Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
NEW ORLEANS, La. – LSU’s Cade Beloso, a key part of the Tigers’ College World Series winning team, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for June.
Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He is the first LSU baseball player to earn the honor since Jared Poché was recognized in June of 2017 after an outstanding College World Series performance of his own.
Beloso, who has earned the nickname “The Creole Bambineaux,” was a primary reason that LSU reached and won the 2023 College Baseball World Series. In June, the former John Curtis Patriot hit .356 (16-of-49) in 13 postseason games. He belted five home runs to go with 13 RBI and nine walks to post a .476 on-base percentage.
During the CWS series run in Omaha, Beloso hit .370 (10-for-27) with a pair of home runs, eight RBI, four runs and seven walks during the eight games the Tigers played. Beloso blasted a one-out solo homer in the 11th inning to lift the Tigers to a 4-3 win over No. 2 Florida in the first game of the College World Series championship round. He also launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the Tigers’ 5-2 win over No. 1 Wake Forest as LSU staved off elimination earlier in the World Series.
“This means the world to me,” a teary-eyed Beloso told NCAA Digital’s Michella Chester after the Tigers wrapped up the title. “I can’t even put it into words. I just have to thank God for putting us into this position and allowing us to play baseball every day and giving us the strength to overcome the good and the bad. There’s so many people to thank for this and I just love LSU so much and I love the state of Louisiana. I’m just so happy for everybody that’s a part of this.”
For the season, the senior DH played in 58 games with a .324 batting average and 16 home runs (fourth on the team). He scored 43 runs while driving in 49 and had a .622 slugging percentage.
Beloso was selected for the honor over five other star athletes, including two of his own teammates.
• Alia Armstrong, a graduate of St. Katherine Drexel in New Orleans, continued her collegiate track and field dominance in 2023. The junior star for the LSU Tigers earned First-Team All-America recognition for the fourth time when she ran the 100-meter hurdles in 12.49 seconds to finish third at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 10. She also helped the Tigers’ 4×100 relay team to a third-place finish to add more All-America recognition. Armstrong will compete at the United States Track & Field Championships (amateur and professional athletes) in early July as she looks to improve on her third-place finish from last year.
• Richie Clementi, a junior-to-be at Brother Martin, turned in an amazing performance at the Spartan Nationals Wrestling Tournament in Tampa. Already a two-time LHSAA state champ, Clementi won the triple crown at the national event with titles in all three major wrestling styles. Clementi’s impressive journey began in the folkstyle category. He defeated all of his opponents by technical fall, pin or major decision. The finals match proved Clementi was dominant as he did not allow his opponent to score, ultimately winning 11-0. He followed that by facing off against some of the country’s toughest freestyle competitors – and won every match by technical fall. Clementi scored 35 points combined in the freestyle matches and only gave up three points. He capped the amazing event by again dominating all his opponents in the Greco-Roman style, winning each match by technical falls. He controlled the entire final match to post a 10-1 triumph.
• Brayden Jobert, a Slidell product and a graduate of Northshore High School and Delgado CC, was a critical part of LSU’s seventh College World Series Championship. The junior DH hit .286 (14-for-49) in 13 postseason games for the Tigers. He belted four home runs and scored 10 runs while driving in 11 runs. His biggest game came in the CWS clinching victory over Florida on June 26 when he went 4-for-7 with a double and a home run to go with three RBI. He also had a massive game earlier in the CW as he went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run in a 6-3 win over Tennessee. For the season, Jobert hit .301 with 14 home runs, 49 RBI and 40 runs scored.
• Tre Morgan, a graduate of Brother Martin High School, was also key cog in LSU’s seventh College World Series Championship. The junior first-baseman hit .345 (19-of-55) in 13 June games (all NCAA Tournament games) with 10 runs scored, 10 RBI, five doubles and a pair of home runs. In eight games at the CWS, Morgan hit .344 (11-for-32) with six runs, six RBI, three doubles and a triple. However, his most impactful play, one that is destined to become a part of Tiger baseball lore came on defense. In the Tigers’ elimination game showdown against No. 1 Wake Forest, the two teams were knotted at 0-0 in the eighth inning, but the Deacons had a runner on third with one out. Morgan made an amazing play on a suicide-squeeze bunt and threw out the go-ahead runner at the plate to preserve the scoreless tie. LSU would go on to win 2-0 on an 11th inning home run by Tommy White to advance to the championship round against Florida. Morgan also had a huge day in the first game of the Super Regional as he went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs in a 14-0 win over Kentucky. For the year, Morgan hit .316 with 66 runs and 53 RBI. He hit nine total homers while posting a .990 fielding percentage.
• Emma Smithers, a senior on the Loyola women’s golf team, won the 95th Louisiana Women’s Amateur Golf Championship by sinking a birdie putt on the third playoff hole at Ellendale Country Cub in Houma. After seeing a lot of success in the first three matches, the Ellisville, Miss., product trailed for most of the Championship match. Sitting 1 down through 15 holes, she had a chance to tie the match on the 16th hole but a birdie putt lipped out. She wasn’t going to let that happen on the 17th hole – a hole she hadn’t played since the qualifying stroke play round earlier in the tournament. She hit her tee shot to about 15 feet of the pin, then made her birdie putt to tie the match and set up her playoff win.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible.