University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Baseball
Thibodeaux, Seth
Seth Thibodeaux
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach / Pitching Coach
Seth Thibodeaux begins his third season at Louisiana after joining the Ragin' Cajuns staff in August 2021 as Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach.
Prior to his arrival, Thibodeaux served for 14 seasons - including the previous 11 years as head coach - at in-state program Nicholls. During his 11-year tenure on the Bayou, Thibodeaux recorded 287 wins to rank behind Mike Knight and former Louisiana Baseball coach Ray E. Didier in school history.
In his first season in the Ragin' Cajuns dugout, the Church Point native handled a pitching staff which produced the Sun Belt Conference's lowest team ERA (4.24) while ranking among the SBC leaders in opposing batting average (.254), innings pitched (532.1), strikeouts (545), runs allowed (287) and earned runs allowed (251).
The SBC weekend rotation of Brandon Talley, Jacob Schultz and Jeff Wilson produced 11 quality starts with 10 coming in the final 36 games of the season. Schultz led Louisiana in innings pitched (82.1) and led the Ragin' Cajuns into the SBC Championship game after a gutsy 142-pitch performance in a complete-game victory over nationally-ranked Texas State.
His 2023 staff produced 10-game winner Cooper Rawls - the first Ragin' Cajuns 10-game winner since Gunner Leger in 2017 - and nine-game winner Jackson Nezuh. As a staff, the Ragin' Cajuns finished second overall in both team ERA (4.87), opponents batting average (.248) and innings pitched (569.2) while leading all SBC programs in fewest runs allowed (328) and shutouts (5). Thibodeaux's staff produced 14 quality starts on the season with Nezuh (4) and Jake Hammond (3) provided half of the total.
Thibodeaux has served as the Ragin' Cajuns "Defensive Coordinator" since joining the staff and guided a group in 2022 which ranked among the league leaders in fielding percentage (.972) while finishing 18th nationally in double plays (51), 26th in earned run average (4.24) and 44th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.62).
The 2023 edition of the Ragin' Cajuns produced the school's top fielding percentage (.982) - first in the Sun Belt and tied for fourth nationally.
During Thibodeaux's tenure at Nicholls, the Colonels advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament on four occasions, securing the No. 2-seed in 2014 and the third seed in 2015. Thibodeaux helped develop four All-SLC first-team selections and along with six Major League Baseball draftees, two Southland Pitchers of the Year (Taylor Byrd – 2014, Justin Sinibaldi – 2015), a Relief Pitcher of the Year (Stuart Holmes, 2015) and a Newcomer of the Year (Kyle Reese, 2015).
The long-time head coach revitalized the program behind back-to-back 30-plus win seasons in 2014 and 2015 – a first for Nicholls since the 1992-93 campaigns – as the Colonel pitching staffs consistently ranked as one of the nation's elite for ERA. During the 2014 season, Thibodeaux’s pitching staff produced a 2.61 team ERA during the season before notching a 2.47 team ERA the following season.
The upstart Colonels’ squad of the 2014 season, who just a year prior only managed single-digit wins in league play, propelled Thibodeaux to Southland Coach of the Year as Nicholls finished with a school-best 21-9 mark in SLC competition.
Before coming to Nicholls in 2008, Thibodeaux served two years as an assistant coach at SLC-rival Southeastern Louisiana, helping put together two recruiting classes which received national recognition from Baseball America. In his final season in Hammond, Thibodeaux helped SLU to 34 wins, the most for the Lions in a decade and a school-record 16 wins in Southland competition.
Thibodeaux began his college coaching career at Pearl River Community College in 2003. In his second season at PRCC, Thibodeaux lifted the Wildcats to conference and state championship titles as well as a No. 2 national ranking in 2004. In 2005, Thibodeaux helped PRCC repeat as conference champs.
Thibodeaux played two seasons at LSU-Eunice in 2000 before transferring to William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he finished his collegiate career and earned his degree in physical education. After graduation, Thibodeaux played one season of professional baseball for the Baton Rouge Riverbats of the independent South East Professional Baseball League.
He is married to the former Janelle Austrom who was a soccer and softball player at William Carey College. They are the parents of two daughters, Ella Reese and Blake Adelle. One of eight children, Thibodeaux has a brother, Mike, who is the former head baseball coach and five-time state champion at Lafayette's Teurlings Catholic High School.
Prior to his arrival, Thibodeaux served for 14 seasons - including the previous 11 years as head coach - at in-state program Nicholls. During his 11-year tenure on the Bayou, Thibodeaux recorded 287 wins to rank behind Mike Knight and former Louisiana Baseball coach Ray E. Didier in school history.
In his first season in the Ragin' Cajuns dugout, the Church Point native handled a pitching staff which produced the Sun Belt Conference's lowest team ERA (4.24) while ranking among the SBC leaders in opposing batting average (.254), innings pitched (532.1), strikeouts (545), runs allowed (287) and earned runs allowed (251).
The SBC weekend rotation of Brandon Talley, Jacob Schultz and Jeff Wilson produced 11 quality starts with 10 coming in the final 36 games of the season. Schultz led Louisiana in innings pitched (82.1) and led the Ragin' Cajuns into the SBC Championship game after a gutsy 142-pitch performance in a complete-game victory over nationally-ranked Texas State.
His 2023 staff produced 10-game winner Cooper Rawls - the first Ragin' Cajuns 10-game winner since Gunner Leger in 2017 - and nine-game winner Jackson Nezuh. As a staff, the Ragin' Cajuns finished second overall in both team ERA (4.87), opponents batting average (.248) and innings pitched (569.2) while leading all SBC programs in fewest runs allowed (328) and shutouts (5). Thibodeaux's staff produced 14 quality starts on the season with Nezuh (4) and Jake Hammond (3) provided half of the total.
Thibodeaux has served as the Ragin' Cajuns "Defensive Coordinator" since joining the staff and guided a group in 2022 which ranked among the league leaders in fielding percentage (.972) while finishing 18th nationally in double plays (51), 26th in earned run average (4.24) and 44th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.62).
The 2023 edition of the Ragin' Cajuns produced the school's top fielding percentage (.982) - first in the Sun Belt and tied for fourth nationally.
During Thibodeaux's tenure at Nicholls, the Colonels advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament on four occasions, securing the No. 2-seed in 2014 and the third seed in 2015. Thibodeaux helped develop four All-SLC first-team selections and along with six Major League Baseball draftees, two Southland Pitchers of the Year (Taylor Byrd – 2014, Justin Sinibaldi – 2015), a Relief Pitcher of the Year (Stuart Holmes, 2015) and a Newcomer of the Year (Kyle Reese, 2015).
The long-time head coach revitalized the program behind back-to-back 30-plus win seasons in 2014 and 2015 – a first for Nicholls since the 1992-93 campaigns – as the Colonel pitching staffs consistently ranked as one of the nation's elite for ERA. During the 2014 season, Thibodeaux’s pitching staff produced a 2.61 team ERA during the season before notching a 2.47 team ERA the following season.
The upstart Colonels’ squad of the 2014 season, who just a year prior only managed single-digit wins in league play, propelled Thibodeaux to Southland Coach of the Year as Nicholls finished with a school-best 21-9 mark in SLC competition.
Before coming to Nicholls in 2008, Thibodeaux served two years as an assistant coach at SLC-rival Southeastern Louisiana, helping put together two recruiting classes which received national recognition from Baseball America. In his final season in Hammond, Thibodeaux helped SLU to 34 wins, the most for the Lions in a decade and a school-record 16 wins in Southland competition.
Thibodeaux began his college coaching career at Pearl River Community College in 2003. In his second season at PRCC, Thibodeaux lifted the Wildcats to conference and state championship titles as well as a No. 2 national ranking in 2004. In 2005, Thibodeaux helped PRCC repeat as conference champs.
Thibodeaux played two seasons at LSU-Eunice in 2000 before transferring to William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he finished his collegiate career and earned his degree in physical education. After graduation, Thibodeaux played one season of professional baseball for the Baton Rouge Riverbats of the independent South East Professional Baseball League.
He is married to the former Janelle Austrom who was a soccer and softball player at William Carey College. They are the parents of two daughters, Ella Reese and Blake Adelle. One of eight children, Thibodeaux has a brother, Mike, who is the former head baseball coach and five-time state champion at Lafayette's Teurlings Catholic High School.
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