The 2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball team represented McNeese State University during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cowboys played their home games at Joe Miller Ballpark and were led by eleventh–year head coach Justin Hill. They are members of the Southland Conference. They compiled a 32–27 overall record and a 11–13 record in conference play to tie for 4th place. Qualifying for the SLC tournament, the 5th seeded Cowboys were 3–2 in tournament play. They defeated 4th seeded Northwestern State 10–5 and 8th seeded Incarnate Word 6–2. The Cowboys were defeated by 1st seed Lamar 9–18 and then defeated Lamar 14–4 to reach the tournament championship game where they were defeated by 2nd seed Nicholls 15–1.
Previous season
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 Southland Conference Coaches Poll The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 8, 2024. McNeese was picked to finish fifth in the Southland Conference with 67 votes.
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 Cooper Hext was named to the conference preseason second team.
First Team 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 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 Legend McNeese State win McNeese State loss Postponement/Cancelation/SuspensionsBoldMcNeese State team member * Non-Conference game † Make-Up Game
2024 McNeese Cowboys baseball game log Regular season (29–25) February (4–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordFeb. 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 * 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 * 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 RecordMar 1 * 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 * 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 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 * 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 1–0Mar 29 Northwestern State Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 2–6 Bunch, Caleb (1-0) Daelan Caraway (1-1) None 1,011 13–11 1–1Mar 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 RecordApr 2 * 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 2–2Apr 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 2–3Apr 7 at Lamar Vincent–Beck Stadium • Beaumont, TX 3–4 Perez, Andres (2-0) Moeller, JT (2-2) None ESPN+ 1,377 16–14 2–4Apr 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 2–5Apr 13 Incarnate Word Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 3–10 Zavala, Isaiah (3-3) Voss, Zach (0-4) None ESPN+ 986 16–17 2–6Apr 14 Incarnate Word Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 5–10 Johnson, Dave (4-2) Gravel, Alexis (0-2) None ESPN+ 989 16–18 2–7Apr 16 * 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 2–8Apr 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 3–8Apr 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 3–9Apr 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 4–9Apr 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 4–10Apr 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 (8–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordMay 1 at * 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 6–10May 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 7–10May 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 8–10May 7 * 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 9–10May 11 Houston Christian Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 13–6 Barthelemy, Brock (3-0) Gunter, Rye (2-2) None 1,024 27–22 10–10May 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 10–11May 14 * Joe Miller Ballpark • Lake Charles, LA 7–6(10 inn) Swenson, Max (3-0) Holbook, Nicholas (0-1) None 954 28–23 May 16 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA 3–4 Mayers, Jacob (4-1) Voss, Zach (1-5) Saltaformaggio, Nico (2) ESPN+ 505 28–24 10–12May 17 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA 3–10 Desandro, Devin (6-4) Gravel, Alexis (1-4) None 501 28–25 10–13May 18 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA 10–6 Cameron LeJeune (7-2) Hill, Sam (3-2) JT Moeller (2) ESPN+ 613 29–25 11–13 Postseason (3–2) (3–2) Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament recordMay 22 vs. (4) Northwestern State (5) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 10–5 Zach Voss(2-5) Bryan, Tyler(1-3) None ESPN+ 30–25 1–0May 23 vs. (8) Incarnate Word (5) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 6–2 Alexis Gravel(2-4) Zavala, Isaiah(4-6) Cameron LeJeune (6) ESPN+ 31–25 2–0May 24 vs. (1) Lamar (5) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 9–18 Perez, Andres(3-1) Brock Barthelemy(3-1) None ESPN+ 31–26 2–1May 25 vs. (1) Lamar (5) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 14–4(7 inn) Ty Abraham(4-3) Morse, Trhea(4-1 None ESPN+ 32–26 3–1May 25 vs. (2) Nicholls (5) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field • Hammond, LA 15–1(7 inn) Farley, Dylan(3-2) Zach Voss(2-6) Mone ESPN+ 1,198 32–27 3–2 Legend: = Win = Loss = CanceledBold = McNeese team memberRankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.
Schedule source:
Conference awards and honors
2024 All-Southland Conference team Source: