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: Slidell

Head Coach: Kyle Cedotal

Classification: Class 5A (Non-Select D-I)

District: 6-5A

2023 Record: 12-20

2023 Playoff Finish: Did not make the playoffs.

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 6

No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

Team Strengths: Pitching & Defense

Top Returning Players: 2024 OF/RHP Corey Cousin (Oklahoma signee), 2024 MIF Brady Johnson, 2024 RHP Finn Gayle, 2025 RHP/INF Brayden Calamari, 2025 RHP Troy Green

Top Newcomers: 2024 Junior Burdett, 2024 1B Brody Lupo, 2026 JB Barker

 

Team Outlook

Slidell finished the 2023 season with a 12-20 overall record and failed to make the LHSAA Non-Select D-I playoffs.  Tiger fans can expect a lot of change this season, in a good way, as their is a new sheriff in town, with Kyle Cedotal taking over the reigns of the program.  Coach Cedotal is no stranger to winning either, as he served as the hitting coach at St. Thomas More from 2017-2020, before taking over as the Head Coach at Vermilion Catholic, from 2021-2022, where he led the program to two shared district titles.  As part of taking over the program, Coach Cedotal is instilling a new mindset and brand of baseball from what Slidell was previously used to.  The good news for him is that he's got six position players and three pitchers back from last season, and it all starts with senior Corey Cousin.  The Oklahoma recruit is one of the most talented two-way prospects in the entire state.  Cousin finished last season with a .374 avg. to go along with 6 HR, 27 RBI, and 12 SB.  Senior Brady Johnson is another veteran who will be back on the infield for the Tigers this spring, after hitting at a .369 clip last year with 23 R.  Junior Brayden Calamari is another two-way guy who will be relied upon this spring, after finishing with a .438 OBP last year, while also earning 2nd Team All-District honors as a pitcher.  Calamari finished last season with a 2.10 ERA across 43 1/3 IP.  Joining Cousin and Calamari on the mound will be senior Finn Gayle, who logged 40 IP last season, and junior Troy Green, who logged 33 IP last spring.  Senior Junior Burdett is a guy who should help to solidify the defense and will take high-level team at-bats.  Senior Brody Lupo is going to be an athletic and physical first-baseman, who is going to give the Tigers offense some much needed length.  Sophomore JB Barker is a solid defender behind the plate and is a good young bat in the Slidell lineup.  Coach Cedotal told us that we're going to see a very efficient team on defense and that the pitching staff will be conditioned to be elite strike-throwers.  In addition, Coach Cedotal also feels that there is a lot of competition at every position, and he told us that, "competition eliminates weaknesses", which we would agree with as well.  Slidell fans should fully expect a new-look Tigers team this spring, and with the changes that are being made to the program, we fully expect this year's group to have a bounce back year this spring.

 

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