LSUS baseball aiming to chart same course with new players

SHREVEPORT - The first perfect season at any college baseball level is history, and while the LSU Shreveport baseball team can still add to its record-breaking 59 game-winning streak, that's certainly not the driving focus when LSUS opens the season Jan. 23 against Tabor College to begin a three-game home series.

For a team that welcomes in 30 new players, learning playing styles and developing a cohesion that underpinned the 2025 group is of more importance.

The goal remains the same - make another trip to Lewiston, Idaho, and hoist the program's second NAIA national championship trophy.

"The more and more you get away from it and get away from not having that (2025 group) around, you tell the guys, 'That year is over with, but it's not ever going away," said LSUS coach Brad Neffendorf, the 2025 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year. "We're focused on this year with 30 new players - we're very talented, but we've been getting the new guys to learn the system.

"We're trying to create something special again with another special group of people."

The Pilots have more 2025 starters on their coaching staff (volunteer assistants Austin Gomm and Jose Sallorin) than they do on their 2026 roster (zero), but the cupboard isn't bare of returning players.

Reliever Brock Lucas tallied four saves with a 2-0 record in his 11 appearances, which included starting the clinching game of the NAIA World Series.

Lucas said the team put the perfect season on the back burner on the first day of fall practice.

"Last year was pretty cool, and it's not that you really move on from it, but you open a new chapter and see what you can do with the new guys to build off what happened," Lucas said.

David Hankins is the team's winningest returning pitcher with a 5-0 record in 18 appearances (one start).

"Trying to replicate an undefeated season is kind of crazy," Hankins said. "With all the new guys we brought in, trying to teach them how we do things, there's a very specific way of how we practice and play.

"Everything we do, we do our way. It's not easy to learn if you're just coming into it. We're getting them on board and having that common goal."

Pitchers Camden Stephens and Calvin Shepherd combined for three wins in 20 appearances.

Infielder Carlos Vega and outfielder Bula White each recorded more than 40 at-bats with a combined 38 runs scored.

Those six returners account for the lion's share of LSUS's returning stats (14 returners overall), but the incoming recruiting class brings their experience from far and wide.

Eleven players have experience at the four-year college level, which includes part-time starters from Division I institutions like Virginia Commonwealth (Spencer Sullivan), Eastern Kentucky (Nazir Mendez) and Makana Olaso, who has starting experience at San Jose State from 2022.

Pitcher Robert Lastra (18 appearances and two saves) played a key role in Bethune-Cookman's bullpen.

Brett Justice collected 10 home runs and 41 RBIs on a Mid-America Christian bunch that played in the NAIA Regional at LSUS this past season.

Mix those players in with 19 guys who excelled in the junior college ranks, and the competition has been fierce this fall for student-athletes to carve out their roles.

"I don't know if (the perfect season) made recruiting easier, but what it did is get you into more conversations and get you in more doors," Neffendorf said. "Recruiting is still recruiting, and you have to wear it out and use your contacts, your networks, and timing.

"Kids did tend to respond more quickly and were a little easier to get on the phone this offseason. This is a talented class that we brought in."

LSUS's first opponent - Tabor College - isn't just any foe.

The Bluejays came the closest to handing LSUS a loss this past season as the Pilots needed three ninth-inning runs to secure an 8-7 walk-off win for a 10-0 start.

Tabor will get three chances to end LSUS's winning streak - Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. and a Jan. 24 doubleheader beginning at noon.

On Friday, fans have a chance to take a picture with the NAIA championship trophy and grab player autographs. Don't just watch the game but test your own baseball mettle with a pitching radar gun and hitting nets. Kids can run the bases following the game.

The Pilots, who are ranked No. 1 in the NAIA preseason poll, play 14 of their first 18 games at home with the other four still in the state of Louisiana (Cajun Collision in Sterlington).

Eight of those games come against preseason Top-25 teams, including No. 11 William Carey, No. 4 Hope International, No. 25 Central Methodist, No. 19 Mid-America Christian, No. 12 Missouri Baptist and a three-game set against No. 15 Arizona Christian.

Click here to view the full schedule.