HAMMOND, La. – Three-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year Bobby Barbier announced the addition of 18 student-athletes to the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program Tuesday.
 
"I think, in the current state of college baseball, you're going to have a big class most years," Barbier said. "You have to be adaptable. Our staff did a tremendous job of rising to the occasion. They've been relentless in getting the right guys for us."
 
Winners of back-to-back Southland regular-season titles, Southeastern signed a mix of four-year and junior college transfers, along with five high school student-athletes, in the latest recruiting period.
 
"It builds credibility, almost like proof of concept," Barbier said of the impact consecutive conference titles had on his staff's recruiting efforts. "Retention was also huge in this class, keeping some really talented players. Moving forward, that's as important as the guys you bring in. Showing that guys stay, get better and win is something recruits want to be part of."
 
A total of 23 players return off last season's championship squad, including Southland Hitter of the Year Peyton Woods and All-Conference pitcher Nik Toups. The returners welcome seven new pitchers and 11 hitters into the pride.
 
"We had some guys on last year's team that may not have gotten as many opportunities, and some freshmen that redshirted, that we think will be really good on this year's team," Barbier said.
 
Looking to contribute at the plate this coming season include infielders Parker Ibrahimi (TR), Cameron Greene (TR), Jackson Henderson (JC), Connor Micheu (HS) and Hollis Porter (TR), outfielders Garner Anderson (TR), Tyler LeJeune (TR) and Maddox Mandino (TR), and catchers Ray Jesse (TR) and Andrew Taylor (TR), along with utility player Everett Denny.
 
"We like hitting the ball over the fence, but don't want to be married to that," Barbier said. "We want to be dynamic, with an offense that can beat you in a lot of different ways. Coach Evan Bush and our offensive staff have done a great job of implementing our style in the previous classes that have come through here. This class is no different. There are some talented guys in there, with a good balance between left and right."
 
Of the 11 hitters signed, 10 of them have some level of collegiate experience. That is not the case on the mound,  with four of the seven incoming pitchers fresh out of high school.
 
"We're pretty committed to the young pitcher, the guy that we get in our system and show him how we do things," Barbier said. "I think there is a hole in the recruiting system, with high school kids being somewhat overlooked. There are high school kids that might have normally gone to a much bigger school, that are still looking around because of all the transfers. We like to take advantage of that a little bit. The young arms we've had in the past have been really good for us."
 
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 the 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 by visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Southeastern Baseball social media accounts (@LionUpBaseball) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay engaged with the program.
 
The latest updates are also available at www.LionSports.net and the Lions Gameday Experience app. Available on both Android and iOS, the Gameday app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
 
2026 SLU BASEBALL SIGNING CLASS
Drake Amedee
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Brother Martin HS – Eligibility Remaining: 5 Years
Earned All-Metro and All-District honors … compiled an 11-1 W-L record and a 1.62 ERA … struck out 88 batters.
 
Garner Anderson
Outfielder – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from UT Martin – Eligibility Remaining: 1 Year
Appeared in 121 career games at UT Martin, slashing .285 / .464 / .377 with 24 doubles, four triples and 11 home runs … scored 79 runs and drove in another 72 … swiped 27 bases … named the OVC Player of the Week (2/23/26) after blasting a pair of three-run homers in a series at Nicholls.
 
Ayden Bullock
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: L/L – Riverside Academy – Eligibility Remaining: 5 Years
Top 500 player nationally and the No. 4-ranked left-handed pitcher in Louisiana according to Perfect Game … earned All-State honors as a junior utility player.
 
Braxton Demopulos
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from Holmes CC – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Appeared in 14 games during his career at Holmes CC, starting one … compiled a 1-1 W-L record and an 11.90 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched … struck out 24 batters, walking 23.
 
Everett Denny
Outfielder – Bats/Throws: L/R – Transfer from Delgado CC – Eligibility Remaining: 3 Years
Appeared in 87 games during his Delgado career, slashing .314 / .428 / .430 with 12 doubles, three triples and three home runs … drove in 43 runs, scoring another 52 … swiped 13 bags … earned NJCAA All-Academic honors.
 
Cameron Greene
Infielder – Bats/Throws: L/R – Transfer from UT Martin – Eligibility Remaining: 3 Years
Appeared in 98 games during his career at UT Martin, slashing .278 / .492 / .381 with 20 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs … scored 66 runs and drove in another 59 … swiped 12 bags … earned Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman honors and was named the OVC Player of the Week (3/24/25).
 
Jackson Henderson
Infielder – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from Shelton State CC – Eligibility Remaining: 3 Years
Appeared in 110 games during his Shelton State career, slashing .362 / .556 / .472 with 15 doubles, one triple and 14 home runs … drove in 68 runs and scored another 75 … swiped 15 bags … earned JUCO All-America honors as a freshman … also named the ACCC Tournament MVP, earning a spot on the ACCC All-Tournament Team.
 
Parker Ibrahimi
Infielder – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from Dallas Baptist – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Appeared in 10 games at Dallas Baptist … slashed .176 / .471 / .176 with a pair of doubles and one home run … scored a pair of runs and drove in another four … appeared in 85 career games at Midland College, slashing .332 / .603 / .470 with 24 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs … scored 98 runs and drove in another 75 … swiped 14 bags.
 
Ray Jesse
Catcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from Indiana State – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Appeared in 19 games last season at Indiana State ... posted a .217 / .261 / .406 slash line, with one double ... scored five runs while driving in another six ... recorded a pair of multi-RBI contests ... posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 85 putouts and seven assists.
 
Tyler LeJeune
Outfielder – Bats/Throws: L/R – Transfer from USC Upstate – Eligibility Remaining: 1 Year
Redshirted last season at USC Upstate … appeared in eight games at Troy during the 2025 season … as a sophomore at Northwest Florida State in 2024, hit .340 with a .935 OPS in 48 games ... tallied eight doubles, one triple, two home runs, 27 RBIs and seven stolen bases ... during NJCAA Division I World Series, helped lead the Raiders to a runner-up finish after hitting .360 with a 1.025 OPS, nine hits, two doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs across six games.
 
Maddox Mandino
Outfielder/Pitcher – Bats/Throws: L/L – Transfer from UL Lafayette – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Appeared in 129 games during his three seasons at UL Lafayette … produced a career slash line of .265 / .336 / .375 with 12 doubles, four triples and one home run … scored 63 runs, driving in another 28 … swiped 34 bases, including a career-high 17 bags in 2025 … has also logged 8.1 innings pitched over 10 appearances … compiled 3.25 ERA with 10 strikeouts … Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament selection in 2026.
 
Riley Marcotte
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: L/L - Transfer from New Orleans – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Appeared in 14 games, starting nine … compiled a 2-6 W-L record and a 4.94 ERA in 62.0 innings pitched … struck out 42 and walked 31 batters … opponents hit .288 off the left-hander … earned wins against Northern Kentucky (2/21/26) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5/8/26) … spent his first two seasons at UL Lafayette … appeared in 22 career games, starting two at ULL … did not earn a decision, but picked up a save against UNC Wilmington (3/5/25) … compiled a 5.51 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched, striking out 20 and walking 15 batters.
 
Sam Marse
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Mandeville HS – Eligibility Remaining: 5 Years
Compiled a 4-5 W-L record and a 2.36 ERA as a junior … struck out 47 batters in 50.1 innings pitched … earned All-District honors.
 
Connor Micheu
Infielder – Bats/Throws: L/R – John Curtis HS – Eligibility Remaining: 5 Years
Top 1000 player nationally and the No. 6-ranked shortstop in Louisiana according to Perfect Game … earned All-State, All-Region, All-Metro and All-District honors as a senior … named the District 9-5A Hitter of the Year … holds the John Curtis single-season record for hits (46) … hit .454 with a 1.207 OPS … walked (28) more often than he struck out (17) … swiped 21 bases.
 
Hollis Porter
Infielder – Bats/Throws: L/R – Transfer from Texas Tech – Eligibility Remaining: 1 Year
2026 (Senior) Saw action in just four games at Texas Tech ... 2025 (Junior) – Started all 55 games in which he played at Maryland... finished season with a .303 batting average, 13 doubles, 21 home runs, and 64 RBI ... led team in both home runs and RBI ... second on team with 70 hits ... launched his first home run at Maryland against Ball State (2/15) ... Dick Howser Trophy National Co-Hitter of the Week (4/1) and Big Ten Player of the Week (3/31) … 2024 (Sophomore) Played in 59 games at Pearl River CC ... finished the year with a .399 batting average, a .488 on-base percentage and a .827 slugging percentage ... set the single-season record with 20 home runs, leading the MACCC in home runs and doubles (21) ... ended the season third in the nation in RBIs (73) and sixth in average (.399) ... also tallied 21 doubles and four triples ... picked up 73 RBI which ranks second all-time in a season ... named First Team All-MACCC, MACCC Player of the Year, All-Region 23, All-Region 23 Gold Glove and NJCAA First Team All-America … 2023 (Freshman) Redshirted / Did not play at Mississippi State.
 
Mills Richardson
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Baton Rouge Catholic HS – Eligibility Remaining: 5 Years
Max Preps All-America and Louisiana Player of the Year … earned All-State and All-District honors … District 4-5A MVP … compiled a 10-1 W-L record and a 1.66 ERA as a senior, helping lead Catholic HS to its third consecutive state title … Top 500 player nationally and the No. 7-ranked right-handed pitcher in Louisiana according to Perfect Game.
 
Patrick Spencer Jr.
Pitcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from Mississippi State – Eligibility Remaining: 2 Years
Did not play at Mississippi State last season … ranked as Prep Baseball Report's No. 3 JUCO prospect and Perfect Game's No. 6 JUCO prospect at Pearl River CC in 2025 ... helped lead Pearl River to an MACCC Championship, a Region 23 title and an NJCAA World Series runner-up finish ... worked 39 innings, spending time in the starting rotation and bullpen ... struck out 64 batters, averaging 14.77 K/9 ... compiled a 4-0 W-L record, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.
 
Andrew Taylor
Catcher – Bats/Throws: R/R – Transfer from UTRGV – Eligibility Remaining: 1 Year
Appeared in 25 games last season at UTRGV … slashed .308 / .641 / .386 with one double and four home runs in just 39 at bats … scored six runs and drove in another 12 … during first season at Midland, he slashed .350 / .642 / .448 with 13 doubles and nine home runs.