Coming off their 12th state championship, the Barbe Bucs have the usual holes to fill after graduating another talented class, and the path to a 13th state title will not be an easy one.

With six returning starters and a young pitching staff, the Bucs will play a loaded schedule after a 39-1 season.

“I feel great,” head coach Glenn Cecchini said. “We had the most successful team in school history last year. It was an incredible year.

“We feel really good. We lost some great players. Every year you lose players, that is part of the deal. We feel really confident with our team.”

Barbe will play three highly ranked out-of-state teams, including IMG Academy (Fla.) at the Perfect Game Showdown in Hoover, Alabama. Also on the schedule is 2023 Texas 6A champion Flowermound and Concordia Lutheran, a 2023 Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I semifinalist, plus seven semifinalists from Louisiana— South Beauregard, Opelousas Catholic, St. Louis Catholic, St. Thomas More, Sam Houston, Sulphur and Catholic-Baton Rouge — and select Division III finalist Holy Savior Menard.

“Barbe has never played a schedule like this,” Cecchini said. “Our first game is against South Beauregard, and it is not an easy game. Their best pitcher (Jace Duhon) is going to UL-Monroe, and we barely beat them last year. If he was at Barbe, he would probably be our No. 1 guy.

“Everyone is going to throw their No. 1 or No. 2 against us.”

The biggest spot to fill is the one left by Donovan LaSalle, the 2023 Louisiana Mr. Baseball and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 5A MVP.

Now a freshman at Oklahoma State, LaSalle hit a grand slam in the seventh inning of the nonselect Division I state championship game to lift the Bucs to a 10-4 win over West Monroe. He had 10 home runs, 43 RBIs and 57 runs scored. The Bucs return a pair of solid hitters who are expected to take more extensive roles in Louisiana-Lafayette signees Kasen Bellard (second base) and Owen Galt (shortstop).

“The way you do it is if everybody does better, and I think they will,” Cecchini said. “Galt is going to do better.

“Kasen is going to do better because they are older and more experienced. So if everybody does a little better, that is going to make up for him, but it is hard to follow.”

Freshman center fielder Jordin Griffin committed to LSU as an eighth-grader and will bring power to the lineup. In the outfield will be senior Diego Corrales in right when not pitching, while junior Cameron Stutes and sophomore Miles Ledoux will see time in left field.

“We expect big things from (Griffin),” Cecchini said. “He is tearing it up right now, with home runs. He is an on-base machine with great discipline at the plate. He is like a Kirby Puckett; he is very put together. He is not really tall but very muscular. He is extremely quick.”

Gabe Guidry returns at first base after splitting time in 2023 with J.C. Vanek, and junior Brit Vick is projected to take over at third base.

“We usually do everything extremely well,” Cecchini said, “that is why we have won 12 state championships and 85 percent of our games over the last 30 years.

“Now saying that, I think we are going to field really well. I think we can really hit, and we have power.”

Cecchini said the Bucs will have a young and unproven pitching staff.

“Our biggest question mark is our pitching,” Cecchini said. “It is young, and it is not as experienced as we had. Losing Seth Hebert and Grant Trahan, those two guys were huge.”

Cecchini said one of his concerns is getting his pitchers to build up to throwing complete games, so the plan is to use a five-man rotation before switching to a three-man when district starts.

The plus for the pitching staff will be having a returning starter behind the plate in junior catcher Presley Courville, who is verbally committed to Texas A&M.

“He is tremendous,” Cecchini said. “You can’t run on Courville.

“We want people to run. Our pitchers hold guys real well, then if they run he is going to throw you out nearly every time. He is a lockdown catcher. He is very athletic. LSU wants to sign him as a second baseman. He is one of the fastest players that I have ever coached and is probably going to be our leadoff guy — 1-2 is going to be him and Griffin.”

Corrales went 10-1 as a sophomore and 6-0 last season hampered by injuries, while sophomore J.D. Alexander will switch from a relief role to a starting spot and will be a key bat, Cecchini said.

Sophomore Drew Galt will be in the rotation, as well as freshman Lawton Little, who Cecchini said he expects to make an impact in his first varsity season.

“Corrales has won 16 games at Barbe over the last two years,” Cecchini said. “Alexander was, I think, 6-0.

“Littleton is a freshman, but he has played select baseball all over the United States. He has a very calm demeanor and is 6-0, 6-1. He is going to be an SEC guy without a doubt.

“At his age, he probably has more talent than any kid I have ever had. He has a really good curveball and throws mid-80s. I think he will win 10 games this year. He is a really special kid. I really like him.”

Senior Landon Victorian was expected to be the leader of the pitching staff after going 8-0 with a 0.98 earned run average in 2023, but Cecchini said his status for the season is uncertain.