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Home > The Perfect Pilots: How They Did It

The Perfect Pilots: How They Did It [1]

They were chasing victory—but had no idea perfection was in sight

Image via collegebaseballhub on X [2]

To do something that has never been done before in sports, it takes everyone on the staff, both players and coaches. It takes real skill, belief, and sometimes a miracle from God. I wanted a real look at how this perfect season was accomplished. What you see on the field during the game simply is not enough. We do not see what the players do off the field, whether early in the morning or late at night. We cannot look inside their minds. 

I had a conversation with Pilots ace and NAIA Pitcher of the Year Isaac Rohde to get all the insights I could on the historic 2025 Pilots squad. Head coach Brad Neffendorf has given previous praise to players and the rest of his coaching staff for how they handled everything that went on during the season. According to the article posted on the Allstate Sugar Bowl website regarding Neffendorf winning Allstate Sugar Bowl Coach of the year, Neffendorf said, "I have to give a great deal of praise to the players. Their commitment, investment, and ability to quickly operate each day as one unit, on and off the field. They became [extremely] close quickly. I also have a great deal of respect and appreciation and praise for our coaching staff – the work and investment that they put in made this happen." 

Rohde told me when it came to the media attention, they “Really didn’t think much of it,” “The shout-outs we got were pretty cool, but we pretty much went on about our day after we saw them.” Rohde gave credit to his teammates, coaches, and God. He said the “mindset, experience, and maturity” from the team consisting of twenty seniors and twenty-six returning players made the team “who it was.” He credited Neffendorf for giving them an approach to each game on both sides of the ball, and the players executed it. 

To be a champion, one thing you must have is a bond with your teammates. To win every game you play, well that may sometimes take a prayer from the Lord. I asked Rohde how the team handled adversity late in games. He told me it took “belief and faith in our team and God.” “No matter the score or the situation we believed in our teammates to come through in a big moment and trusted God to keep being a fan of the pilots.” 

Speaking of winning, Rohde believed this was the team to win it all well before they got it done. As far back as when LSUS was 11-0, he recalls telling outfielder Ian Montz the Pilots realistically should never lose a game this season if they “played our game how we knew how to play”. I asked Rohde if they treated the win streak as a no-hitter, meaning they did not talk about it to risk jinxing it and losing a game. Rohde simply said, “Not necessarily.” 

Rohde said the approach to every game was consistent. They thought every game was a “must-win” no matter where they were in the season, and the win streak did not change that. “Coach said all year, “They can’t beat you, but you can be beat”” Rohde said this quote really helped them in sticking to and executing their in-game approach. 

I asked when he thought the team began to realize that they could pull off a perfect record. Rohde said he started to feel it around the 30–35-win mark and going into the regular season finale, but there was “no real set day or game or moment that everyone believed it”. Rohde calls it “absolutely incredible and unbelievable” that he was a part of this historic team. “It still doesn't really feel real,” “I still do not really have words, just beyond blessed to be a part of THE GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME AT ANY LEVEL.” 

Rohde of course enjoyed all the success, but one thing that he really loved that went under the radar was the weekend LSUS hosted Louisiana Christian. The Pilots were looking forward to this as LCU had defeated LSUS in the Red River conference tournament the prior season. Rohde said the team had a “little chip on our shoulder.” Of course, LSUS swept the series, but how they did it made this weekend stand out. They played the last two games of the series in a doubleheader. In the first game of the doubleheader, a late grand slam put LCU up by one, but LSUS found a way in the final inning to come from behind and walk it off. In the final game, Cobe Reeves threw a no-hitter. Rohde said this moment made him believe LSUS was not losing another game. 

Finally, I asked Rohde how he would try to recruit a high school player to come to LSUS. Rohde says he would tell them “It’s not going to be easy,” “be ready to work and compete for a spot from Day 1. Nobody is going to hold your hand you have go about it the right way, be mature and be excited to get better.” “Coaches only want what’s best for you.” 

Topics: 
LSUS [3]
LSUS Baseball [4]
Baseball [5]
Sports [6]

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[1] https://www.thealmagest.org/perfect-pilots-how-they-did-it [2] https://www.thealmagest.org/sites/default/files/content/articles//guflhryw8aaaskw.jpg [3] https://www.thealmagest.org/topics/lsus [4] https://www.thealmagest.org/topics/lsus-baseball [5] https://www.thealmagest.org/topics/baseball [6] https://www.thealmagest.org/topics/sports