We've had a few days to reflect on the 2015 baseball season and perhaps the most unlikely run to a super regional the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns had ever experienced.

It was one heckuva ride.  College baseball websites were captivated by the freshmen pitchers and sportswriters praised Tony Robichaux and his staff.  The Cajuns, after a 15-13 first half, went 27-8 en route to qualifying to play in Baton Rouge.  The Cajuns lost the final two games, but 27 out of 37 is pretty doggone good, even with a series loss to last place Appalachian State.

Having said all that, there's a bigger picture here.  A much bigger picture.

And, that's what a super regional appearance means to the immediate future of this program.

Last year's incredible 58-10 record reaped a bumper crop of good recruits.  The Cajuns signed the state's top two pitchers en route to their best recruiting class in school history.

When you're good, young men want to play for you.   And, it's pretty certain when the fall comes and it's time for young men to sign for the class of 2017, the Cajuns will once again have plenty of talented student-athletes ready to cast their lot with a winner.

But the impact of this season is proving to be even more immediate.

It may have been the deciding factor in getting the class of 2016 on campus.

In this week's major league draft, it was well publicized that Tony Robichaux and his staff were concerned about four signees:  RHP Nick Lee (South Beauregard) , LHP Hogan Harris (STM), C Ryne Ray (Evangel/Shreveport) and 1b/OF Steven Sensley (LSU-Eunice).  Lee was projected to go in the top five rounds, Harris in the top ten.  Ray wasn't expected to last much past that.  And, Sensley, who hit 21 homers and drove in 80 in leading the Bengals to the NJCAA DII title, looked like a sure top 15 rounder as well.

What happened?  The three high school players went undrafted.  Sensley wasn't tapped until the 38th round by Tampa Bay.  And, of course, critics and the uninformed questioned whether those players were all that good to begin with.

No...the reason they didn't get drafted was because they put a price on what they believed the college baseball experience was worth to them.  And, major league teams weren't willing to pay that price.  You can bet they all got offers...and the offers were, by themselves, impressive.  But it wasn't enough for them to pass on being a Ragin' Cajun.

In addition, Robichaux and his staff have signed eight other players, some of whom have an excellent chance to make an immediate contribution in 2016.

Tampa Bay will negotiate with Sensley.  And, the slugger may decide the offer is good enough.  But if teams were willing to pay what Sensley was asking, they would have drafted him earlier.  Tampa Bay is hoping to get him to settle for less.  If Sensley holds true to his number, there's a very very good chance he'll be on campus in the fall.

And, I'm willing to suggest the magic number for these players went up when the Cajuns celebrated in Houston after winning that regional.  Because the 2015 bunch refused to accept the season as a rebuilding year, these recruits see consistent excellence in this program.  And, they want to be a part of it.  Professional baseball can wait.

With almost the entire pitching staff returning and four regulars from the lineup, these recruits see something special happening within the next two years.  And, they see where they can help make a difference.  They believe they can make the Cajuns even better.

And, the 2015 super regional participants may have been the final piece of evidence they needed to put their immediate future on hold.

These soon to be newcomers not only think the Cajuns can get to Omaha, they are expecting to be there.

 

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