The 2023 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, our staff is excited for the upcoming spring season.  Players and coaches have been working all fall and through December, in preparation for the upcoming season and as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Louisiana.

Programs across the state have goals and aspirations to finish the year in Sulphur, LA at the LHSAA State Tournament, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes a reality.  We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams and players across the state, as we preview many of the great programs from Louisiana.  We will take you right up to the first pitch of this season with these team previews and we'll continue providing coverage throughout the spring. 

Please keep checking back throughout the season, as we strive to be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across Louisiana.  Each week we will release our players of the week, as well as our Power 25 Rankings, which encompasses the top 25 teams in the state, regardless of class.  

*Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.  If you did not receive a questionnaire and would like to fill one out, please send an email to [email protected].

-High School Name: Lutcher High School

-Coach’s Name: Ryan Jensen

-Classification: Class 4A (Non-Select Division II)

-District: 7-4A

-No. of Returning Positional Starters: 2

-No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

-Team Strengths: Athleticism

-Top Returning Players: 2024 INF/OF Brock Louque, 2024 RHP/OF Quinn Smith, 2024 C/RHP Caleb Hastings, 2025 RHP/SS Marshall Louque (Louisiana State University commit)

-Top 2024 Prospects: 2024 INF/OF Brock Louque, 2024 RHP/OF Quinn Smith, 2024 C/RHP Caleb Hastings, 2024 MIF/OF Kai Brown, 2024 OF/LHP Luke Babin, 2024 1B Colin Roques

-Top 2025 & 2026 Prospects: 2025 RHP/SS Marshall Louque (Louisiana State University commit), 2026 INF/RHP Dane Bodin, 2026 C/RHP Bryson Keller

 

 

Team Outlook

2022 was a year to remember for the athletic department at Lutcher High School.  Last spring, the Bulldogs went 35-9 and won the LHSAA Class 3A State Championship.  The fun didn't stop there either, as the football team won a state title this past fall as well.  Head Coach Ryan Jensen and company will face a lot of changes this coming spring, on their quest to repeat as state champions.  For starters, the Bulldogs enter a new district this season and will now compete in the Non-Select Division II for the playoffs.  On top of that, Lutcher only returns two positional starters from last year's state championship team.  In saying all of that, Coach Jensen and the Bulldog faithful, have to be ecstatic to return the state's top ranked sophomore in Marshall Louque.  The LSU recruit enjoyed one of the better freshman season's in recent memory.  Last season, he finished the year hitting .475 with 6 HR, 19 2B, 4 3B, and 52 RBI.  As good as he was at the plate, he was equally as good or better, on the mound, as he finished with a 7-2 record and an absurd 0.27 ERA.  His dominance on the mound was on full display last summer at the 2022 Future Games.  Louque was the starter in Game 1 vs. a loaded Carolinas team and in his two-inning stint, he ran his FB up to 90 mph and finished giving up 0 ER, 1 H, while racking up 4 K's.  The Bulldogs also return another "Louque" that Coach Jensen is excited about in junior Brock Louque.  B. Louque is a versatile defender, who can play anywhere on the field, and was described by Coach Jensen as a "clutch player".  He was so clutch, that he was named the Class 3A State Championship Game Most Valuable Player last spring.  Other returning players that the Bulldogs have entering the 2023 season include juniors Quinn Smith and Caleb Hastings.  Smith has gotten stronger this fall and has ran his FB up to 87 mph.  Hastings is a switch-hitter, who should see mound time and behind the plate.  Juniors Kai Brown, Luke Babin, and Colin Roques should all factor into the lineup as well.  Brown is a strong, physical prospect who is another versatile utility type of player.  Babin is a southpaw who's seen a jump in velocity over the off-season and Roques is an athletic first baseman who can hit to all fields.  Underclassmen to keep an eye on include sophomores Dane Bodin and Bryson Keller.  Bodin is a quick twitched athlete with a high baseball IQ and Keller is another physical prospect with pull-side power.  Who stands in the way of the Bulldogs repeating as state champions?  They'll have to compete against teams like North Vermillion, who won the Class 4A state title in 2021 and finished as state runner-up last spring, as well as Lakeshore, who finished as a state-semifinalist in 2022.  If Lutcher can get back to the state tournament, then we really like their chances, as they would likely have Marshall Louque for the semifinals like they did last spring.  There are a lot of changes facing the Bulldogs heading into 2023, but we fully expect them to be in the mix for another state title run.

 

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