BATON ROUGE – After nearly 20 years of coaching baseball at various levels and across several states, James Dillard decided it was time to broaden his horizons a bit.
The Texas native and longtime Texas coach has crossed the border into Louisiana where he will coach the Baton Rouge Rougarou in the Texas Collegiate League this summer.
The Rougarou will open its season on Thursday, May 30 hosting the newest team in the league, the Gumbeaux Gators out of Lake Charles, at Pete Goldsby Field. Game time is 7 p.m.
Dillard comes to the Rougarou from another TCL team, the Brazos Valley Bombers, where he won two championships – one as an assistant coach and one as a head coach.
“It’s a new adventure,” said Dillard, who just wrapped his second season as coach of the Palestine High School Wildcats, setting a school record for most wins and making the playoffs for the first time since 2018. “It’s something interesting. I’ve always watched the team from a distance. The Rougarou has always taken good care of their players off the field and on the field very well. (Team owner) Ronnie (Rantz) is very passionate about baseball. It was just something that was new and exciting.”
Said Rantz, who bought the team in 2022: “He is super experienced in summer collegiate league baseball and how to put together a roster and manage the pitching staff challenges due to inning limitations. He is a true professional and has been a pleasure to work with all off-season. (We) look forward to his leadership and experience helping to move forward our organization.”
Dillard inherits a team that finished 20-28 last season and advanced to the TCL playoffs against his own Brazos Valley Bombers. Among the talent Dillard inherits is last year’s MVP, shortstop Josh Shelley, who hit .304 with 35 RBIs and a league-leading 13 doubles and three triples. Joining him will be LSU redshirt freshman outfielder Zeb Ruddell, who prepped at Monroe High School.
The Coach said he is loading his roster with players who want to be here to put in the work.
“You sell it as, I’m going to give you a taste of minor league baseball without being in the minor leagues,” Dillard said. “I want dudes that want to come play for us as opposed to the guys that, their coach is making them play. This year’s team is going to see a ton of Division 2 or junior college players who know what it’s like. They’ve ridden on the vans, they’ve eaten the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re there to prove something.”
Dillard himself knows what these grueling summers can be like. Besides coaching in the Texas Collegiate League when it was nearly completely contained to the Dalllas-Ft. Worth area, Dillard has coached teams in the New York Collegiate League, the Ohio Valley League in Kentucky and even an interesting summer in the Alaska Collegiate League.
“It stays light all the time so there are no lights on the fields,” he said. “You’ve got to pinch yourself sometimes to see snow still on the mountains. You’re coaching a game in the middle of July with a parka or hoodie on. Baseball has allowed me to go to so many different places. I’m thankful that my wife allowed me to do these things.”
Now his wife Stephanie, Palestine High School’s head volleyball coach and assistant athletic director, and mom to sons Easton and Tag, is sending her husband off to new adventures in Louisiana for the summer.
“That’s the fun thing,” he said. “I like winning just like everybody else but so much of it as a reward for the coaching staff to see a group that didn’t know each other but by the time the season’s over they’re brothers for life. It’s neat watching how they come together.”
By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer