It’s only been a couple of days, but catcher Blaise Priester said he is enjoying his time as a Baton Rouge Rougarou.
Blaise Priester
But his fun won’t last very long.
In just a few weeks the Denham Springs native, Live Oak graduate and LSU commit will be heading to Europe to play for the National Junior College Athletic Association’s All-Star Team in the international amateur baseball tournament to be held July 12-19 in Haarlem, Netherlands.
“I’m looking forward to representing my country,” said Priester, who earned the spot with his outstanding performance at Meridian Community College, where he spent the past two seasons. He hit .377 with 14 home runs and 65 RBIs.
“Not only is he the top JUCO catcher in the nation, but he also plays the game the right way,” MMC coach Dillon Suddoth told The Meridian Star newspaper.
Blaise Priester spent two seasons at Meridian Community College.
Priester is one of 24 players selected to represent the USA under head coach Marty Smith from Central Florida. He has always stood out, though.
Priester was one of the top-ranked catchers in the state back when he was a senior at Live Oak, earning All-Metro MVP honors and a spot on the All-State team. As a senior he hit .426 with 10 home runs, eight doubles, six triples and 44 RBIS. He also threw out 12 of 22 baserunners.
After going undrafted, Priester signed to play for LSU but left after redshirting as a freshman. He spent the next two seasons at Meridian Community College and played well enough to re-earn his spot back at LSU, his “dream school.”
“I just fell in love with the place again,” he said. “It’s where I want to be. I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else.”
But for the next few weeks anyway, Priester is still a Rougarou and enjoying getting to know his teammates, looking for fishing buddies and showing off his skill at solving a Rubic's Cube in under a minute.
“Being a Rougarou is fun,” he said. “I’m playing with some guys I played with before like Lane Hutchinson, I went to high school with. Making new friends is something that I’m not very good at but I’m doing a pretty good job so far. I’m enjoying it.”
He also is trying still trying to get acclimated to a large group of pitchers he has never seen before.
“I’m still learning how to calm people down, like, whenever they start going down a little rabbit hole or spiral,” he said. “Once I figure that out it’ll be a lot easier for pitchers to trust, not only us catchers, but also themselves.”
And once that happens, the Rougarou, who started the season 1-2, should start seeing improvement, Priester said.
“We’re going to start rolling here soon once we start to mesh better,” he said. “Once we understand our roles and how everybody does different things and what it takes to be successful, it’ll be huge once we start meshing.”
Said Rougarou coach James Dillard: “Blaise is a leader on the field and an extension of the coaching staff. He works hard behind the plate and is always striving to get better. He is a selfless teammate and is always willing to help catch a bullpen or do whatever is asked of him. The Rougarou are better because of having Blaise on our roster.”
Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer