EUNICE, La. – The LSU Eunice Baseball duo of head coach Jeff Willis and freshman pitcher
Lane Fenske (New Iberia, LA, Catholic-New Iberia HS) have both been named finalists for the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year and James J. Corbett Award, recognizing the top collegiate coach and amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana. The finalists were announced on Monday by the Allstate Sugar Bowl and New Orleans Sports Awards Committee.
The winners, as selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, will be announced at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Sports Award Banquet presented by LCMC Health on June 24. In addition, fans now can visit the Allstate Sugar Bowl website (
www.allstatesugarbowl.org) to make their own selections for the best of the best in the state of Louisiana with fan voting open now until Friday, June 12. The fan choices will be announced at the same time as the official committee selections.
Willis is one of four finalists for the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year, joined by LSU Gymnastics Jay Clark, Southeastern Louisiana Softball Rick Fremin, and Tulane Football Jon Sumrall. Fenske is up for the James J. Corbett Male Athlete award alongside Edna Karr HS Football defensive tackle Richard Anderson, LSU Football cornerback Mansoor Delane, and Brother Martin HS wide receiver and track athlete Easton Royal.
The longtime LSU Eunice head coach, Jeff Willis has recently completed his 24th year atop the helm of the Bengals. Willis guided LSU Eunice to a second straight LCCAC conference regular season and tournament championship in as many years as a NJCAA Division I institution. LSUE would go on to win the NJCAA South District Championship and advance to the NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado for the first time in program history where the Bengals finished fifth in the ten-team field.
This is just the latest chapter of success for the Bengals under Willis's watch. LSU Eunice is the second winningest program in college baseball history with Willis as its head coach with a 1,151-244 record and a .825 winning percentage. The Bengals have won eight NJCAA Division II Baseball National Championships under the ABCA and NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame skipper, the most recent title coming in 2024.
Willis has most recently been a finalist for the Collegiate Coach of the Year Award in 2024 and 2021.
Fenske is not only the first LSU Eunice student-athlete to be named a finalist for the prestigious James J. Corbett Awards, but the first junior college baseball player in the award's history. The freshman had a historic first year on the Cajun Prairie, tying the single season wins mark with his 15-0 record, which was also the second most in the nation this season. Fenske led the Bengals with a 3.19 earned run average while tossing four complete games.
The Catholic-New Iberia product struck out 98 batters, finishing 13th nationally and ranking 12th all-time in LSU Eunice single season history. He would shine bright in the postseason, posting a 2-0 record with 3.15 ERA, recording 21 strikeouts and 7 walks in three starts. Fenske totaled 10 strikeouts in a Region 23 Tournament win over Delgado on May 9, hurled seven innings with seven punch outs in a Game Two win over Shelton State in the South District Series, and toss six strong innings in a no decision against Miami Dade in LSUE's JUCO World Series opener.
His 93 innings pitched also ranked second in the nation.
The Corbett Awards have recognized the top male and female amateur athletes in the state of Louisiana since 1967, while the Collegiate Coach of the Year has been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1961.
Since its inception of the Allstate Sugar Bowl's James J. Corbett Awards, winners have included 20 NFL players, 10 Major League Baseball players, four NBA players, 11 Olympians, five WNBA players and, two PGA Tour stars. Recent winners include LSU's Kade Anderson, Jayden Daniels, Dylan Crews, and Joe Burrow.
