NEW ORLEANS – Southeastern Louisiana University head softball coach Rick Fremin was announced as one of four finalists for the 2025-26 Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced Monday.
 
The Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year has been presented since 1961 and spans all sports. Fremin is part of a quartet of finalists that includes LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark, Tulane football coach Jon Sumrall and LSU Eunice baseball coach Jeff Willis.
 
Fremin was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading SLU to its first-ever SLC regular season title. The Lions finished 46-14 overall and 24-3 in league play, earning the league's first at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament since 2003. Under Fremin's direction, Southeastern is one of eight Division I softball programs to top 40 or more wins in each of the past five seasons.
 
Fremin has led SLU to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. He was named Louisiana Softball Coach of the Year in both 2024 and 2025. Last spring, he was the leader of a Lion coaching staff that was named the 2025 NFCA Gulf Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Under Fremin's guidance, SLU's season was highlighted by a Southland Conference-record 25-game winning streak and the program's first-ever national ranking, as Southeastern cracked both the NFCA Coaches and Softball America Top 25 polls. The Lions set or tied single-season school records for shutouts (22), hits (547), triples (33), RBI (318), total bases (786), slugging percentage (.485), fewest errors (45) and fielding percentage (.972).
 
The Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year is selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee. The winner will be announced June 24 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Award Banquet presented by LCMC Health.
 
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.