UL Notebook: Jennings native joins Cajuns’ baseball staff

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • September 25, 2008

A few days after arriving in Lafayette, Mike Trahan shared his excitement about becoming an assistant for UL’s baseball team under head coach Tony Robichaux.

Trahan, 33, previously spent two seasons in the Sun Belt working with infielders and hitters as an assistant at ULM.

"This is where I’m from," said Trahan, a four-sport athlete at Jennings High that led the football team to a state title in 1992. "I’ve known coach Robe since high school. Being able to come over here and work for him was intriguing.

"I jumped at the chance."

Trahan said he will serve as UL’s recruiting coordinator, coach first base and help assistant Anthony Babineaux as hitting coach. Babineaux will move across the diamond to coach third base and assist in recruiting.

Pending approval by UL’s board of supervisors, Trahan will replace John Szefc, who ended his six-year tenure as an assistant with the Ragin’ Cajuns to take the same position at the University of Kansas.

Trahan went to Panola Junior College in Texas out of high school and earned all-conference honors twice. He then played the 1996 and ’97 seasons at McNeese State.

Robichaux left McNeese to take over at UL in ’95. Trahan played for McNeese head coach Todd Butler, an assistant under Robichaux with the Cowboys.

Fall ball set

Coming off an appearance in the Women’s College World Series, UL’s softball team will play in fall tournaments the next two weekends.

The Cajuns open the fall season this weekend with games against St. Mary’s (Saturday at 2 p.m.), Houston (Sunday at 9:30 a.m.) and Texas Tech (Sunday at 11:30 a.m.) in Sugar Land, Texas.

Over the weekend of Oct. 4-5, UL will play five games in Spring and Klein, Texas. On Oct. 4, the Cajuns play Texas A&M at 2 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin at 4 p.m. They play Texas State at 9 a.m. on Oct. 5, followed by Texas-San Antonio (11 a.m.) and Sam Houston State (1 p.m.) later that day.

On campus

The Cajun men’s basketball team brought in St. Martinville native Javan Mitchell for an on-campus visit last weekend.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-9 center who now plays at Greensboro (N.C.) Day School, is considered a two-star prospect by scout.com. He holds offers from UL, College of Charleston, Tulane, UNC-Greensboro and Elon, according to the recruiting Web site.

Two other prospects – point guard Terrell Elwood from St. John-Plaquemine and combo guard Stevie Howard of H.L. Bourgeois – were expected to visit UL last weekend but could not make the trip.

Howard exploded at last year’s Top 28 tournament, scoring a Class 5A-record 43 points to lead the Braves to a 71-59 upset over top-seeded Huntingdon. Howard finished with 10 points during a championship final loss to Lafayette High.

On the move

The UL men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their 2008 season last Saturday with fourth-place finishes in the ULM Warhawk Invitational in Monroe.

Two Cajun women – Paula Parker (sixth) and Ashley Faulk (seventh) – finished in the top 10. Four Cajun men – Alex Breaux (fourth), Reese Lee (14th), Joby Gisclair (20th) and Stuart Theriot (23rd) – placed in the top 25.

Both Cajun teams will travel to Baton Rouge on Saturday to compete in the LSU Tiger Cross Country Festival.

Steady improvement

The Cajun volleyball team lost Tuesday at Southeastern Louisiana in four sets, 18-25, 23-25, 26-24 and 19-25.

But UL (3-7) has shown improvement since the start of the season under first-year coach Heather Mazeitis.

In the first seven matches of the year, the Cajuns averaged nearly 25 attack errors. In the past three matches, they have averaged about 16. There has also been an increase in successful attacks, up from an average of 22.25 in the first four matches to almost 45 in the past five.

The Cajuns open Sun Belt play against Arkansas State at 7 p.m. Friday in Jonesboro, Ark.

Tough road trip

A trip to Northwestern State on Sunday ended with a 2-1 loss for UL’s soccer team.

It was the first loss for the Cajuns (2-5-1) in Natchitoches since 2000.

Kelli Jestes scored for the second time this season for UL’s lone goal. Her goal came off a pass from Courtney Hofland.

Jestes now has six points this season and 26 for her career – the fourth-most in school history. She tied Hofland for second in career goals by a Cajun with 11.

Hofland is now tied with Stephanie Lynch for the most points in UL history with 29. She moved into a tie for fourth with Callie Oliver and Mette Olesen in career assists.

The Cajuns return home to open Sun Belt action at 7 p.m. Friday against North Texas. They play Denver at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Playing the name game

UL’s athletic department is currently seeking suggestions from fans in a contest to name the student section at the Cajundome. Starting this past Monday, fans will have five weeks to give their idea.

To give your idea visit ragincajuns.com, click on the ad located on the main page below the weather icon, fill out the questionnaire and click submit. The top five entries will be chosen the week of Oct. 27-31. Voting will take place on ragincajuns.com from Nov. 1-14.

The winning entry will be revealed in the 2008-09 home opener for the UL men’s basketball team on Nov. 15 against Louisiana Tech. The fan who suggested the winning entry will receive a prize.

For more information, please call Jennifer Miller in the UL men’s basketball office at 337-262-3865.