The Baton Rouge Rougarou certainly had its mojo working last summer as the team captured its first Texas Collegiate League championship in its sixth season, finishing 40-11 overall.
As it heads into Season Seven, the Rougarou has a new skipper, a lot of new faces in the locker room, and a new league configuration, but the same high expectations.
The Rougarou will open its 48-game schedule Tuesday night against the Acadiana Cane Cutters at 7 p.m. at Fabacher Field in Youngsville. The team will play its home opener Friday night at Goldsby Field against the Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators.
Leading the Rougarou through the TCL gauntlet this summer is Baton Rouge native Mike Forbes, currently the head coach at Walker High School. Forbes has signed a three-year contract to lead the team. After only a few meetings and workouts with his new team, Forbes said he is ready to get started.
“I’m so excited I can’t even describe how excited I am,” he said. “It’s a different adventure for sure, going from high school to college. But at the end, if you can coach, you can coach. It’s just a different age. (It’s a) great group of kids. Super talented, but also I think we have assembled the right guys that can definitely win some games. They seem to be jelling very well so far, so I’m excited to see what they can do.”
Forbes said the success of last year’s squad will certainly affect this year’s team.
“The expectation is set now,” Forbes said. “The expectation of Baton Rouge is, ‘Hey. We’ve proven that it can be done.’ The higher you raise those expectations, the more guys will buy into that. The way the Rougarou treats these guys is, they want to come, they want to stay and they want to play for a championship. When you raise the bar and the expectation and you say, ‘We’re not going to accept anything else,’ good things happen.”
Fobes will have a few veteran players from the championship team, including projected opening day starting pitcher Larson Fabre, a right-hander at Southeastern Louisiana.
University of Louisiana infielders Trip Dobson, Josh Lim and Noah Lewis are expected to join the team following their appearance in the Starkville Regional. Southeastern catcher Jacob Keys earned a NJCAA Division II ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove while playing for Pearl River Community College in 2025. Returning for another season is pitcher Tanner Crawford.
In addition to new coaches and new players, the Rougarou will compete with two new teams in the Texas Collegiate League. The Abilene Flying Bison and the Sherman ShadowCats upped the league to eight teams, while the River Monsters moved from Seguin to San Antonio. The teams will now compete in one league rather than the former Texas versus Louisiana configuration.
“The hardest thing to do in sports is repeat as champion,” said team owner Ronnie Rantz, who also acquired the Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators in the off-season. “But we look forward to the challenge. I’m excited for the start of the season and the addition of two new teams in the Abilene Flying Bison and the Sherman ShadowCats.”
By Lori Lyons
Rougarou Writer