: ''For information on all Lamar University sports, see

Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals The Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals (variously Cardinals or Cards) refers to the college athletics teams of Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas. The Cardinals and Lady Cardinals teams compete in seventeen NCAA Division I sports as a member o ...

'' The 2016 Lamar Cardinals baseball team represented

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, th ...

in the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at

Vincent–Beck Stadium Vincent–Beck Stadium (formerly Cardinal Field) is a ballpark located in Beaumont, Texas, on Jim Gilligan Way on the campus of Lamar University. The stadium was built in 1969 and has a current capacity of 3,500 spectators. It is the home stadium ...

and are members of the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

. The team was coached by

Jim Gilligan Jim Gilligan is a retired head baseball coach, primarily for the Lamar Cardinals baseball program. In his 38 seasons as head coach, Gilligan has guided Lamar's baseball team to 11 conference championships, 13 NCAA regional appearances, and five c ...

in his 39th and final season at Lamar.

Previous season

In 2015, the Cardinals finished the season 11th in the Southland with a record of 21–31, 9–18 in conference play. They failed to qualify for the 2015 Southland Conference baseball tournament.

Roster

Coaches

Preseason

Staff changes

On September 21, 2015, the Cardinals head coach, Jim Gilligan, announced he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2016 season. On January 15, 2016, Will Davis was named Jim Gilligan's successor beginning with the 2017 season. Davis was an assistant coach at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. Will Davis joined the Lamar coaching staff as an assistant coach as the Cardinals' third base and running coach on February 11, 2016. He fills the position left by Jim Ricklefsen's departure following 18 years as an assistant coach.

Preseason predictions and honors

The Cardinals were predicted to finish 9th in the Southland in the preseason Coaches and Sports Information Director polls. On February 10, two Cardinals were named to preseason Southland Conference All-Conference teams. Stijn van der Meer, playing short stop for the Cardinals, was named as a 1st Team All-Conference member, and Jake Nash, as third baseman was named as 2nd Team All-Conference member.

Season

February

The Cardinals began Coach Jim Gilligan's final season with six straight wins sweeping Southeast Missouri State and with wins over #23

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and #7

and one win over

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

. The game against LSU set a new attendance record for Vincent-Beck Stadium with 3,563 fans in attendance. On the downside, the Cardinals finished the month and the North Dakota State series with three straight losses to the Bison. The Cardinals finished the month with an overall 6–3 record.

March

The month started with a win against Prairie View A&M, a 2–1 split series against

UTRGV The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas ...

, a 1–2 series split against

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSU) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the Univer ...

to begin conference play, followed by a loss to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The month ended with a seven-game winning streak sweeping

Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in conference play as well as a non-conference win against

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The Cardinals had an 11–4 record for the month of March for a cumulative record of 17–7. They also ended the month with a 7–2 record in Southland Conference play. The month ended with a 7-game winning streak.

April

The Cardinals continued the winning streak in April winning the first 8 games of the month. The winning streak ended at 15 straight following a 3–6 loss to the Baylor Bears in Waco. The Cardinals were ranked #25 in the April 11

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

poll. The team dropped out of the poll following the loss to Baylor plus two losses to McNeese State. The Cardinals ended the month with a 14–3 record for the month. The cumulative record was 31–10. In conference play, the Cardinals had a 9–3 record for the month and a cumulative record of 16–5.

May

May saw the Cardinals opening the month with a 5-game losing streak. The team ended the regular season with a 4–7 record and an overall regular season record of 35–17. In conference play, the Cardinals had a 4–5 record for the month with a final conference record of 20–10. The Cardinals qualified for the 2016 Southland Conference baseball tournament as the 4th seed. The Cardinals were eliminated from the tournament after losing their second game. Including tournament play, the Cardinals finished the 2016 season with a 35–19 overall record.

Post Season

Post Season Honors

Robin Adames was selected as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. Reid Russell was named Southland Conference Hitter of the Year. Stijn van de Meer, Will Hibbs, and Reid Russel were named to the first team Southland Conference All-Conference team. Jake Nash was named as a third team SLC All-Conference member. Jacob Middleton and Jimmy Johnson received SLC Honorable Mention honors. Reid Russell was named to the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest amateur baseball coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Now, the ABCA is composed of over 13,000 baseball coac ...

Rawlings South Central All-Region first team. Reid Russell was one of eight Division I players invited to the 3rd annual College Home Run Derby at

TD Ameritrade Park Omaha Charles Schwab Field Omaha (formerly TD Ameritrade Park Omaha) is a baseball park in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the stadium serves as a replacement for historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Charles Schwab Field has a seating capacity of 24,0 ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Russell finished the derby in 3rd place after competing in the semi-final round; missing the final round by one home run.

Major League Draft and Free Agents

*Major League Draft - Two Cardinals were selected in the Major League Baseball draft. Will Hibbs was a 19th round selection by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Stijn van de Meer was selected by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in the 34th round. *Free Agents - Enrique Oquendo signed a free agent contract with

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

shortly after the MLB draft. Jason McKinley signed a free agent contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

on June 20.

Schedule

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016 Lamar Cardinals Baseball Team Lamar Cardinals baseball seasons Lamar Lamar Cardinals baseball team