Tag: McNeese State Cowboys

Will Wade officially back in college basketball, joins McNeese on five-year deal

The former LSU coach made things official with the Cowboys on Sunday.

Former LSU basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] made things official with McNeese State on Sunday, agreeing to terms on a five-year deal to become the program’s head coach.

Wade coached the Tigers from 2017-22, and he replaces second-year coach John Aiken, who was fired after going just 22-45 in Lake Charles.

Wade is just 40, and he led LSU to winning seasons in each of his five years with the team, compiling a 105-51. He also took the team to the Sweet 16 in 2019 after capturing an SEC regular season title.

However, Wade was fired for cause last spring after he was charged by the NCAA with five Level I violations. There still hasn’t been a resolution in that case, and it’s a risky hire in the sense that Wade could still face potential repercussions from the NCAA down the line.

But Wade is also a proven winner. In previous stops, he turned Chattanooga’s program around in two years and took VCU to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments as a mid-major. Now, a Cowboys program that has made just two NCAA Tournaments since moving up to the Division I level (and none since 2002) will hope Wade can achieve similar results.

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Former LSU coach Will Wade closing in on deal to return to coaching in Louisiana

According to a report from The Athletic, Wade is the top candidate for the open job at McNeese State.

Former LSU basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] may be coming back to the state of Louisiana, it just won’t be in Baton Rouge.

According to a report from The Athletic, Wade is nearing a deal to become the head coach at McNeese State, which fired previous coach John Aiken earlier in the week. Wade was also previously the head coach at Chattanooga and VCU.

He spent five seasons as the Tigers’ coach, leading the team to a regular season SEC title and Sweet 16 appearance in 2018-19. He led the team to an NCAA Tournament berth last season but was fired before the postseason as a notice of allegations from the NCAA charged him with five Level I violations.

Wade had a 105-51 record during his time at LSU.

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Latest postseason projections for LSU baseball

The Tigers are hosting a regional as things currently stand in the D1Baseball bracket projection.

We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty — and I don’t mean the dirt band —of the 2022 baseball season.

The LSU Tigers are currently 30-14 overall and 12-9 in SEC play with only three conference series (at Alabama, home vs. Ole Miss and at Vanderbilt) and two mid-week games (vs. Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State) left in the regular season.

D1Baseball recently released its updated postseason projections and, as of now, LSU would be hosting a regional as the No. 15 overall seed. The three other teams that are projected in the region just happen to be teams that LSU is very familiar with.

It has played one game each against Texas, Louisiana Tech, and McNeese State, going 1-3 in that stretch. The Tigers played the Longhorns in the Shriners College Classic back in March and lost 6-1 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Four days after that game, LSU played McNeese State and beat the Cowboys 6-3. It has played Louisiana Tech twice this season, losing the first game 11-6 in Ruston before the Bulldogs came to Baton Rouge and pulled off a comeback victory in 12 innings. The Tigers had a 6-4 lead entering the top of the ninth inning but couldn’t close the game out.

All of those games were played earlier in the season. A lot has changed since then, and a lot can still change between now and regionals. We will see what happens between now and then, and LSU will hope it can improve its standing even more in that span.

The Tigers start their three-game series with the Crimson Tide this Friday night at 6 p.m. CT.

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LSU baseball gets back to its winning ways against McNeese State

The Tigers snapped their two-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over McNeese State on Wednesday night.

Coming off of a 1-2 week at the Shriners College Classic, head coach Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers were in need of a pick-me-up game to get them back in the groove.

They got just that on Wednesday night when they played the McNeese State Cowboys at The Box. Will Helmers got the start on the mound for LSU and pitched three innings only allowing one hit, zero runs, two walks, and three strikeouts in a 6-3 Tigers win.

In the bottom of the second inning, Gavin Dugas got the party started for LSU as he hit a two-run homer to right field that scored Jordan Thompson to make it 2-0 Tigers.

In the top of the fourth inning, Grant Taylor came in to pitch for the Tigers and gave up two hits, two strikeouts, and an earned run on a wild pitch. It was 2-1 LSU until the bottom of the seventh inning when the No. 1 prospect in college baseball, Jacob Berry, stepped up to the plate and sent a Berry Blast to right field to extend the lead to 3-1 and give the Tigers some breathing room.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Dylan Crews hit into a fielder’s choice with bases loaded to score Drew Bianco and extend the lead to 4-1. Berry followed that with a double to right field that scored Crews and Tyler McManus to make the lead 6-1 Tigers heading into the top of the ninth.

Paul Gervase remained on the mound for the third inning in a row to try and close out the game, but after getting one out, two straight walks chased him from the game as he was replaced by Trent Vietmeier.

Vietmeier came in with one out and runners on first and second and proceeded to get the first guy out on a popup but then gave up a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 6-3. Both runs were charged to Gervase.

But Vietmeier fielded a ground ball to get the final out of the game as the Tigers ended a two-game losing streak. Will Hellmers (2-0) got the win on the mound for LSU and the Tigers were led at the plate by Gavin Dugas who finished the night 3-3 with two RBI and a homer.

With the win, LSU improves to 10-3 on the year. This weekend, the Tigers will play a three-game series against Bethune-Cookman with the first game being Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST in Baton Rouge. Blake Money will be the starting pitcher for Game 1.

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LSU baseball’s game against McNeese State postponed

The Tigers’ Tuesday night game against the Cowboys has been delayed to Wednesday due to inclement weather in the area.

LSU needs some positives from its baseball team after a 1-2 weekend at the Shriners College Classic in Houston, where the Tigers fell in back-to-back games to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and the Baylor Bears following a thrilling walk-off win over Oklahoma on Friday. However, it looks like the Tigers are going to have to wait to avenge their two-game losing streak.

Tuesday night’s scheduled game against the McNeese State Cowboys has been postponed as a result of a significant rain forecast in the Baton Rouge area.

The game will now instead be played on Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium. The time is still set for 6:30 p.m. CST.

Hopefully, the rain will stay away on Wednesday and the Tigers can get back to their winning ways against the Cowboys. See you at The Box.

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How to watch LSU baseball on Wednesday night against McNeese State

The Tigers return to Alex Box Stadium to take on the 8-4 McNeese State Cowboys on Tuesday night.

The Tigers return to Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday night after a frustrating trip to Houston for the Shriners College Classic in which they finished 1-2 on the weekend.

LSU managed to win its opener against Oklahoma in an extra-innings thriller as Jordan Thompson hit a walk-off homer in the 11th, but it fell in subsequent matchups against No. 1 Texas (which suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday against UCLA) and an unranked Baylor squad.

Now, the Tigers get to return home for a midweek matchup against McNeese State on Tuesday night before a weekend series against Bethune-Cookman, also in Baton Rouge.

It’s been a decent start to the season for the Cowboys, who sit at 8-4. However, they faced their first real test this past weekend against a No. 25 Louisiana Tech team that beat LSU in Ruston, and the Bulldogs outscored McNeese 32-8 in the first two games before the Cowboys managed to take Game 3 and avoid the sweep.

Here’s all you need to know to watch, stream or listen to the Tigers’ midweek contest on Tuesday.

UPDATE: The game against McNeese State has been postponed until Wednesday evening with heavy rain forecasted in the Baton Rouge area.

Game details

  • Date: Wednesday, March 9
  • Location: Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge
  • Time: 6:30 p.m. CST
  • TV: SEC Network+
  • Radio: LSU Radio Network
  • App: Watch ESPN (ESPN+ Subscription Required)
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

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COVID-19, multiple hurricanes force McNeese State to cancel men’s, women’s golf after 2021 season

McNeese State will end its men’s and women’s golf programs after the 2021 season concludes.

McNeese State announced it will no longer have a men’s and women’s golf program after the spring season concludes.

The school said the decision is directly related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes Laura and Delta on the university and the athletics program.

“Never, in the history of any college athletics program, has a university been forced to manage the effects of a deadly global pandemic, coupled with a direct hit from a strong category 4 hurricane and a second category 2 hurricane just six weeks later,” said athletic director and men’s basketball coach Heath Schroyer in a school release.

Schroyer said McNeese continues to support football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, softball, tennis and soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track and outdoor track and field.

There are nine athletes on the men’s golf team and 10 on the women’s.

“We will honor the scholarships for these student-athletes through the remainder of the academic year,” said Schroyer.

Women’s coach Mike Fluty will oversee both programs in the spring. Men’s coach Derek Plucienski recently was named coach at UTEP.

“This is a difficult day for McNeese athletics and this decision was not made lightly or in haste,” Schroyer said.

McNeese moved to remote classes in March and the spring season for all sports was canceled.

Football, soccer, cross country, track and field, golf and volleyball were canceled in the fall and will take place in the spring session of 2021.

“We are proud of our history in the golf programs and the student-athletes and coaches that have been associated with the two programs, and as a coach, I understand that this decision will impact the lives of our current golf team members, alumni and prospective recruits,” Schroyer said.