HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana University will begin an immediate national search for a new head softball coach, SLU Director of Athletics Jay Artigues announced Wednesday.
The new coach will replace
Rick Fremin, who led the Lions to unprecedented success during an 11-year tenure. Fremin has accepted the associate head coach position with the two-time reigning national champion Texas Longhorns.
"I couldn't be happier for Rick and his family," Artigues said. "I have been fortunate to work with a lot of great coaches in my career and Rick is one of the best I've been around in any sport. I can't thank Rick enough for all he's done for not just our softball program, but for our university as a whole. This is an unbelievable opportunity that he has earned and although he's going to be missed, we wish him, his wife Alana and his daughters Brelan and Cambre nothing but the best moving forward."
Fremin led SLU to a 394-213 record during his time in Hammond. A three-time Louisiana Coach of the Year and the 2026 Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Fremin guided Southeastern to three straight NCAA Regional appearances, as well as the 2024 and 2025 Southland Conference Tournament championships.
The 2026 Lions won the program's first SLC regular season title, cracked the NFCA Coaches and Softball America Top 25 polls and earned the first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament by a Southland team since 2003. The SLU squad also set a new single-season conference record with a 25-game winning streak during the 46-16 campaign.
Under Fremin's direction, Southeastern is one of eight Division I schools to have won 40 or more games in each of the past five seasons (2022-26).
"Hammond, America is a special place," Fremin commented. "My daughters were able to grow up in the dugout. We were able to chase greatness and I will remember the special people here for the rest of my life.
"The city, the people, the alumni and the support we received at Southeastern were all very special to me," Fremin added. "I think the thing I take the most pride in is the way we were able to impact the lives of our student-athletes on and off the field."
Artigues is excited about the future of the Southeastern softball program and expects continued success on the diamond for the Lions.
"Coach Fremin has turned Southeastern Softball into a program that competes on a national level, which will help us attract some great candidates," Artigues stated. "We will begin a national search immediately and are committed to continue our success."
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball 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 Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit
www.LionSports.net/clear.
