 SV
Projection:
Pitching should carry the way early on for the Ragin’ Cajuns as they are loaded with depth in the starting rotation. Gunner Leger should be the ace of the rotation once again. He was very dominant in 2016, winning seven games and limiting opposing hitters to a .214 batting average. Nick Lee will be in the weekend rotation as well and Lee does a nice job with his control as he only walked 27 batters in 87 innings of work last season. Dylan Moore should be a season long contender to be the best overall closer in all of college baseball in 2017. Moore had a microscopic earned run average of 0.91, struck out 59 batters in 49.2 innings of work and had 14 saves last season. Offensively, Joe Robbins hit ten homeruns to go along with 37 runs batted in and Robbins will lead a very balanced lineup in 2017. The lost production of Kyle Clement in the running game will be an important question that has to be addressed. Clement stole nine bases in 12 attempts last season. The trip to Coastal Carolina from April 7-9 should go a long way in deciding the Sun Belt Conference Championship in 2017. With the ability to dominate at home look for Louisiana to win 40 plus games and be a number one seed in a regional with a great opportunity to make a deep run.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
