James Landreneau hits milestone with 200th win heading McNeese softball

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Cowgirl softball head coach James Landreneau reached quite a milestone last weekend in the three-game sweep over Lamar – career win No. 200, making him just the second coach in school history to record 200 wins as McNeese’s skipper.

In addition, the Cowgirls’ 3-0 shutout win over ULM on Wednesday night was their 30th of the season, making Landreneau the only coach in school history to win 30 games in each of his first five full seasons (McNeese posted a 19-7 record in a Covid-shortened season in 2020).

Landreneau, who signed a three-year contract extension with an option for a fourth year following the Cowgirls’ run to the 2021 Southland Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, was named as one of the top 100 coaches in the nation by Extra Innings Softball in the preseason.

Now in his sixth season at the helm, the Mamou native has guided the Cowgirls to three NCAA Tournaments and a NISC Tournament appearance and has the Cowgirls tied atop the league standings this season with six games remaining.

Landreneau has compiled a 201-121 all-time record, second-most wins in school history (Scott Eastman, 302 wins in 12 seasons). His .624 career winning percentage is tops among active coaches in the Southland Conference and is ranked fifth all-time in the league.

In Southland Conference games only, he has compiled an astounding 92-31 record, a .748 winning percentage which ranks as the second-highest all-time in conference history.

During this span, his teams have won a Southland Conference regular season championship (2017), three SLC Tournament titles (2017, 2018, 2021), and three NCAA Tournament appearances (2017, 2018, 2021), and he was named the 2017 Southland Conference Coach of the Year.

Landreneau has coached 26 players to All-Southland Conference honors, four All-Region picks, seven All-Louisiana selections, and three All-Americans.

In his first season as head coach 2017, the Cowgirls 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.

Prior to being named head coach in 2017, Landreneau spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Cowgirls, helping them win another 119 games, two regular season titles, a tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

James Landreneau File:
Years as head coach: 6
Overall Record: 201-121
Overall Winning Percentage: .624
SLC Record: 92-31
SLC Winning Percentage: 748
SLC Regular Season Titles Won: 1 (2017)
SLC Tournament Titles Won: 3 (2017, 2018, 2021)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (2017, 2018, 2021)
NISC Tournament Appearances: 1 (2019)