Southeastern Louisiana parts ways with baseball coach Matt Riser

Southeastern Louisiana has decided to part ways with head baseball coach Matt Riser, first reported Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.

SOURCES: @LionUpBaseball has parted ways with long-time head coach Matt Riser, @d1baseball was informed. Riser is a well-respected head coach who guided Southeastern Louisiana to four NCAA regionals in 10 seasons. The Lions went 25-25 this season. pic.twitter.com/ZeAmC162KS

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) May 22, 2023

The school later confirmed the decision:

Southeastern Louisiana University will immediately begin a national search for a new head baseball coach, SLU Director of Athletics Jay Artigues announced Monday.

The new coach will replace Matt Riser, who recently completed his 10th season as head coach of the Lions. His 2023 squad finished 25-25 overall and 9-14 in Southland Conference play, missing the league tournament for the first time since the 2007 campaign.

“We are very appreciative of the contributions Matt has made to our university and wish him well in the future,” Artigues commented. “We will immediately begin a national search for a new head coach that can build on our baseball program’s tradition of excellence in the classroom, in the community and in competition.”

Riser finished his Southeastern tenure with a 320-224 career record. The 2015 Southland Coach of the Year led SLU to four NCAA Regional appearances (2014, 2016, 2017, 2022), two SLC Tournament titles (2014, 2022) and the 2015 Southland regular season championship. Over the past four seasons, the Lions have managed only one winning season. This season Southeastern finished eighth (out of nine teams) in the Southland Conference and failed to qualify for the SLC Tournament.

The former Tulane player and assistant coach spent the past 10 years at the helm in Hammond, amassing 320 wins. Last season, Riser led Southeastern to a Southland Conference Tournament title and the school’s fourth NCAA Tournament bid since 2017.

Riser, a Picayune, Miss. native, was an assistant coach with the Lions under current SLU athletic director Jay Artigues for five years before assuming the head coaching role.

Despite a six-game winning streak to end the season, the Lions finished with a 25-25 record and failed to qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament.