Landreneau, Hill staying, team successes attract coaching offers from other schools

Published 5:14 pm Friday, June 3, 2022

The McNeese State spring head coaches are staying put.

Head softball coach James Landreneau and baseball skipper Justin Hill said they are looking forward to taking their programs even further in the future and building on their recent successes.

The Cowgirls and Cowboys are coming off championship seasons and the internet and other reports have mentioned their names in connection to openings at other schools.

Hill was mentioned by d1baseball.com that he was a possible candidate for the opening at Tulane. Landreneau was linked to Troy. Both have said their thoughts remain on McNeese.

“I only know they have an opening,” Hill said when asked about Tulane. “I think the proof is in the pudding as to my commitment to McNeese.”

Hill is coming off a 34-23 season, one in which they captured the Southland Conference’s regular-season championship but lost in the final tournament game of the three-game title series against Southeastern Louisiana.

“I am always trying to improve my situation and I think I can improve my situation at McNeese,” said Hill, who broke the program record for most wins on May 20.

As for Landreneau, Troy was interested but talks were shut down fairly quickly.

“Everything is good at McNeese right now,” Landreneau said. “There is no reason to leave.

“Every year there are schools that reach out, and it is flattering. But I am very happy here at McNeese. I think we are trending in the right direction.”

The Cowgirls finished 40-21 this spring and won a pair of games in an NCAA Tournament regional for the first time in program history. Landreneau, whose team has won a game in each of his four regional appearances, captured both the tournament and regular-season SLC championships.

The Cowgirls were seeded third in the Evanston (Ill.) Regional at Northwestern. They knocked off second-seeded and nationally ranked Notre Dame twice, eliminating the Irish.

McNeese also received national attention with its play, something that made Landreneau a name for consideration for other universities.

“With what we have coming back and coming in next season, we are in a really good place to do something,” Landreneau said. “We still have a goal to win a regional here at McNeese.

“When you evaluate everything we go right now, it would be hard to leave.”

Landreneau is 211-125 at McNeese in his four seasons, posting 40 wins three times and having 30 in every year but 2020 when the Cowgirls finished 19-7 as COVID shut down sports.

In nine seasons Hill’s Cowboys have posted a 266-214 record.