The 2024 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state.  Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Louisiana.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Sulphur, LA, home of the LHSAA State Championships, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality.  We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Louisiana.  We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, followed by our Power 25 Rankings release, and our popular Game of the Week segment. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the bayou state.  Each week, we will be releasing our players of the week, updating our Power 25 Rankings, and many more pieces of content.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

 

High School Name: Pope John Paul II

Head Coach: Brian Babin

Classification: Class 2A (Select D-III)

District: 7-2A

2023 Record: 25-7

2023 Playoff Finish: State Quarterfinalist

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6

No. of Returning Pitchers: 4

Team Strengths: Pitching

Top Returning Players: 2025 RHP Logan Cooper, 2025 MIF Blaze Rodriguez, 2026 LHP Caden Amie, 2026 RHP Landon Guidry

Top Newcomers: 2025 RHP Nate Babin, 2025 RHP Kade LaCoste

 

Team Outlook

Pope John Paul had a fantastic 2023 season finishing with a 25-7 overall record.  The Jaguars were the #2 seed in the LHSAA Select D-III playoffs and made it all the way to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, before their season was ended at the hands of #7 seed Holy Savior Menard.  Head Coach Brian Babin is excited for this spring, as he returns six position players and five pitchers from last year's team.  On the mound, the Jaguars return their version of a "three-headed monster" in junior Logan Cooper and sophomores Caden Amie and Landon Guidry.  Cooper went 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA to go along with 35 K's to only 9 BB's.  Amie amassed a 6-2 record and 1.19 ERA with 55 K's and Guidry went a perfect 6-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 30 K's.  Coach Babin told us that they'll also get back junior Nate Babin from injury, who was one of their top arms as a freshman, two years ago.  Another arm to keep an eye on is junior RHP Kade LaCoste.  We saw him at our State Games event this past fall and were impressed with his mid-upper 80's FB, to along with his sweeping SL.  Offensively, the Jaguars are excited to bring back their starting shortstop, junior Blaze Rodriguez, who hit .382 last season with 16 RBI, while only striking out twice all spring.  Last year's Pope John Paul team maintained a sub-2.00 ERA as a team, and they return three of their main arms back, plus get back another from injury.  That should bode well for the Jaguars this year, so as long as they can find ways to produce enough runs, we expect Pope John Paul to have another strong season with a chance to win a district title and make it to the LHSAA state tournament.

 

 

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