Cajuns welcome 11 baseball signees for the 2025 season

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head baseball coach Matt Deggs unveiled his latest signing class on Thursday with 11 newcomers joining the team for the 2025 season.

Louisiana added a pair of outfielders – Brooks Wright (Baton Rouge, La.) and Mark Collins (Opelousas, La.) – to the roster. The Ragin’ Cajuns added four infielders with Kasen Bellard (Lake Charles, La.), Griffen Hebert (Moss Bluff, La.), Blaine Lucas (Tomball, Texas), Aarren Marshall (Allen, Texas) and catcher Parker Smith (Montgomery, Texas) signing a National Letter of Intent.

The Ragin’ Cajuns added four pitchers to the 2025 roster with junior college transfer James Trimble (Galveston, Texas) joined by high school products Aidan Grab (Madisonville, La.), Matthew Osteen (Lewisburg, Miss.) and local member Wil Taylor (Lafayette, La.)

“I thought it was a very balanced class, it was heavy on the high school guys but that was by design,” Deggs said. “We have had some past success with the high school products and have sprinkled in some junior college kids.

“There’s some definite athleticism and there are some guys who are probably going to be ready to step in and contribute on the bump as well as positionally. It’s a credit to the hard work of (recruiting coordinator) Zach LaFleur, (associate head coach) Seth Thibodeaux, (assistant coach) Gunner Leger) and the staff who have sacrificed so hard and put this class together.”

Louisiana, which finished 41-24 last season and earned its second straight berth to the NCAA Regionals, will open its 2024 season on Feb. 16 when it plays host to Wright State in the first of a three-game series at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

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LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS BASEBALL SIGNING CLASS
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School/Previous School
Kasen Bellard IF 5-10 160 Lake Charles, La. Barbe
Mark Collins OF 6-0 195 Opelousas, La. Opelousas Catholic
Aidan Grab RHP 6-4 180 Madisonville, La. Mandeville
Griffen Hebert IF 5-9 165 Moss Bluff, La. Sam Houston
Blaine Lucas IF 5-11 180 Tomball, Texas New Caney
Aarren Marshall IF 5-11 160 Allen, Texas Lovejoy
Matthew Osteen RHP 6-0 175 Lewisburg, Miss. Lewisburg
Parker Smith C 6-1 195 Montgomery, Texas Lake Creek
Wil Taylor RHP 6-1 180 Lafayette, La. St. Thomas More
James Trimble RHP 6-0 185 Galveston, Texas Ball/Alvin CC
Brooks Wright OF 6-3 185 Baton Rouge, La. Catholic

SIGNEE CAPSULES
Kasen Bellard, IF – Lake Charles, La. (Barbe HS)
Bellard hit .417 as a junior with 11 doubles, 28 RBI, 32 runs and 19 stolen bases.

Mark Collins, OF – Opelousas, La. (Opelousas Catholic HS)
A second-team Acadiana Advocate and Daily Advertiser All-Metro pick … hit .381 with 5 home runs, 15 doubles, 25 RBIs and 38 runs scored.

Aidan Grab, RHP – Madisonville, La. (Mandeville HS)
Dominated on the mound as a junior, logging 58 innings with a 1.36 ERA, 58 strikeouts and just nine walks.

Griffen Hebert, IF – Moss Bluff, La. (Sam Houston HS)
The No. 4-rated prospect in the state of Louisiana by PrepBaseballReport.com … batted .467 with two home runs, 14 RBIs and 17 stolen bases … posted a 2-0 record on the mound with three saves and a 0.00 ERA in 11.2 innings.

Blaine Lucas, IF – Tomball, Texas (New Caney HS)
Named All-District 13-6A at shortstop … was the District 20-5A Offensive MVP and second team All-State … slashed .406/.500/.625 (1.125 OPS) with 37 runs scored … homered twice and had 20 RBIs, 11 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases.

Aarren Marshall, IF – Allen, Texas (Lovejoy HS)
Helped lead Lovejoy HS to 27-9-1 record and 11-1 record in district … team advanced to regional quarterfinals in 2023 UIL playoffs.

Matthew Osteen, RHP – Lewisburg, Miss. (Lewisburg HS)
Led Lewisburg to 2023 Class 6A state title … was 5-2 on the mound with a 1.80 ERA, fanning 53 batters in 42.2 innings … team finished 29-8.

Parker Smith, C – Montgomery, Texas (Lake Creek HS)
Member of team which finished 21-11 overall and 10-3 in District 21-5A … team reached the Class 5A regional final.

Wil Taylor, RHP – Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More)
Part of a STM team which finished 29-14-1 and advanced to the LHSAA Division II state semifinals.

James Trimble, RHP – Galveston, Texas (Ball/Alvin College)
Spent 2023 season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … was 0-1 in 13.2 innings on the mound … earned UIL First Team All-League honors as a senior in 2022, earning First Team All-District honors in the same season … named Team MVP.

Brooks Wright, OF – Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS)
A .330 hitter as a junior at Catholic High … first-team All-District 5-5A.