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: Barbe High School

Head Coach: Glenn Cecchini

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

District: 3-5A

2023 Record: 39-1

2023 Playoff Finish: State Champions

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 5

No. of Returning Pitchers: 2

Team Strengths: Defense up the middle of the field.

Top Returning Players: 2024 LHP/OF Diego Corrales, 2024 MIF Owen Galt (UL-Lafayette signee), 2024 OF/MIF Kasen Bellard (UL-Lafayette signee), 2025 C Presley Courville (Texas A&M commit), 2026 RHP/OF J.D. Alexander

Top 2024 & 2025 Prospects: 2024 LHP/OF Diego Corrales, 2024 MIF Owen Galt (UL-Lafayette signee), 2024 OF/MIF Kasen Bellard (UL-Lafayette signee), 2024 1B Gabe Guidry, 2025 C Presley Courville (Texas A&M commit), 2025 INF Brit Vick, 2025 OF Cameron Stutes, 2025 OF Dylan Demarie, 2025 OF Dane Dixon

Top 2026 & 2027 Prospects: 2026 RHP/OF J.D. Alexander, 2026 MIF Myles Ledoux, 2026 MIF/RHP Ja'Derryian Washington, 2027 OF Jordin Griffin (LSU commit), 2027 LHP/OF Lawton Littleton

 

Team Outlook

The 2023 Barbe Bucs finished with a program best 39-1 overall record and were crowned State Champions, after a dramatic comeback victory over West Monroe in the LHSAA Non-Select D-I title game.  The hero of last year's squad was senior Donovan LaSalle (Oklahoma State), who belted a 7th inning grand slam to put the Bucs ahead for good over the Rebels, sealing their 12th state title in school history.  Head Coach Glenn Cecchini will have to replace key pieces off of last year's team like LaSalle and J.C. Vanek (Chipola College), who have now moved on to the college ranks, but the Bucs feel good about who they have to do just that for this coming season.  Defensively, up the middle of the field, is the strong suit of this year's Barbe team, as they return junior C Presley Courville (.337 AVG), senior SS Owen Galt (.323 AVG), and senior Kasen Bellard (.417 AVG), who will likely play either 2B or CF.  Replacing Vanek at 1B will be senior Gabe Guidry, who is a solid defender and a veteran bat with gap to gap power.  Joining Galt and Bellard on the infield, depending on who's pitching, will be a mix of junior Brit Vick and sophomores Ja'Derryian Washington and Myles Ledoux.  In our fall look at the Bucs, we were awfully impressed with Washington.  The 6'2" 160 lbs. infielder has buttery smooth actions with soft hands, and was one of Barbe's leading hitters over the fall.  In the outfield, the Bucs will have to replace all three spots that were left by seniors.  Senior Diego Corrales hit .379 in 29 at-bats last season and has looked good so far this fall.  Sophomore J.D. Alexander had a big freshman campaign, hitting .349 with 3 HR and 28 RBI, and has been working in the outfield and at first base this fall.  Junior Cameron Stutes has been a pleasant surprise so far for Barbe, and has put himself in a great position to earn a starting outfield job.  Fellow juniors Dane Dixon and Dylan Demarie are also in the mix, as well as freshmen Jordin Griffin and Lawton Littleton.  Griffin is one of the more highly-touted prospects in the country and he backed up high expectations over the fall by taking quality at-bat after quality at-bat, while also belting two home runs.  The Bucs lost quite a bit of experience on the mound from last season, but they feel good about several guys heading into this spring.  Corrales went 5-0 with a 0.33 ERA last year and has improved his secondary offerings, while also seeing an uptick in velocity.  Alexander went 2-0 with a save and a 1.43 ERA as a freshman last year and proved that he can pitch on the big stage, as he recorded the final five outs of the state title game, while earning the win on the mound.  Those two will most certainly be starters for the Bucs this spring, but how the rest of the staff will shake out is still to be determined.  Senior Drake Pousson will be in the mix with a low-80's FB and feel for spin with a sharp CB.  Littleton, although just a freshman, has looked really good on the mound so far for the Bucs.  The southpaw can locate a low-80's FB to all quadrants and can land a low-70's CB for strikes and swing & miss with spin rates up to 2600 RPM's.  Galt, Bellard, and Washington will all see time on the mound in addition to their duties on the infield.  Sophomore Drew Galt had a fantastic fall for the Bucs, as did junior Graysen Guillory, who has one of the better breaking balls on the team.  The Bucs schedule this year will be one of their tougher ones in recent memory.  They open up the year with Live Oak and Flowermound (defending 6A Texas State Champions) before heading to Alabama to face off against some of the nation's best prep teams that includes a date with IMG Academy.  That's all before they head into district play, where they'll go to battle with the likes of district-rivals Sulphur and Sam Houston, who both return strong teams.  If we've learned one thing, it's to never count out the Bucs, especially when it comes playoff time.  This year's team may hit some bumps in the road early in the season, but we fully expect them to be playing their best baseball in April, as they look to defend their state title.

 

 

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