Emily Phillips returns to McNeese as an assistant coach. (Kirk Meche / American Press archives)

While James Landreneau will have an entirely new coaching staff next year, most of the names will be very familiar to Cowgirl fans.

The McNeese State head softball coach announced his staff for next season Thursday, with four of the five being former Cowgirls themselves. Landreneau also confirmed the signing of Arkansas transfer Rylee Cloud, who signed with McNeese on Wednesday. Cloud is from Leesville originally and returns to the area for her final college season.

“We are really excited to get Rylee back here,” said Landreneau. “She is a high-energy player who has a big arm and can play both middle infield positions equally well. She also has some pop in her bat.”

Cloud joins transfer Maddie Weeks, who signed Tuesday from Southern Miss. 

As for the new coaches, Hope Trautwein-Valdespino will assume pitching and recruiting duties for Landreneau. She comes to McNeese after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Houston.

She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma, where she pitched her final season and helped the Sooners to a national championship in 2022. They also won the title in 2023 while Trautwein-Valdespino was on the staff.

Trautwein-Valdespino spent her first four college seasons at North Texas, where she became the first Division I pitcher to throw a perfect game in which all outs were recorded by strikeout.

That came on April 11, 2021, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

“Hope knows pitching,” said Landreneau. “She has done it on a high level in big games. She has been to the College World Series and won it, so she knows what it takes to get there.

“She is a very big get for us.”

The four other new coaches all played and won championships for Landreneau at McNeese. 

Emily Phillips will lead the catchers and also assist with some of the recruiting efforts. She was a catcher at McNeese after starting her career at James Madison. 

Phillips helped McNeese win two Southland Conference titles after being a member of the 2021 JMU team that advanced to the College World Series. 

Crislyne Moreno will also serve as an assistant coach, working with infielders. She played three years at McNeese before heading to Texas-San Antonio for her senior season last spring.

Landreneau finished up his staff with a pair of Graduate Assistants, Chloe Gomez and Rylie Bouvier. Gomez was a two-time all-Southland Conference catcher while at McNeese, graduating in 2024.

Bouvier played last year as the Cowgirls’ first baseman, moving over from third base for her senior season.

“It is great to have players come back and coach,” said Landreneau. “They understand our system, our culture, and know what we are trying to do here. I’m very comfortable with this coaching staff.

“What’s really nice is that players want to come back and coach here. It says they liked the culture and what we are about. It is also great for our fans who are used to them.”

McNeese will be looking for its fifth straight SLC regular-season championship next year and a return to the NCAA postseason for the first time in three seasons.