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: St. Thomas More

Head Coach: Cass Hargis

Classification: Class 4A (Select D-II)

District: 4-4A

2023 Record: 22-14-1

2023 Playoff Finish: State Semifinalist

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 3

No. of Returning Pitchers: 2

Team Strengths: Offense

Top Returning Players: 2024 RHP Evan McDaniel, 2024 RHP Wilton Taylor (UL-Lafayette signee), 2024 OF Hayden Hernandez (LSU-Eunice commit), 2025 INF/RHP Jacob Froehlich (UL-Lafayette commit), 2025 INF/OF Cade Wilkerson (UL-Lafayette commit)

Top Newcomers: 2024 INF Tyler Desormeaux, 2024 OF Cayden Vice, 2025 C Mackie Castille, 2025 RHP Talan Soileau, 2025 INF/OF Reed Dupuis, 2025 INF Riley Rowell, 2025 INF Josh Dupin, 2026 OF/LHP Cayden Dartez, 2027 INF Landyn Craft, 2027 OF Cooper Hawkins, 2027 INF/RHP Brennan Leblanc

 

Team Outlook

Against one of the tougher schedules last year, St. Thomas More finished the 2023 season with a 22-14-1 overall record.  The Cougars entered the LHSAA Select D-II playoffs as the #3 seed and made it to the state tournament, where their season would end at the hands of #2 see E.D. White, who ended up as the eventual state champions.  Head Coach Cass Hargis will have to replace quite a bit from last season, as the Cougars return three position players and two pitchers from last year's team.  The good news for the Cougars, is that their offense will be pretty dynamic with a good blend of physicality and speed.  Two of the more physical guys who will hit in the middle of the order are senior Hayden Hernandez and junior Jacob Froehlich.  Hernandez, a LSU-Eunice recruit, hit at a .351 clip with 2 HR and 27 RBI last season.  Froehlich, a UL-Lafayette recruit, finished the year with a .354 avg, 2 HR, and 29 RBI.  Junior Cade Wilkerson is back for another season of action as well, and should be one of the table-setters at the top of St. Thomas More's lineup.  The UL-Lafayette recruit hit at a .325 clip last spring with 22 RBI and 27 R, while also stealing 13 bases.  Seniors Tyler Desormeaux and Cayden Vice, along with Juniors Mackie Castille, Parker Castille, Reed Dupuis, Riley Rowell, and Josh Dupin should all make an impact on the offense.  Keep an eye out for freshman Landyn Craft and Cooper Hawkins.  Craft was a member of our Jr. Future Games team last summer and is an athletic right-handed hitting infielder with quick hands and present bat speed.  Replacing some of the front-line starting pitching from a season ago is a big task of Coach Hargis and his staff's, but the good news is that they do return a combined 70 IP on the mound last season between seniors Wilton Taylor and Evan McDaniel.  Taylor, a UL-Lafayette recruit, went 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA and 43 K's across 43 IP last year.  He's got one of the better breaking balls in the state, as well as a mid-upper 80's FB with good life through the zone.  McDaniel logged 27 innings last spring and finished with a 2-3 record and 2.85 ERA.  Junior RHP Talan Soileau and sophomore LHP Cayden Dartez are two guys who should play a bigger role on the mound this season for the Cougars.  Another underclassman to watch for is freshman RHP Brennan Leblanc.  He was a member of our Jr. Future Games team last summer and we really liked the way that he competed and attacked hitters with a three-pitch for strikes in any count.  Coach Hargis made no bones about it; the goal of this team is to make it to the state tournament and win two games there.  He's preached to be consistent on a day to day basis to this year's team, while also playing each pitch with a high-level focus.  The Cougars will be battle-tested again come playoff time and hopefully by that time, the pitching will have caught up to what looks like a really good offense.  We expect St. Thomas More to once again be a contender this coming spring and advance to the state tournament with the opportunity to avenge their semifinal loss of a year ago.

 

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