BATON ROUGE, LA -- Southern's senior designated hitter,
Taj Bates, was voted to the 2025 Louisiana Sportswriters' Association All-Louisiana College Baseball Team as an Honorable Mention selection following a statewide vote of sportswriters and athletic communications staff.
The St Croix, Virgin Islands, native had a stellar senior season at Southern after transferring from Benedict College.
Bates was second on the team in batting average (.358), hits (63), doubles (12), triples (2), home runs (11), and RBIs (65), which earned him first-team all-conference honors this season.
2025 Louisiana Sportswriters' Association All-Louisiana College Baseball Team
First-Team
| P |
Kade Anderson |
LSU |
Sophomore |
Mandeville, LA |
12-1; 3.18 ERA; 180K; MCWS MOP; 1st Tm All-Am |
| P |
Anthony Eyanson |
LSU |
Junior |
Lakewood, CA |
12-2; 3.00 ERA; 152K; 1st Tm All-American |
| P |
Isaac Rohde |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
Rice Lake, WI |
16-0; 2.09 ERA; 146K; NAIA WS MVP; NAIA POY |
| P |
Michael Lombardi |
Tulane |
Junior |
Pound Ridge, NY |
4-1; 2.14 ERA; 11 Sv; 73K; 1st Team All-AAC |
| C |
Diego Aragon |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
Ft. Collins, CO |
346BA; 46 RBI; 7 HR; NAIA WS All-Tourney Team |
| 1B |
Jared Jones |
LSU |
Junior |
Marietta, GA |
.323BA; 76 RBI; 22 HR; 1st Team All-American |
| 2B |
Connor Rasmussen |
Tulane |
Junior |
Fort Mills, SC |
.333BA; 48 RBI; 81 R; 1st Team All-AAC |
| 3B |
Josh Gibson |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
O'Fallon, IL |
.439BA; 71 RBI; 55 SB; NAIA 1st Team All-American |
| SS |
Steven Milam |
LSU |
Sophomore |
Las Cruces, NM |
.295BA; 57 RBI; 11 HR; CWS All-Tournament Team |
| OF |
Derek Curiel |
LSU |
Freshman |
West Covina, CA |
.345 BA; 55 RBI; 67 R; Freshman AA; 2nd Team AA |
| OF |
Cardell Thibodeaux |
Southern |
Junior |
Lafayette, LA |
.439 BA; 68 RBI; 18 HR; SWAC POY; 3rd Team AA |
| OF |
Connor Higgs |
Louisiana |
R-Senior |
Texas City, TX |
.355 BA; 46 RBI; 16 HR; 1st Team All-Sun Belt |
| DH |
Ethan Frey |
LSU |
Junior |
Rosepine, LA |
.331BA; 50 RBI; 13 HR; NCAA Regional All-Tournament |
| UTL |
Bryce Calloway |
New Orleans |
Senior |
New Orleans, LA |
.390BA; 63 RBI; 18 HR; 1st Tm All-American |
Second-Team
| P |
Brennan Stuprich |
Southeastern |
Graduate |
Kenner, LA |
9-5; 2.90 ERA; 109K; 3rd Tm All-American; SLC POY |
| P |
Casan Evans |
LSU |
Freshman |
Houston, TX |
5-1; 2.05 ERA; 7 Sv; 71K; 1st Tm Freshman All-American |
| P |
Draven Zeigler |
LSU Shreveport |
Junior |
Ash Grove, MO |
13-0; 1.76 ERA; 107K; NAIA 1st Team All-American |
| P |
Cobe Reeves |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
Ingleside, TX |
12-0; 2.10 ERA; 112K; NAIA 2nd Team All-American |
| C |
Connor O'Neal |
Southeastern |
Sophomore |
Harahan, LA |
.286BA; 53 RBI; 14 HR; 2nd Team All-Southland |
| 1B |
Ryan Brome |
Southeastern |
Senior |
Katy, TX |
.355 BA; 36 RBI; 12 HR; All-Southland Academic Team |
| 2B |
Daniel Dickinson |
LSU |
Junior |
Richland, WA |
.315 BA; 67 R; 12 HR; 2nd Team All-SEC |
| 3B |
Alex Dupuy |
LSU Eunice |
Sophomore |
Natchitoches,LA |
.387 BA; 38 RBI; 20 XBH; NJCAA All-Region 23 |
| SS |
Tyson LeBlanc |
LSU Eunice |
Sophomore |
Maurice, LA |
.385 BA; 65 RBI; 11 HR; NJCAA 3rd Team All-American |
| OF |
Ryan Davenport |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
O'Fallon, IL |
.425 BA; 52 RBI; 82 H; 1st Team All-RRAC |
| OF |
Jake Brown |
LSU |
Sophomore |
Sulphur, LA |
.320 BA; 48 RBI; 45 R; SEC Academic Honor Roll |
| OF |
Garrett Felix |
Loyola (NO) |
Graduate |
Scott, LA.406BA |
; 51 RBI; 67 R; NAIA 3rd Team All-American |
| OF |
Jackson Syring |
LSU Shreveport |
Senior |
Derby, KS |
.439 BA; 71 RBI; 85 R; 2nd Team All-RRAC |
| DH |
Sebastian Mexico |
Louisiana Tech |
Junior |
Baldwinsville,MS |
.315BA; 57 RBI; 12 HR; 2nd Team All-CUSA |
| UTL |
Aidan Mouton |
LSU Eunice |
R-Freshman |
Rayne, LA |
.391BA; 70 R; 11 HR; NJCAA All-Region 23 |
Honorable Mention
Pitcher: Alec Beversdorf, LSU Eunice; Zac Cowan, LSU
Catcher: Luis Hernandez, LSU
First Base: Austin Gomm, LSU Shreveport; Jackson Legg, LSU Eunice
Second Base: Brandon Mooney, Loyola (New Orleans); Vantrel Reed, LSU Shreveport
Third Base: Rocco Gump, Northwestern State
Shortstop: TJ Salvaggio, Southeastern
Outfield: Connor Westenburg, McNeese; Chris Stanfield, LSU; Isaiah Walker
, ULM; Jayce LaCava, Nunez CC
Designated Hitter:
Taj Bates,
Southern
Hitter of the Year: Jared Jones, LSU
Pitcher of the Year: Kade Anderson, LSU
Newcomer of the Year: Anthony Eyanson, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Derek Curiel, LSU
Coach of the Year: Brad Neffendorf, LSU Shreveport
Major Awards Voting Results
Hitter of the Year: Jones, LSU – 16; Gibson, LSUS – 11; Calloway, UNO – 7; Rasmussen, Tulane – 2
Pitcher of the Year: Anderson, LSU – 33; Rohde, LSUS – 3
Newcomer of the Year: Eyanson, LSU – 24; Thibodeaux, Southern – 7; Reeves, LSUS – 5
Freshman of the Year: Curiel, LSU – 31; St. Pierre, Southeastern – 2; Wachs, Tulane – 2; Eager, ULM – 1
Coach of the Year: Neffendorf, LSUS – 25; Johnson, LSU – 9; Barbier, Southeastern - 1
