Southeastern Louisiana University Men's Baseball

Riser17 After taking over the reins of the Southeastern Louisiana baseball program at the age of 29, making him one of the youngest head coaches at the NCAA Division I level, Matt Riser has led the Lions to two of the most successful seasons in school history. Riser was named the 2015 Southland Conference Coach of the Year as the Lions set the school record for overall wins (42-17) and the Southland record for conference wins (25-5) on the way to claiming the conference's regular-season title. On-field success translated at the gate as well in 2015 with Southeastern setting a school record for attendance with more than 31,000 (1,071 per game average) supporting the conference champs. Southeastern led the conference in 13 offensive categories including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, walks, hit by pitches, sac flies and stolen bases, all after losing the conference leading-returning hitter Jameson Fisher to injury in the fall. Sophomore outfielder Jacob Seward was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year after hitting .350, scoring 47 runs and stringing together a school-record 24-game hitting streak. A league-high 11 players were named to the All-Conference squads and a program-record five players were named to the All-Louisiana teams. The Lions had six conference hitters of the week (Ryan Byers, Kevin Carr, Carson Crites and Brett Hoffman while Jacob Seward won it twice). Tate Scioneaux was named the Southland's pitcher of the week three weeks running and earned state honors in back-to-back weeks. Junior left-hander Kyle Cedotal was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week and Louisiana Pitcher of the Week after striking out a career-high 14 batters and flirting with a no-hitter against conference foe Abilene Christian (3/15/15). Daniel Midyett and Cedotal both earned All-Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association while Mac Sceroler was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. For the second-consecutive season the Lions had multiple players taken in the Major League Baseball Draft as pitchers Jake Johnson, Kyle Keller and Scioneaux were all selected. In his inaugural season at the helm Southeastern finished with a 38-25 record, winning the Southland Conference Tournament to advance to NCAA Regional play for the first time in 20 years and knocking off Bryant University, 2-1, for the school's first NCAA postseason victory since 1992. Along the way, the Lions produced the top hitter in the conference, arguably the top pitcher and the conference's newcomer of the year. Jameson Fisher led the Southland with a .389 batting average, .481 on-base percentage and 93 hits. His 17 doubles fell one shy of the conference lead and he was fourth in runs scored (53). The sophomore from Zachary, Louisiana (Zachary H.S.), was equally impressive in Southland competition, posting a .396 batting average and .478 on-base percentage. Nationally, Fisher was 15th in batting average and 12th in hits. Andro utura was the Southland Conference leader in a couple of statistical categories, compiling a 10-2 record and a 1.95 ERA. utura fanned 99 batters in 106 innings pitched, while limiting hitters to a .219 batting average, and issuing 21 walks. He tossed three complete games in his 16 starts. utura led the Southland in wins and strikeouts. Andrew Godbold hit .349 with 10 doubles, nine home runs and a conference-leading 58 RBI. Named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, Godbold was also a first team selection on the All-Louisiana squad and an ABCA All-Region selection. He finished 16th nationally in RBI. Coming on strong down the stretch, the 2014 Lions finished the season as the top hitting team in the Southland compiling a conference-best .292 batting average, 356 runs scored, 616 hits, .385 on-base percentage, 101 HBPs, 32 sacrifice flies and 78 stolen bases. Southeastern ranked among the best in the nation in batting average (35th), runs scored (34th), hits (20th), HBPs (9th), on-base percentage (17th), sac flies (23rd) and ERA (27th). Under former coach Jay Artigues, Riser served as the Lions primary hitting coach while working extensively with the Southeastern outfielders. He also served as the third-base coach during games, and the programs recruiting coordinator, among other duties during the past six seasons. Under Risers guidance, the Lion offense produced the 2012 Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year Brock Hebert (.374, 58 runs, 21 doubles, 36 stolen bases). Senior Jonathan Pace hit .350, giving the Lions two of the top six hitters in the conference. The pair joined NCBWA National Stopper of the Year Stefan Lopez to give Southeastern three first-team All-Conference players. The Lions led the Southland in five offensive categories in their record-breaking 2010 season and had five All-Conference Players, including 12th-round draft pick Chris Franklin. The former Lion closer is one of seven players coached by Riser that have been taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Riser coached Southeasterns career-hits leader Cass Hargis and previous record holder Ty Summerlin. Summerlin was drafted in the 30th round after his senior season by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Riser also has coached eight All-Americans, including five Freshmen All-Americans. Hebert and Lopez each earned four All-America honors, joining Freshman All-American Andro Cutura as 2012 honorees. In 2008, centerfielder Hargis was named Freshman All-American in Risers first season, and Franklin was named an NCBWA All-American after his campaign in 2009. Josh Cryer was named a 2011 Capital One Academic All-American, becoming the first Lion baseball player to ever earn the honor. Jameson Fisher and Mason Klotz are the latest to have earned freshman honors following their stellar 2013 campaigns. Riser, a Picayune, Miss., native, began his coaching career after completing his collegiate career at Tulane, where he played in 2005-06. Prior to his time in New Orleans, Riser played under Artigues, the former Southeastern head coach and current director of athletics, for two seasons at Pearl River Community College. Riser played in 108 games in two years with the Green Wave. As a senior, he played in all 64 games and made 57 starts, finishing the season with three home runs, 37 RBI and 16 doubles, helping Tulane to a NCAA Regional Final Appearance. In 2005 Riser played a vital role in helping Tulane to the 2005 College World Series, playing in 44 games as a junior. At PRCC, Riser earned All-Region XXII honors and Region XXII Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, helping PRCC to the state title. He batted .376 as a sophomore and .347 as a freshman, while compiling 110 hits, 30 doubles and 109 runs scored in his two-year junior college career. Riser prepped at Picayune Memorial High and was an All-State pick as a senior. Riser earned his degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University in 2007. He, wife Jeanette and son Xander reside in Hammond. Matt Riser Head Baseball Coach Twitter: @MattRiser17 After taking over the reins of the Southeastern Louisiana baseball program at the age of 29, making him one of the youngest head coaches at the NCAA Division I level, Matt Riser has led the Lions to two of the most successful seasons in school history. Riser was named the 2015 Southland Conference Coach of the Year as the Lions set the school record for overall wins (42-17) and the Southland record for conference wins (25-5) on the way to claiming the conference's regular-season title. On-field success translated at the gate as well in 2015 with Southeastern setting a school record for attendance with more than 31,000 (1,071 per game average) supporting the conference champs. Southeastern led the conference in 13 offensive categories including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, walks, hit by pitches, sac flies and stolen bases, all after losing the conference leading-returning hitter Jameson Fisher to injury in the fall. Sophomore outfielder Jacob Seward was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year after hitting .350, scoring 47 runs and stringing together a school-record 24-game hitting streak. A league-high 11 players were named to the All-Conference squads and a program-record five players were named to the All-Louisiana teams. The Lions had six conference hitters of the week (Ryan Byers, Kevin Carr, Carson Crites and Brett Hoffman while Jacob Seward won it twice). Tate Scioneaux was named the Southland's pitcher of the week three weeks running and earned state honors in back-to-back weeks. Junior left-hander Kyle Cedotal was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week and Louisiana Pitcher of the Week after striking out a career-high 14 batters and flirting with a no-hitter against conference foe Abilene Christian (3/15/15). Daniel Midyett and Cedotal both earned All-Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association while Mac Sceroler was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. For the second-consecutive season the Lions had multiple players taken in the Major League Baseball Draft as pitchers Jake Johnson, Kyle Keller and Scioneaux were all selected. In his inaugural season at the helm Southeastern finished with a 38-25 record, winning the Southland Conference Tournament to advance to NCAA Regional play for the first time in 20 years and knocking off Bryant University, 2-1, for the school's first NCAA postseason victory since 1992. Along the way, the Lions produced the top hitter in the conference, arguably the top pitcher and the conference's newcomer of the year. Jameson Fisher led the Southland with a .389 batting average, .481 on-base percentage and 93 hits. His 17 doubles fell one shy of the conference lead and he was fourth in runs scored (53). The sophomore from Zachary, Louisiana (Zachary H.S.), was equally impressive in Southland competition, posting a .396 batting average and .478 on-base percentage. Nationally, Fisher was 15th in batting average and 12th in hits. Andro utura was the Southland Conference leader in a couple of statistical categories, compiling a 10-2 record and a 1.95 ERA. utura fanned 99 batters in 106 innings pitched, while limiting hitters to a .219 batting average, and issuing 21 walks. He tossed three complete games in his 16 starts. utura led the Southland in wins and strikeouts. Andrew Godbold hit .349 with 10 doubles, nine home runs and a conference-leading 58 RBI. Named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, Godbold was also a first team selection on the All-Louisiana squad and an ABCA All-Region selection. He finished 16th nationally in RBI. Coming on strong down the stretch, the 2014 Lions finished the season as the top hitting team in the Southland compiling a conference-best .292 batting average, 356 runs scored, 616 hits, .385 on-base percentage, 101 HBPs, 32 sacrifice flies and 78 stolen bases. Southeastern ranked among the best in the nation in batting average (35th), runs scored (34th), hits (20th), HBPs (9th), on-base percentage (17th), sac flies (23rd) and ERA (27th). Under former coach Jay Artigues, Riser served as the Lions primary hitting coach while working extensively with the Southeastern outfielders. He also served as the third-base coach during games, and the programs recruiting coordinator, among other duties during the past six seasons. Under Risers guidance, the Lion offense produced the 2012 Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year Brock Hebert (.374, 58 runs, 21 doubles, 36 stolen bases). Senior Jonathan Pace hit .350, giving the Lions two of the top six hitters in the conference. The pair joined NCBWA National Stopper of the Year Stefan Lopez to give Southeastern three first-team All-Conference players. The Lions led the Southland in five offensive categories in their record-breaking 2010 season and had five All-Conference Players, including 12th-round draft pick Chris Franklin. The former Lion closer is one of seven players coached by Riser that have been taken in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Riser coached Southeasterns career-hits leader Cass Hargis and previous record holder Ty Summerlin. Summerlin was drafted in the 30th round after his senior season by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Riser also has coached eight All-Americans, including five Freshmen All-Americans. Hebert and Lopez each earned four All-America honors, joining Freshman All-American Andro Cutura as 2012 honorees. In 2008, centerfielder Hargis was named Freshman All-American in Risers first season, and Franklin was named an NCBWA All-American after his campaign in 2009. Josh Cryer was named a 2011 Capital One Academic All-American, becoming the first Lion baseball player to ever earn the honor. Jameson Fisher and Mason Klotz are the latest to have earned freshman honors following their stellar 2013 campaigns. Riser, a Picayune, Miss., native, began his coaching career after completing his collegiate career at Tulane, where he played in 2005-06. Prior to his time in New Orleans, Riser played under Artigues, the former Southeastern head coach and current director of athletics, for two seasons at Pearl River Community College. Riser played in 108 games in two years with the Green Wave. As a senior, he played in all 64 games and made 57 starts, finishing the season with three home runs, 37 RBI and 16 doubles, helping Tulane to a NCAA Regional Final Appearance. In 2005 Riser played a vital role in helping Tulane to the 2005 College World Series, playing in 44 games as a junior. At PRCC, Riser earned All-Region XXII honors and Region XXII Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, helping PRCC to the state title. He batted .376 as a sophomore and .347 as a freshman, while compiling 110 hits, 30 doubles and 109 runs scored in his two-year junior college career. Riser prepped at Picayune Memorial High and was an All-State pick as a senior. Riser earned his degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University in 2007. He, wife Jeanette and son Xander reside in Hammond.

Ethan Francis, a former Northwestern State pitcher, joined the Southeastern staff of coach Bobby Barbier in the fall of 2023 as the Director of Analytics. In his second season as a member of the coaching staff, Southeastern claimed the Southland Conference’s 2025 regular-season title. SLU's pitching staff led the conference in ERA, turning in the only sub-4.00 ERA in the Southland. The Lions also tied the program’s single-season record for home runs, established just one season ago. The pitching staff tossed the third-most shutouts (8) and compiled the ninth lowest ERA (3.76) in Division I, while ranking 11th in slugging percentage against (.350), 16th in H/9 (7.8) and 23rd in WHIP (1.33). Seven players earned All-Conference honors. Brennan Stuprich was named the Southland’s Pitcher of the Year and Student-Athlete of the Year, in addition to earning All-America, All-Region and All-Louisiana honors. Freshman closer Brady St. Pierre was named the conference’s Relief Pitcher of the Year, along with picking up Freshman All-America honors. Along with Stuprich and St. Pierre, TJ Salvaggio and Dane Watts earned first-team All-Southland honors. Conner O’Neal, Giovanni Licciardi and Blake Lobell picked up second-team honors, while Watts and Parker Coley were named to the All-Defensive squad. Ryan Brome, O’Neal and Salvaggio joined Stuprch in earning All-Louisiana honors. Stuprich and O’Neal were both drafted. O'Neal was selected in the ninth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Stuprich was drafted in the 14th round by the New York Yankees, the two participants in the 2024 World Series.   In his first season, Francis helped produce a squad that established a program single-season record for home runs and posted its highest batting average (.282) in eight seasons. During the North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Baseball Championship, the No. 6-seeded Lions picked up a pair of wins and advanced to the semifinal round.   Four SLU hitters produced double-figure home run totals – TJ Salvaggio (13), Parker Coley (12), Jude Hall (12) and Shea Thomas (10) – as the Lions blasted 86 home runs as a team, besting the previous program record by three.   Hall, Coley and Justin Williams would each earn Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors during the season, while right-hander Brennan Stuprich was named the conference’s Pitcher of the Week twice.   Stuprich, Salvaggio and Thomas each earned first-team All-Conference honors while left-handed pitcher Larson Fabre was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. Salvaggio and Thomas joined Rhett Rosevear and Jackson Rodriguez on the Southland’s All-Academic squad. A two-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Francis played three seasons at Northwestern State after transferring from Colby CC in Colby, Kansas. He appeared in 35 games during his Demon career, starting six. Francis compiled a 3-2 W-L record and one save to go along with a 5.91 ERA in 56.1 innings pitched. He surrendered 59 hits and 19 walks, striking out 43 batters.  Francis played two seasons of high school baseball at Foothills Composite in Okotoks, Alberta. He helped lead Foothills to championships at the Best of the West, the Butler University 18U Invitational and the Dawgs Mother’s Day Tournament as a senior. A native of Canada, he hails from Miscouche, Prince Edward Island. Francis earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwestern State in the spring of 2023.