Softball Offseason

[RoarMan]

My biggest fear for 2026 is, the Cajuns will lead the nation in sacrifice bunts once again. It may be, at times, fun to watch, but, it is impossible to win at a high level playing that type of game.

[RedTails]

I have always refrained from commenting on these threads (I am guilty of stopping in to read from time to time) however, I feel compelled to give my irrelevant 2 cents here. While there is always great insight, info and loyal fan perspectives on here for the most part, I can tell you that each of the things discussed in this thread in particular (Coaches, recent portal additions, etc.) there are many MANY layers below the surface level discussions as to why certain things are / are not taking place.

I also find it comical when reading, the amount of comments claiming to "know" that really have no clue or a very small portion of the truth. I will also add, as being someone that really is in the know most of the time regarding softball, JMV is the most accurate with his inside info into the program. LOL

First post claiming to be super insider. This account has great potential.

[MarlinMan3]

My biggest fear for 2026 is, the Cajuns will lead the nation in sacrifice bunts once again. It may be, at times, fun to watch, but, it is impossible to win at a high level playing that type of game.

Wow, a lead of 15..... might be biggest margin of any category. Why doesnt ncaa set aside some of the monies and form a pool to award payouts based on winning various statistical cstegories..... i remember when cajun football was always near the top in red zone scoring pct under Hud, seems like an impressive stat, but never a peep about it from any media

[JMV JustMyView]

On June 25, 2024, Alyson Habetz was hired as head coach for Louisiana Softball. What follows is my evaluation of her performance in year one. It is my opinion only, based solely upon my analysis of the team's performance this past season and of coach Habetz' performance of her duties as head coach. Feel free to disagree with me, as I am only a fan trying to take an unbiased look at what has transpired in the program over the last year.

Player Retention: C

There is no possible argument that can be made that following 2024, it was imperative that whoever our coach was their #1 priority on day 1 was to re-recruit the quality players on hand. The failure to keep Sam Landry and Brooke Ellestad, both of whom were still with us on June 25, 2024, was a major failure. There is zero doubt that our 2025 season would have looked much different with those two still here. The same principal applies in not retaining Mallory Wheeler this season, though to a lesser degree than the 2024 players.

Portal Recruiting: C -

Neither of our pitchers who portaled in last season had an ERA under 4. None of the position players hit over .290, though Liscano and Ardoin did account for 31 and 27 runs,
and White and Liscano were excellent defensively, and Ardoin was an above average defender as well.

So far this year's portal class is both thin and unproven. Both Marceaux and Manning were high level recruits out of High School, but neither has done anything noteworthy at the D1 level. We are still in need of at least 3 more portal players, a pitcher, a catcher and an outfielder. The catcher and the outfielder must be good defenders and capable of accounting for at least 50 runs each. While there are still quite a few players left in the portal that could help us, every day sees those players becoming fewer and fewer.

Player development: D

Of players on the roster during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, only Kayla Falterman and Cecilia Vasquez showed improvement at the plate year over year, and even that is debatable. Falterman missed much of 2024, so her improved numbers in 2025 are at least partly due to increased opportunities. Vasquez' batting average was essentially flat across the two seasons and her extra base hits dropped from 14 in 2024 to 9 in 2025; but she missed 12 games in 2025 with injuries and still accounted for more runs in 2025 [49] than in 2024 [39].

Literally everyone else went down in runs accounted for year over year; Hayden from 83 in 2024 to 64 in 2025, Roe from 73 to 41, Credeur from 42 to 25 and Williams from 22 to 17.

In the circle, among returning pitchers only Sam Ryan threw even one pitch. Sam went from 18.2 IP in 2024 to 76.1 IP in 2025, and improved both her ERA and her WHIP year over year. None of the portal pitchers showed much improvement over the season.

Among 2025 freshmen, only Emily Smith made a significant impact at the plate, hitting .362 and accounting for 57 runs. The rest were average at best. In the field, Smith made great strides at 1B in her footwork and fielding over the course of the season, Norwood showed to be an adequate backup catcher and Stutes as a reasonably capable backup infielder. Wheeler showed some promise in the circle, but she will not be returning.

Intangibles: B

The players clearly were bought in with Habetz and with each other. They all played hard even in bad losses. This is a very good thing, and something every coach needs; but in the end, the only things that matter are the scoreboard and the standings sheet.

Overall, considering the history and tradition of the program relative to the results last season, I see no way I can assign an overall grade for the last season better than D. Even that may have a bit of vermilion glasses tint to it.

I will add some stuff to this post.

Player Rentention: Brooke didn't have a vehicle when she was at UL and Bama gave her the money to get one. That's why she left. Sam was told by our coach that the team would be the same with or without her. We all know that wouldn't have been true. So Sam hit the portal and left. In the case of Mallory if the Cajun had someone hired or at least considered someone she would still be with the program. The last two examples are failures in my opinion.

Portal Recruiting: I give a free pass to the first oseason as the staff got the short end of the stick talent wise. This portal season has been a huge disappointment. Not having coaches hired in my opinion hasn't helped any. The two players that we have picked up have great high school resumes. We also need D1 veteran experience that can plug some much needed holes. We just haven't got that yet. And yes the portal is getting thinner.

Player Development. You might be thinking of another player besides Kayla. She only missed the first week with an ankle injury in 2024. Basically Kayla was a starter as a freshman and senior and was a reserve/starter as a sophomore and junior. Regardless she always played a lot. Coach Aly did a great thing by releasing someone who had zero business being a hitting coach so kudos to her for making that move.

Intangibles. I give this year a free pass. Although Coach had 25 years as a top level assistant she was still new to calling all the shots. I believe she will be leaps and bound better in 2026.

[VObserver]

I will add some on some stuff to this post.

Player Rentention: Brooke didn't have a vehicle when she was at UL and Bama gave her the money to get one. That's why she left. Sam was told by our coach that the team would be the same with or without her. We all know that wouldn't have been true. So Sam hit the portal and left. In the case of Mallory if the Cajun had someone hired or at least considered someone she would still be with the program. The last two examples are failures in my opinion.

Portal Recruiting: I give a free pass to the first of season as the staff got the short end of the stick talent wise. This portal season has been a huge disappointment. Not having coaches hired in my opinion hasn't helped any. The two players that we have picked up have great high school resumes. We also need D1 veteran experience that can plug some much needed holes. We just haven't got that yet. And yes the portal is getting thinner.

Player Development. You might be thinking of another player besides Kayla. She only missed the first week with an ankle injury in 2024. Basically Kayla was a starter as a freshman and senior and was a reserve/starter as a sophomore and junior. Regardless she always played a lot. Coach Aly did a great thing by releasing someone who had zero business being a hitting coach so kudos to her for making that move.

Intangibles. I give this year a free pass. Although Coach had 25 years as a top level assistant she was still new to calling all the shots. I believe she will be leaps and bound better in 2026.

Falterman had only 55 at bats and only played in 26 games, according to the official statistics for 2024. Those numbers rose to 121 at bats in 48 games for 2025.

[VObserver]

My biggest fear for 2026 is, the Cajuns will lead the nation in sacrifice bunts once again. It may be, at times, fun to watch, but, it is impossible to win at a high level playing that type of game.

I absolutely agree 100% with this. 80 sacrifice bunts is insane, especially when your power numbers are down.

[du42]

Falterman had only 55 at bats and only played in 26 games, according to the official statistics for 2024. Those numbers rose to 121 at bats in 48 games for 2025.

Kayla missed like 3 weeks due to a concussion and sore neck.

[JMV JustMyView]

I have always refrained from commenting on these threads (I am guilty of stopping in to read from time to time) however, I feel compelled to give my irrelevant 2 cents here. While there is always great insight, info and loyal fan perspectives on here for the most part, I can tell you that each of the things discussed in this thread in particular (Coaches, recent portal additions, etc.) there are many MANY layers below the surface level discussions as to why certain things are / are not taking place.

I also find it comical when reading, the amount of comments claiming to "know" that really have no clue or a very small portion of the truth. I will also add, as being someone that really is in the know most of the time regarding softball, JMV is the most accurate with his inside info into the program. LOL

Tbh I'm not what I would call a true insider. I am a huge fan who just so happens to know all right people and they have the most information. The key to everything is trust and I never give up my sources.

[JMV JustMyView]

Kayla missed like 3 weeks due to a concussion and sore neck.

We were talking about 2024 season not 2025 season.

[UL_Cajuns]

I’m thinking we should get a lot of info by July 1st or on July 1st for assistant coaches.