Jim Gazzolo

James Landreneau believes if you put in the work you will reap the rewards.

He does it every year as his McNeese State softball team plays the toughest of schedules annually. This season was no different.

And his team rewarded their coach with a victory in the LSU Regional last weekend before they bowed out of the NCAA postseason.

Thursday the school rewarded Landreneau for his efforts, giving him a 3-year contract extension with an option for a fourth. Financial details were not released.

“I felt the timing was right to do this,” McNeese athletic director Heath Schroyer said. “He has done a tremendous job with the program, both on and off the field.

“James has earned this. I know how the business of college athletics work and the opportunities he could have moving forward. Keeping James here was my No. 1 priority.”

Landreneau’s Cowgirls posted a 35-26 record overall this spring while capturing the Southland Conference postseason tournament to earn the NCAA’s automatic bid. It was McNeese’s fourth postseason appearance in Landreneau’s five seasons at the helm, three of those being in the NCAA tournament. 

The only time he missed extra play was last year when COVID cut the season short.

“I would like to start by thanking (McNeese President) Dr. Daryl Burckel, (Vice President) Dr. Wade Rouse and Heath Schroyer for trusting in me to lead our softball program and allowing me to stay in a community that I love,” Landreneau said in a release. “It’s a pleasure to work under their leadership and inspiring to be a part of their vision. I feel like this is the right place and time to be at McNeese.

“I’ve been blessed with great players and a great coaching staff that are committed to success. The support we have received from our administration has been nothing short of remarkable.”

But his record tells only part of the story. 

McNeese played 16 games against ranked opponents, traveling for most of those games. A 17th game against a ranked foe was washed out.

The Cowgirls were 34-11 against unranked opponents this year. 

“I want to schedule the best competition I can to get us ready for the postseason every year,” said Landreneau. “We want to get exposed early. That’s how you learn, that’s how you grow.”

It is also in step with what the athletic department is trying to do in rebranding McNeese to become a more national name.

“James has done a good job in putting us on the national stage,” said Schroyer. “That’s important for our entire athletic program as we move forward.

Landreneau has posted a 171-104 record at McNeese. More importantly, after hurricane Laura devastated the Lake Charles area, he and baseball head coach Justin Hill led a group of McNeese athletes around town to help in cleanup efforts.

“I just think it was important for us who could help out do so,” said Landreneau. “It was really the kids, some of them who drove two hours to get here, that came to us to want to do this.”

During his tenure at McNeese, Landreneau’s teams have won a Southland Conference regular season championship in 2017 and three SLC tournament titles (2017, 2018, 2021). He was named the 2017 Southland Conference Coach of the Year.

His 2017 squad won a school record 43 games and in 2018 during a 41-win season, the Cowgirls cracked the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 National Poll for the first time in school history.

Landreneau has coached 26 players to All-Southland Conference honors, four All-Region picks, seven All-Louisiana selections, and two All-Americans (Erika Piancastelli, Justyce McClain). 

“I’m extremely excited to have coach Landreneau here for the foreseeable future,” Schroyer said. “Coach is a winner. He has a great culture, and at the end of the day, he’s truly a ball coach. He personally recruits hard and he coaches hard, and I love that. He’s always working to make himself and his players better.”

For all that, Landreneau was rewarded with his new deal.

Cowgirl’s Justyce McClain is congratulated by head coach James Landreneau after her homer during the first game of the Cowgirl’s tournament at Joe Miller Field in Lake Charles, La., Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. 

Rick Hickman