Former Major League pitcher Barry Manuel enters his second season as part of the LSUE Baseball Coaching Staff, joining the Bengals in the fall of 2023. In addition to his role as an assistant coach, Manuel serves as Athletic Operations Manager for LSU Eunice.
In his first year at LSU Eunice, Manuel alongside Alan Orgain helped orchestrate one of the most dominant pitching staffs in Bengal history. The LSUE pitchers set three team records, breaking the earned run average (2.43), opponent batting average (.199) and strikeouts (635) mark. Manuel was also instrumental in the development of NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year Blake Lobell, who led all of NJCAA in strikeouts. Lobell and Owen Schexnaydre finished first and second in the country in wins, with 14 and 15 respectively.
Prior to joining the Bengals, Manuel was a longtime high school baseball coach in St. Landry Parish. He was with Westminster Christian in Opelousas for 15 years, before serving as the head coach of St. Edmund’s High in Eunice for six years.
Professionally, Manuel played in parts of five Major League Baseball seasons, most notably as part of the 1996 Montreal Expos. In Montreal, Manuel threw a career-high 86 innings in 53 appearances, holding a 4-1 record with a 3.24 earned run average to help the team finish second in the NL East.
He received his first call up to the majors in 1991 with the Rangers, tossing two no-hit innings in his big-league debut against the White Sox. After another stint with Texas in 1992, Manuel also played with Mets (1997) and Diamondbacks (1998).
In five total years in Major League Baseball, Manuel appeared in 96 games, throwing 149 innings with a 7-2 record and 3.87 ERA. He spent 11 years total in the minors with the Rangers, Orioles, Expos, Mets, and Diamondbacks organizations.
A native of Mamou, Manuel was an all-state pitcher with the Green Demons in 1984. He pitched collegiately at LSU from 1984-1987, joining the Tigers in legendary head coach Skip Bertman’s first season at Baton Rouge.
In 1986, Manuel was named to the College Baseball All-American team after helping LSU to its first College World Series appearance, finishing the season ranked second in the nation with a 54-12 record.
He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 1987 MLB Draft.
