2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball team

2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball
2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	27–23 (10–11 Southland)
Head coach	Justin Hill (11th season);
Assistant coaches	Jim Ricklefsen; Mikey Hoehner; Miles Durham;
Home stadium	Joe Miller Ballpark
	Seasons ← 2023 2025 →

2024 Southland Conference baseball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Lamar ‍‍‍	15	–	6	.714	38	–	12	.760
Nicholls ‍‍‍	14	–	7	.667	32	–	19	.627
New Orleans ‍‍‍	13	–	8	.619	29	–	22	.569
McNeese ‍‍‍	10	–	11	.476	27	–	23	.540
Northwestern State ‍‍‍	11	–	13	.458	20	–	31	.392
Incarnate Word ‍‍‍	9	–	12	.429	24	–	26	.480
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi ‍‍‍	9	–	12	.429	21	–	30	.412
Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍	8	–	13	.381	26	–	24	.520
Houston Christian ‍‍‍	7	–	14	.333	16	–	30	.348

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of May 13, 2024^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball team represents McNeese State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cowboys play their home games at Joe Miller Ballpark and are led by eleventh–year head coach Justin Hill. They are members of the Southland Conference.

Previous season[edit]

The Cowboys had a regular season record of 35–23 and a conference record of 12–12 finishing in a three way tie for fifth place in conference play. They participated in the 2023 Southland Conference baseball tournament as the sixth seeded team. After winning their first conference tournament game against seventh seeded Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, the Cowboys lost to first seeded Nicholls and defeated second seeded Incarnate Word before being eliminated losing to fifth seeded Northwestern State.

Preseason[edit]

Southland Conference Coaches Poll[edit]

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 8, 2024. McNeese was picked to finish fifth in the Southland Conference with 67 votes.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Coaches poll
1	Nicholls	126 (14)
2	Lamar	106 (1)
3	New Orleans	92 (3)
4	Incarnate Word	81
5	McNeese	67
6	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	55
7	Southeastern Louisiana	53
8	Northwestern State	42
9	Houston Christian	26

Preseason All-Southland team[edit]

Cooper Hext was named to the conference preseason second team. ^[2]

First Team[edit]

Edgar Alvarez* (NICH, SR, 1st Base)
MaCrae Kendrick (NICH, SR, 2nd Base)
Ethan Ruiz (LU, SR, 3rd Base)
Parker Coddou* (NICH, SR, Shortstop)
Miguel Useche (UNO, SR, Catcher)
Rey Mendoza* (UIW, GR, Designated Hitter)
Mitchell Sanford* (UNO, RJR, Outfielder)
Samuel Benjamin* (HCU, SR, Outfielder)
Issac Williams (UNO, SR, Outfielder)
Jacob Mayers* (NICH, SO, Starting Pitcher)
Brooks Caple* (LU, SR, Starting Pitcher)
Hunter Hesseltine* (LU, JR, Starting Pitcher)
Gavin Galy* (NICH, RJR, Relief Pitcher)
Kanin Dodge (LU, SR, Utility)

*-2023 Southland All-Conference Selection

Second Team[edit]

Cameron Crotte (UIW, SR, 1st Base)
Austin Roccaforte (LU, SR, 2nd Base)
Dylan Mach (UNO, SR, 3rd Base)
Jake Haze* (SLU, GR, Shortstop)
Bo Willis (NWST, SR, Catcher)
River Orsak (LU, SR, Designated Hitter)
Garrett Felix (NICH, SR, Outfielder)
Cooper Hext (MCNS, SR, Outfielder)
Christian Smith-Johnson (TAMUCC, SO, Outfielder)
Chase Prestwich (NWST, JR, Starting Pitcher)
Isaiah Zavala (UIW, GR, Starting Pitcher)
Jacob Ellis (LU, SR, Starting Pitcher)
Jackson Cleveland (LU, JR, Relief Pitcher)
Isaiah Zavala (UIW, SR, Utility)

*-2023 Southland All-Conference Selection

Schedule and results[edit]

Legend
	McNeese State win
	McNeese State loss
	Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions
Bold	McNeese State team member
*	Non-Conference game
†	Make-Up Game

2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball game log

Regular season (27–23)

February (4–5)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SLC Record
Feb. 16	at Texas A&M*	8	Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park • College Station, TX	0–15	Ryan Prager (1-0)	Voss, Zach (0-1)	None	SECN+	7,078	0–1
Feb. 17	at Texas A&M*	8	Olsen Field at Bluebell Park • College Station, TX	1–6	Brock Peery (1-0)	Abraham, Ty (0-1)	Zane Badmaev (1)	SECN+	5,818	0–2
Feb. 18	at Texas A&M*	8	Olsen Field at Bluebell Park • College Station, TX	0–10 (7 inn)	Shane Sdao (1-0)	Gravel, Alexis (0-1)	None	SECN+	5,500	0–3
Feb. 20	Louisiana*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	3–11	Andrew Herrmann (1-0)	Strmiska, Caleb (0-1)	None		712	0–4
Feb. 23	New Mexico State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	2–1	Lejeune, Cameron (1-1)	Trey Meza (1-1)	None		943	1–4
Feb. 24	New Mexico State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	7–6	Morrow, Kainin (1-1)	Steve Solorzano (0-1)	Maldonado, Evan (1)		756	2–4
Feb. 25	New Mexico State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	11–8	Swenson, Max (1-0)	Hayden Lewis (0-2)	Lejeune, Cameron (1)		961	3–4
Feb. 26	New Mexico State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–5	Moeller, JT (1-0)	Saul Soto (1-1)	Morrow, Kainin (1)		840	4–4
Feb. 28	Louisiana Tech*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	4–13	Copeland,Caden (2-0)	Voss, Zach (0-2)	None	ESPN+	1,190	4–5

March (9–7)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SLC Record
Mar 1	Prairie View A&M*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	8–7	Lejeune, Cameron (2-0)	Victor Mendoza (0-1)	None		1,711	5–5
Mar 2	Prairie View A&M*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	19–12	Barthelemy, Brock (1-0)	Tyson Carlton (0-1)	None		951	6–5
Mar 3	Prairie View A&M*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	5–4	Morrow, Kainin (2-0)	Victor Mendoza (0-2)	LeJeune, Cameron (2)		1,712	7–5
Mar 6	at Louisiana Christian*		Billy Allgood Field • Pineville, LA	1–0 (10 inn)	Morrow, Kainin (3-0)	Cooksey, B. (3-1)	LeJeune, Cameron (3)		202	8–5
Mar 9	at Arkansas*	2	Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	1–3	Hagen Smith (2-0)	LeJeune, Cameron (2-1)	Gabe Gaeckle (3)	SECN+		8–6
Mar 9	at Arkansas*	2	Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	1–11 (8 inn)	Brady Tygart (3-0)	Voss, Zach (0-3)	Koty Frank (3)	SECN+	11,031	8–7
Mar 10	at Arkansas*	2	Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	5–18 (7 inn)	Gage Wood (2-0)	Morrow, Kainin (3-1)	None	SECN+	9,296	8–8
Mar 12	at Southern*		Lee–Hines Field • Baton Rouge, LA	4–3 (14 inn)	Mott, Marcus (1-0)	C. Davis (0-1)	Barthelemy, Brock (1)			9–8
Mar 20	at Louisiana*		M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park • Lake Charles, LA	1–4	Matthew Holzhammer (2-0)	Moeller, JT (1-1)	None	ESPN+	2,912	9–9
Mar 22	Northwestern		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	4–12	MCCLURE, MATT (2-2)	LeJeune, Cameron (2-2)	None	ESPN+	973	9–10
Mar 23	Northwestern		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	1–0	Daelan Caraway (2-0)	GARRETT SHEARER (1-4)	None	ESPN+	968	10–10
Mar 24	Northwestern		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–3	JT Moeller (2-1)	SHEARER, GARRETT (1-4)	None	ESPN+	896	11–10
Mar 26	Mississippi Valley State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–0	Abraham, Ty (1-1)	QUIN BENNETT (0-1)	None		854	12–10
Mar 28	Northwestern State		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	8–2	LeJeune, Cameron (3-2)	Newton, Aidan (0-3)	Morrow, Kainin (2)		980	13–10	1–0
Mar 29	Northwestern State		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	2–6	Bunch, Caleb (1-0)	Daelan Caraway (1-1)	None		1,011	13–11	1–1
Mar 30	Northwestern State		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	4–10	Marionneaux, Dylan (2-4)	Abraham, Ty (1-2)	None		1,059	13–12	1–2

April (8–9)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SLC Record
Apr 2	Alcorn State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	9–7	Caraway, Daelan (2-1)	Nico Garcia (0-1)	Shadrick, Brian (1)		864	14–12
Apr 3	Alcorn State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	11–4	Barthelemy, Brock (2-0)	Kewan Braziel (0-6)	None		872	15–12
Battle of the Border (Rivalry)
Apr 5	at Lamar		Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX	4–2	LeJeune, Cameron (4-2)	Caple, Brooks (4-3)	Moeller, JT (1)	ESPN+	1,847	16–12	2–2
Apr 6	at Lamar		Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX	0–1 (11 inn)	Neal, Austin (2-0)	Caraway, Daelan (2-2)	None	ESPN+	2,067	16–13	2–3
Apr 7	at Lamar		Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX	3–4	Perez, Andres (2-0)	Moeller, JT (2-2)	None	ESPN+	1,377	16–14	2–4

Apr 9	at LSU*		Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, LA	0–16 (7 inn)	Kade Anderson (3-1)	Caraway, Daelan (2-3)	None	SECN+	9,937	16–15
Apr 12	Incarnate Word		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–8	Salinas, Josh (4-1)	Moeller, JT (2-3)	Rodriguez, Luis (1)	ESPN+	945	16–16	2–5
Apr 13	Incarnate Word		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	3–10	Zavala, Isaiah (3-3)	Voss, Zach (0-4)	None	ESPN+	986	16–17	2–6
Apr 14	Incarnate Word		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	5–10	Johnson, Dave (4-2)	Gravel, Alexis (0-2)	None	ESPN+	989	16–18	2–7
Apr 16	Sam Houston*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	5–4	Shadrick, Brian (1-0)	Gavi Coldiron (3-3)	Barthelemy, Brock (2)		902	17–18
Apr 19	at New Orleans		Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, LA	5–6	Blasick, Nathan (1-0)	Moeller, JT (2-4)	None	ESPN+	485	17–19	2–8
Apr 20	at New Orleans		Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, LA	18–17	Shadrick, Brian (2-0)	Blasick, Nathan (2-1)	None	ESPN+	335	18–19	3–8
Apr 21	at New Orleans		Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, LA	3–6	Edwards, Grant (4-3)	Gravel, Alexis (0-3)	Dennis, Cortez (2)	ESPN+	402	18–20	3–9
Apr 23	Louisiana Christian		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–4	Moeller, JT (3-4)	Colton Williams (0-2)	None		925	19–20
Apr 26	Southeastern Louisiana		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	9–8	Abraham, Ty (2-2)	Fabre, Larson (1-1)	LeJeune, Cameron (4)	ESPN+	990	20–20	4–9
Apr 27	Southeastern Louisiana		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	3–12	Lee, Dakota (1-3)	Kainin Morrow (3-2)	None	ESPN+	1,061	20–21	4–10
Apr 28	Southeastern Louisiana		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	9–5	LeJeune, Cameron (5-2)	Vosburg, Aiden (0-4)	None	ESPN+	953	21–21	5–10

May (6–2)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SLC Record
May 1	at Houston*		Schroeder Park • Houston, TX	8–9 (10 inn)	Solis, Alex (1-2)	Maldonado, Evan (0-1)	None	ESPN+	1,042	21–22
May 3	at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi		Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX	7–3	Ty Abraham (3-2)	Dove, Kendall (1-4)	Cameron LeJeune (5)	ESPN+	182	22–22	6–10
May 4	at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi		Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX	9–4	Gravel, Alexis (1-3)	Hill, Jack (1-4)	None	ESPN+	235	23–22	7–10
May 5	at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi		Chapman Field • Corpus Christi, TX	13–10	LeJeune, Cameron (6-2)	Soliz, Cam (3-2)	None	ESPN+	245	24–22	8–10
May 7	Southern*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	14–4 (7 inn)	Swenson, Max (2-0)	Genesis Prosper (2-1)	None		922	25–22
May 10	Houston Christian		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	6–2	Voss, Zach (1-4)	Edwards, Parker (4-6)	None	ESPN+	933	26–22	9–10
May 11	Houston Christian		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	13–6	Barthelemy, Brock (3-0)	Gunter, Rye (2-2)	None		1,024	27–22	10–10
May 11	Houston Christian		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	7–9	Lopez, Mark (1-0)	Abraham, Ty (3-3)	Wells, Jarek (2)		1,024	27–23	10–11
May 14	Texas State*		Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA	–	(-)	(-)	()			–
May 16	at Nicholls		Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA	–	(-)	(-)	()			–	–
May 17	at Nicholls		Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA	–	(-)	(-)	()			–	–
May 18	at Nicholls		Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA	–	(-)	(-)	()			–	–

Post-season (0–0)

Southland Tournament (0–0)
Date	Opponent	(Seed)/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	Tournament record
May 22–25	vs. TBA	()	Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA	–	(-)	(-)	()	ESPN+		–	–

Legend: = Win = Loss = Canceled
Bold = McNeese team member
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Schedule Source:^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Conference awards and honors[edit]

Weekly awards[edit]

Weekly honors
Honors	Player	Position	Date Awarded	Ref.
SLC Hitter of the Week	Conner Westenburg	OF	February 26, 2024	^[8]

References[edit]

^ "2024 Southland Conference Baseball Standings". southland.org. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
^ ^a ^b James Hill (February 8, 2024). "Nicholls Chosen to Repeat at Southland Baseball Champions; Preseason All-Conference Team Released". Southland Conference. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
^ Taylor Riemersma (November 22, 2023). "McNeese announces schedule for 2024 baseball campaign". Crescent City Sports Enterprises LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ Taylor Riemersma (November 22, 2023). "Baseball announces schedule for 2024 campaign". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^ "2024 Baseball Schedule". Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^ "DIBASEBALL.COM TOP 25". NCAA.com. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^ Phil Stratton (September 25, 2023). "Extra Bases - 2024 Team Schedules". College Baseball Insider. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
^ James Hill (February 26, 2024). "McNeese's Westenburg, Lamar's Caple Named Jersey Mike's Baseball Players of the Week". Retrieved March 1, 2024.

[1] "2024 Southland Conference Baseball Standings". southland.org. Retrieved May 12, 2024.

[Polls-2] James Hill (February 8, 2024). "Nicholls Chosen to Repeat at Southland Baseball Champions; Preseason All-Conference Team Released". Southland Conference. Retrieved February 8, 2024.

[3] Taylor Riemersma (November 22, 2023). "McNeese announces schedule for 2024 baseball campaign". Crescent City Sports Enterprises LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2023.

[4] Taylor Riemersma (November 22, 2023). "Baseball announces schedule for 2024 campaign". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved December 21, 2023.

[5] "2024 Baseball Schedule". Retrieved December 21, 2023.

[6] "DIBASEBALL.COM TOP 25". NCAA.com. Retrieved December 21, 2023.

[7] Phil Stratton (September 25, 2023). "Extra Bases - 2024 Team Schedules". College Baseball Insider. Retrieved January 13, 2024.

[8] James Hill (February 26, 2024). "McNeese's Westenburg, Lamar's Caple Named Jersey Mike's Baseball Players of the Week". Retrieved March 1, 2024.

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v t e McNeese Cowboys baseball
Venues	Unknown (1953–1964) Joe Miller Ballpark (1965– )
Rivalries	Lamar
People	Head coaches
Seasons	2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024