7-In-Seven Countdown: Top SWLA Sports Moments from 2023-24

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – The 2023-24 athletic year was yet another successful one for Southwest Louisiana. Numerous high school teams and athletes won State Championships, with many others competing for them as well, in addition to success for several McNeese teams and athletes too.

For the first week of our 7-In-Seven Countdown series this summer, we took a look at some of the top moments from Southwest Louisiana teams, and athletes from the 2023-24 athletic year.

McNeese Men’s Basketball:

After hiring Will Wade as the team’s next head coach in March of 2023 following the worst season in program history, the Cowboys saw immediate results. The Pokes began the season with a record of 18-2, and a Southland Conference record of 7-0, both marks being the best in program history. McNeese then went onto win both the Southland Conference regular season, and tournament titles, punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002, and for just the third time at the Division I level in program history.

McNeese 2023-24 Program Records:

• Most wins in season: 30
• Most wins on home floor: 18
• Most road conference wins: 8 (ties record)
• Best turnaround from prior season: +19 wins
• Best home winning percentage: 1.000 (ties record)
• Best overall win percentage: 0.882
• Best Southland Conference winning percentage: 0.950
• Most road wins in regular season: 11
• Best record to start season: 19-2
• Best Southland Conference record to start season: 8-0
• Most non-conference Division I wins: 7
• Most single-game scoring leaders: 8
• Most wins of 10+ points: 22

Program firsts:

• Received votes in AP Top-25 Poll (six times)
• Ranked in mid-major top-25 poll
• Ranked #1 in mid-major polls
• Defeated a Big Ten opponent (Michigan)
• Appeared on ESPN Top 10 Plays (nine times)
• Had the number one play on the ESPN Top 10 (two times)
• Had a player named the national player of the week (three times)

McNeese Softball Southland Conference Regular Season Title:

Few programs in Southwest Louisiana have found success the way the McNeese softball program has over the last several seasons. Entering the 2024 season the Cowgirls had won two consecutive Southland Conference regular season titles, and were looking to become just the third Southland team in conference history to win three in a row. After finishing the regular season with an unprecedented Southland Conference record of 20-2, the Cowgirls did just that, besting second-place Southeastern who finished the conference schedule with a record of 17-5.

McNeese Baseball Southland Conference Tournament Run:

After what could only be described as a disappointing start to the Southland Conference schedule which included a 3-9 record in their first four conference series’, with series losses in all four, things looked bleak for the Cowboys. However, as the Pokes entered late April sitting at the bottom of the conference, things began to turn around for the Cowboys. McNeese won their first conference series of the season in late April, taking two of three against Southeastern, the first of three consecutive series wins the Pokes would tally, going 7-2 over their next nine conference games, doing enough to get into the conference tournament.

As the five seed the Pokes were able to tally wins in each of their first two games to make the conference semi-finals, and after falling to top-seeded Lamar in game one, the Pokes bounced back the next day with a win over the Cardinals, knocking them out of the tournament, and punching McNeese’s ticket back to the Southland Conference Tournament Championship.

Rosepine Girl’s Basketball State Championship:

The Rosepine Eagles entered the 2023-24 season coming off of the program’s first State Championship in which they beat Amite 69-61, and 364 days later on the same court, the Lady Eagles met with the Amite Lady Warriors once again in the State Championship game. After a back-and-forth game, the outcome would be the same as the outcome almost a year earlier as the Lady Eagles repeated as State Champions, beating Amite 50-46 thanks to a combined 28 points from game MVP Kelly Norris, and Addison Fruge. Norris finished the game with 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Fruge finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

“To me it sounds even better that we get to send our seniors away as back-to-back State Champions. There’s not many senior classes that can say semi-finals, and two State Championships in a career, that’s pretty awesome. That means more to me that they go away as two-time State Champs,” said Rosepine Head Coach Charles Kiely.

Fairview Girls Basketball State Championship:

The Fairview girls basketball team has had a dynasty few in Louisiana could replicate. The Lady Panthers entered the 2023-24 season with 14 State Championships in program history, 12 of those coming under Head Coach Kyle Jinks. Despite all of that, the Lady Panthers entered the 2023-24 season with a chip on their shoulder, as they entered the season without the title of reigning State Champions for the first time since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, after winning three consecutive State Championships from 2020-2022.

That fire sparked a run back to the State Championship game in 2024, as the Lady Panthers looked to avenge their State Championship loss to Hathaway a season earlier. Fairview, behind a combined 65 points and 23 rebounds from game MVP Reesie Jinks and Ella Reeves, would go onto beat Hicks 81-78 in a hard-fought game.

“These cats don’t like to lose, they were motivated when we walked out of here last year. The ones that don’t play multiple sports, when we got back to school on Monday, they were already in the gym working, in the weight room lifting. I guess when you win so much at Fairview… it’s not me, it has nothing to do with me. I do lead them along the way but, these girls that I have have a work ethic that isn’t matched by anybody. What you saw out there today, I see everyday in practice, it’s not any different, but I’m just so excited for my girls,” said Jinks about his team’s resiliency to win the State Championship after finishing as the State Runner-Up in 2023.

South Beauregard Baseball State Championship:

The South Beauregard Knights were on a mission in 2024 and were driven to right the wrongs of the year prior when the same exact team failed to win a state championship in 2023. This year it was mission accomplished as the knights took down Sterlington 7-4 to capture their second state championship in program history. The Knights are now defending State Champions as they will defend their baseball crown for the first time since 2017 as Coach Jeremy Deville and his program will look to add themselves to the rare air list of Southwest Louisiana teams that have won back-to-back state titles this upcoming season.

“We respected Sterlington, they’re a great baseball team traditionally every year and we knew it was going to be a close game today, a back-and-forth game and they wouldn’t go away man but neither would we,” said Deville. “I’m excited for these guys, these seniors going out winning their last game, that was their goal four years ago and something we did seven years ago, something people didn’t think we could do again so I’m excited for this team, and the community.”

Individual State Champions:

This past year plenty of talented athletes were able to take home state titles, Kelsey Williams from Reeves took home a title in the 400-meter dash, Kaitlyn Sawyer from Hathaway took home two championships in the 1600 and the 800, Milah Ballou from Hamilton Christian won in the 1600 as well, Ely Walker won two championships in shotput and discus along with teammate Brant Thomas who took home a javelin title both of those athletes are from hackberry, Amaya Shine won the 200 for Rosepine High School, Hannah Boullion won two state championships in the 400 and 200 running for St. Louis and her teammate Ella Butler won a high jump state championship on top of that, Kennedi Burks took home a 400-meter title, Michael Fulton won the shotput state championship, and then Jolie Jones won a championship in discus. All three of those athletes won titles for Barbe High School.

In tennis Steven Rice from Barbe won a singles title for the Buccaneers and so did Benjamin Reinauer for St. Louis Catholic.

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