On May 30, 2025, The LSU-Shreveport Pilots capped off the greatest season in baseball history. They defeated Southeastern 13-7 In Lewiston, Idaho to win the first ever national championship for Louisiana State University in Shreveport. On January 22, they begin their campaign to defend the title. I spoke with the head coach of the perfect Pilots, Brad Neffendorf, to get the inside track of what to look for with this new look 2026 Pilots.
Going into last season, Neffendorf was aware of how much work was going to have to be put into rebuilding the roster for this season. The starting lineup, weekend rotation, and most of the backend of the bullpen all had to be completely replaced. The rebuilding began almost immediately after last season ended. Amidst instances of injury and players going elsewhere, Neffendorf has been able to build a team that he believes will continue to win.
There can be many problems with rebuilding a team. One problem is chemistry. Chemistry within a team involves getting familiar with each other, being comfortable around each other, and learning how to play together. “Kind of our big deal here is to learn how to take a roster into a team as quick as possible. Becoming one unit, playing as one unit”. Neffendorf says this team, through the practices, inner-squads, and scrimmages, is learning how to work together and is starting to resemble last season’s team in terms of their personality.
Pilots baseball has shown strengths early on in playing hard and their athleticism. They aren’t scared to compete and potentially fail, which typically happens in baseball. Neffendorf believes they will be able to tap into being faster and more explosive as an offense. One thing LSUS lacked last season that they’ve improved this year was the number of left-handed bats in the lineup. This has come in Dorien Jackson, Nazir Mendez, and Nate Davis among others. One questionable thing that comes with a new team is the unknown of how they will play together. The one way to find out is showing up at Pilot Field on January 22 to watch the national champs get to work.
The opening day opponent is the Tabor Blue Jays out of Hillsboro, Kansas. This team came closer than any other to beating LSUS last season. That is not a reason why Neffendorf has them lined up for opening day, however. Neffendorf and Tabor head coach Mark Standiford have a great relationship, and the two teams have become common opponents during Neffendorf's tenure in Shreveport. Tabor is in a similar situation to LSUS, having lost most of their starting players from a year ago. For the most part, Neffendorf does not know what to expect for opening day, which increases the intrigue for this matchup.
These new players knew what they were signing up for when they committed to LSUS. The fans outside the clubhouse expect them to replicate what happened last year. “You don’t worry about everyone else’s expectations for you. We have our own expectations. You go write your own story”. Neffendorf wants last season’s team to be talked about forever because it’s what they deserve. This year’s team, however, also deserves the spotlight and especially deserves to be talked about if they can go and succeed like the 2025 team did. If they lose a game, that’s alright. After all, baseball is a game of failure.
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