HAMMOND, La. – Brute strength takes center stage as five of the program’s top eight all-time home run hitters highlight Southeastern Louisiana’s Baseball All-Decade Team for the 1990s, head coach Matt Riser announced Monday.

Power hitters designated hitter Macky Waguespack (56), utility player Jeremy Gross (33), reserve first baseman Ed Nodhturft (31), outfielder Joe Labruzzo (27) and first baseman Kevin Millican (26) rank first, second, third, sixth and eighth, respectively.

Joining the sluggers on the team are catcher Dru Nettles, second baseman Gavin Fingleson, shortstop Kenny Langlois, third baseman Greg Elliott, outfielders Corey Boudreaux and Troy Melancon, along with starting pitchers Kirk Bullinger, Chris Laiche and Jeff Williams, and relievers Mike Kimbrell and Carl Schutz.

Other reserves include catcher Chase Tidwell, second baseman Ken Rogers, shortstop Kiley Hughes, third baseman Larry Aguillard and outfielder Shane Brister. 

Bullinger, Langlois and Waguespack were all unanimous selections while Bullinger, Fingleson, Waguespack and Williams are all members of the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame. Fingleson and Waguespack were both previously named to the Southland Conference’s 1990s All-Decade Team. Fingleson and Williams each represented Australia in the Olympics, winning silver medals at the 2004 games in Athens.

Coaches during the decade were John Stephenson (1985-90) and Greg Marten (1991-2002). 

The Lions were Division I independents during the first two years of the decade before joining the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC), currently known as the Atlantic Sun Conference, for a run of success under Marten that included three west division titles, a pair of conference regular-season titles, a pair of conference tournament titles and two NCAA Regional appearances.

Southeastern would join the Southland Conference, where it currently resides, following the 1997 season.

Marten (352-302), a member of the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame, wrapped up his career as the winningest coach in program history. The Hammond native was named TAAC Coach of the Year twice, earning the honor in 1992 and 1993. Team captain of the Lions’ 1975 College World Series squad, he was voted onto the program’s All-Decade Team for the 1970s. 

Players were placed on the ballot based on postseason awards, single-season and career records earned, and overall career achievements. The team was selected by a voting base consisting of former Southeastern baseball letterwinners, coaches and administrators.

All former Southeastern baseball lettermen are eligible to cast a ballot for each of the seven squads making up the All-Decade Teams. Ballots will be conducted by email. An executive committee consisting of current and former coaches, players and SIDs will oversee the creation of the final team structure.

Lettermen interested in participating are asked to contact Associate Sports Information Director Damon Sunde (damon.sunde@southeastern.edu) to be added to the voting panel.

DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
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PLAYER BIOS

Chris Laiche

Starting Pitcher

Four-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to three TAAC West Division title, two TAAC Regular-Season championships, two TAAC Tournament championships and a pair of NCAA Regional appearances … set the program single-season records for wins (11), innings pitched (130.1) and games started (17) … still holds innings pitched and games started records … one of just six pitchers in program history to fan more than 100 batters in a single season … team leader in ERA, wins, innings pitched and strikeouts as a senior … finished career ranked second all-time in wins (24), third in appearances (60), fourth in both strikeouts (203) and walks (120), fifth in shutouts (3), sixth in innings pitched (237.2), 10th in complete games (12) … currently ranks second in career wins, fifth in shutouts, seventh in walks (120), 11th in complete games, 14th in strikeouts, 16th in innings pitched and 21st in appearances. 

Mike Kimbrell 

Relief Pitcher

Two-year letterwinner … set the program single-season record for saves (8) in 1996 … program’s career leader in strikeouts per 9 innings (11.57) … finished career ranked second in saves (8) … currently ranked 10th in saves … drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 25th round of the 1995 MLB Draft, but elected to return to Southeastern … drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 45th round of the 1996 MLB Draft … pitched professionally for three seasons.

Carl Schutz

Relief Pitcher

One-year wonder helped lead Southeastern to a TAAC West Division title and a TAAC Regular-Season championship … served as a swingman on the 1993 staff … one of just 10 pitchers in program history to toss multiple shutouts in a season … finished career ranked second in strikeouts per 9 innings (10.65) and seventh in shutouts … currently ranks fourth in K/9 and ninth shutouts … drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 3rd round of the 1993 MLB Draft … enjoyed a seven-year professional career, reaching the Major League level … made MLB debut with the Braves on Sept. 3, 1996.

Dru Nettles 

Catcher

Four-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a pair of TAAC West Division titles, a TAAC Regular-Season championship, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … consistent leader worked with some of the best pitchers in program history … walked (59) more often than he struck out (55) in his career … ranked third in both home runs and RBIs as a senior.

Kevin Millican

First Baseman

Two-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a pair of TAAC West Division titles, two TAAC Regular-Season championships, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference honors during both seasons and All-Tournament honors in 1994 … set the single-season record for hits (85) and doubles (24) in 1994 while producing the second-highest home run (17) and RBI (63) totals in program history … led team in runs scored, hits, homers and RBIs that season … finished his career as the programs’ all-time leader in doubles (35) while also ranking second in slugging percentage (.663), third in batting average (.347), fourth in home runs (26), fifth in RBIs (98), sixth in hits (141), eighth in on-base percentage (.433), ninth in runs scored (93) … currently ranks fourth in slugging percentage, eighth in batting average and home runs, 11th in doubles, 13th in on-base percentage, 26th in RBIs, 34th in runs scored, 38th in hits … drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 13th round of the 1994 MLB Draft … played professionally for two seasons.

Kenny Langlois

Shortstop

Unanimous selection … four-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a pair of TAAC West Division titles, two TAAC Regular-Season championships, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Tournament honors in 1994 along with All-Conference honors in both 1995 and 1996 …led team in batting average (.306), hits (52) and RBIs (22) in 1995 as well as runs scored (51) in 1996 … finished career as the program’s all-time leader in runs scored (149), hits (198), doubles (45) and walks (119) … also ranked second in at-bats (635), RBIs (119) and strikeouts (137), and third in games played (185) … currently ranks first in walks, fifth in doubles, seventh in both runs scored and strikeouts, 12th in hits, 13th in games played and at-bats and 15th in RBIs.

Greg Elliott

Third Baseman

Two-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a TAAC West Division title, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference and All-Tournament honors in 1992 … walked (77) more often than he struck out (47) in his career … his runs scored (61) and RBI (61) totals in 1992 both rank in the program’s Top 10 for a single season … finished his career ranked third in on-base percentage (.446), sixth in RBIs (94), eighth in triples (5), 10th in slugging percentage (.522), 14th in batting average (.323) … currently ranks seventh in on-base percentage, 17th in both triples and slugging percentage, 29th in batting average and 33rd in RBIs … drafted by the Houston Astros in the 9th round of the 1992 MLB Draft … enjoyed a three-year professional career.

Corey Boudreaux

Outfielder

Two-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a pair of TAAC West Division titles, a TAAC Regular-Season championship, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference honors in 1993 … led both team and conference in batting average (.404) while also leading the team in both hits (76) and RBIs (60) in 1993 … at the time, his average, on-base percentage (.519) and walk (47) totals were the second-highest by a Lion in a single season and each now ranks third …  finished career with the highest on-base percentage in program history (.470) while also ranking third in batting average (.347), ninth in runs scored (89) and 10th in RBIs (85) … currently ranks second in career on-base percentage, ninth in batting average, 37th in runs scored and 42nd in RBIs.

Joe Labruzzo

Outfielder

Four-year letterwinner … twice led team in stolen bases (1998, 1999) … consistent performer finished career with the most games played (216) and at-bats (708) in program history while also ranked second in hits (201), doubles (42) and strikeouts (179), third in runs scored (139) and RBIs (127), and sixth in home runs (27) … currently ranks in the program’s Top 10 in the following career stats: strikeouts (3rd), games played (6th), home runs (6th), sacrifice flies (6th), at-bats (8th), doubles (8th), runs scored (10th) and RBIs (10th) … also ranks 11th in hits.

Troy Melancon

Outfielder

Four-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a 1992 TAAC West Division title, TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference and All-Tournament honors in 1992 … set the program’s single-season record for runs scored (71), walks (52), on-base percentage (.539) and stolen bases (31) in 1992 his senior season … still the standard-bearer in runs scored while currently ranking second in the others … his .394 batting average that season was also the fourth-highest (now fifth) in program history … twice led the team in batting average and hits … walked (69) more often than he struck out (45) during his career … finished his career with the program’s highest on-base percentage (.463) while also ranked second in both batting average (.348) and stolen bases (67), third in runs scored (129) and fifth in games played (170) … currently ranks third in on-base percentage and stolen bases, seventh in batting average, 15th in runs scored, 24th in games played.

Macky Waguespack 

Designated Hitter

Unanimous selection … All-American (1999) and four-year letterwinner … earned LSWA All-Louisiana honors in both 1997 and 1999 along with ABCA All-Region and Southland All-Conference honors as a senior … holds the program record for single-season home runs (23) and RBIs (82) as well as career home runs (56) and RBIs (185) … also finished career as the program’s career leader in hits (210) while also ranking second in both at-bats (692) and runs scored (145), third in both games played (199) and strikeouts (163), sixth in slugging percentage (.601), eighth in doubles (32) … currently ranks fourth in strikeouts, sixth in slugging percentage, eighth in both runs scored and sacrifice flies (11), ninth in both at-bats and hits, 10th in games played and 20th in doubles … member of the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame … named to the Southland Conference 1990s All-Decade Team … played professionally for three seasons following his Southeastern career.

Jeremy Gross 

Utility Player

Two-year letterwinner who earned Southland All-Conference honors as a senior … set the program’s single-season home run (21) record in 1998, one year before it was broken by Waguespack … generated the third-highest (now fourth) slugging percentage (.729) in a single season that year … twice led the team in runs scored … also led the squad in homers and RBIs as a senior … finished career tied with Waguespack for the most career home runs in program history … also ranked second in doubles (35), third in slugging percentage (.640), ninth in runs scored (108) and 10th in RBIs (96) … currently ranks second in home runs, third in slugging percentage, 11th in doubles, 25th in runs scored and 28th in RBIs.

Chase Tidwell 

Reserve Catcher

Two-year letterwinner … helped Southeastern to its first appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament (1999) … led the nation in fielding percentage (1.000) for a catcher as a senior … finished career with the fifth-highest on-base percentage (.443) in program history, currently ranking eighth … later served as an assistant coach for the Lions, Incarnate Word and New Mexico State.

Ken Rogers 

Reserve Second Baseman

Two-year letterwinner who earned TAAC All-Conference honors during both seasons … lineup mainstay led the team in base hits (80) as a senior … walked (45) more often than he struck out (41) during his career … finished career ranked third in doubles (34), seventh in batting average (.342), 10th in hits (142), 12th in slugging percentage (.533), 13th in runs scored (89), 15th in RBIs (87) and 27th in on-base percentage (.409) … currently ranks 13th in both batting average and doubles, 16th in slugging percentage, 37th in both hits and runs scored, 39th in on-base percentage and 40th in RBIs.

Kiley Hughes 

Reserve Shortstop

Two-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a pair of TAAC West Division titles, a TAAC Regular-Season championship, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference and All-Tournament honors during both seasons … led the team in home runs both seasons … his 14 homers in 1993 were tied at the time for the third-highest total in a single season by a Lion … finished career ranked third in slugging percentage (.577), fifth in home runs (24), seventh in both hits (139) and doubles (24), ninth in both batting average (.333) and RBIs (90), and 13th in runs scored (85) … currently ranks seventh in slugging percentage, 12th in home runs, 21st in batting average, 38th in RBIs, 40th in hits, 42nd in doubles and 43rd in runs scored.

Larry Aguillard 

 Reserve Third Baseman

Three-year letterwinner helped lead Southeastern to a TAAC West Division title, a TAAC Regular-Season championship, a TAAC Tournament championship and an NCAA Regional appearance … earned TAAC All-Conference honors in 1994 … led team in batting average (.358) in 1994, the 16th-highest single-season batting average by a Lion at that time … finished career ranked 18th in batting average (.320) and 11th in doubles (25) … currently ranks 31st in batting average and 39th in doubles.

1990s ALL-DECADE TEAM

SP – Kirk Bullinger*

SP – Chris Laiche

SP – Jeff Williams

RP – Mike Kimbrell

RP – Carl Schutz

C – Dru Nettles

1B – Kevin Millican

2B – Gavin Fingleson

SS – Kenny Langlois*

3B – Greg Elliott

OF – Corey Boudreaux

OF – Joe Labruzzo

OF – Troy Melancon

DH – Macky Waguespack*

UT – Jeremy Gross

C – Chase Tidwell

1B – Ed Nodhturft

2B – Ken Rogers

SS – Kiley Hughes

3B – Larry Aguillard

OF – Shane Brister

* - unanimous selection

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