Smoke Laval
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Gulf Coast CC | December 20, 1955
1976–1977 | Jacksonville |
Position(s) | Gulf Coast CC (Asst.) |
1982–1983 | Florida (Asst.) |
1984–1993 | LSU (Asst.) |
1994–2000 | Louisiana–Monroe |
2001 | LSU (Adm. Asst.) |
2002–2006 | LSU |
2007–2010 | Toronto Blue Jays (scout) |
2011–2017 | North Florida |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 688–428–1 |
Tournaments | 17–17 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1995 SLC Tournament championship 1999 SLC Championship 2000 SLC Championship 2003 SEC Championship 2015 A-Sun Championship | |
Awards | |
1995 LSWA Coach of the Year 1999 SLC Coach of the Year 2002 LSWA Coach of the Year 2003 SEC Coach of the Year 2003 LSWA Coach of the Year 2004 LSWA Coach of the Year 2015 A-Sun Coach of the Year | |
Raymond Peter "Smoke" Laval (born December 20, 1955) is an American
Early life and career
Laval was born in
After college he served in a variety of
Head coaching career
Northeast Louisiana/Louisiana–Monroe
Laval became head coach of the
LSU
LSU hired Laval as an administrative assistant for the baseball team under Bertman in 2001, with the intention of promoting him to head coach succeeding Bertman. Bertman retired at the end of that season having won five national championships and Laval took over head coaching duties in 2002. Expectations were high for the new coach, as one would expect following a legend like Bertman.
In 2002 Laval led the Tigers to a 44–22 record and an appearance in a
2004 saw the Tigers compile a 46–19 record and included a return trip to the College World Series. Like the prior year, LSU went 0–2 in the CWS and was eliminated. LSU fans were not used to going winless in Omaha, leading to questions about Laval's ability to maintain the program's elite status. The 2005 Tigers struggled during the regular season but still managed to compile a 40–22 record. The team lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament and did not make an appearance in a Super Regional for the first time ever (Super Regionals began in 1999).
Although Laval's first four years were fairly solid, they were below Tiger fans had come to expect. He began feeling pressure from LSU fans and the athletic administration, and it was generally felt that 2006 would be a make-or-break season for him. Unfortunately for Laval, the Tigers had their worst season since 1983, the year before Bertman arrived. The team finished the season with a record of 35–24 and its first losing SEC record in 24 years. They missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years. Under pressure, Laval officially resigned on June 4, 2006. He finished his career at LSU with a record of 210–109–1 (.658) in five seasons. Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri was hired to replace him.
Following his resignation, Laval worked as a scouting adviser for the Toronto Blue Jays.
North Florida
In 2009, the University of North Florida announced that Laval would succeed Hall of Fame coach Dusty Rhodes as head coach of the Ospreys upon Rhodes' retirement.[1] He took over prior to the 2011 season, becoming the second baseball coach in the school's history. He led the team to its first Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship in 2015 and was named Atlantic Sun Conference coach of the year that season. Laval was removed as head coach after the 2017 season.
Yearly record
Below is a table of Laval's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northeast Louisiana/Louisiana–Monroe (Southland Conference) (1994–2000) | |||||||||
1994 | Northeast Louisiana | 20–33 | 6–18 | 9th | |||||
1995 | Northeast Louisiana | 37–20 | 16–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
1996 | Northeast Louisiana | 41–19 | 21–9 | 1st (Louisiana) | |||||
1997 | Northeast Louisiana | 33–21 | 17–11 | 2nd (Louisiana) | |||||
1998 | Northeast Louisiana | 33–22 | 13–9 | 2nd | |||||
1999 | Northeast Louisiana | 36–22 | 19–7 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2000 | Louisiana–Monroe | 41–22 | 20–7 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
NELA/ULM: | 241–159 (.603) | 112–68 (.622) | |||||||
LSU (Southeastern Conference) (2002–2006) | |||||||||
2002 | LSU | 44–22 | 19–10 | 2nd (West) | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
2003 | LSU | 45–22–1 | 20–9–1 | 1st (West) | College World Series
| ||||
2004 | LSU | 46–19 | 18–12 | T–2nd (West) | College World Series
| ||||
2005 | LSU | 40–22 | 18–12 | T–1st (West) | NCAA Regional | ||||
2006 | LSU | 35–24 | 13–17 | 4th (West) | |||||
LSU: | 210–109–1 (.658) | 88–60–1 (.594) | |||||||
North Florida (Atlantic Sun Conference) (2011–present) | |||||||||
2011 | North Florida | 27–27 | 13–17 | 8th | |||||
2012 | North Florida | 31–24 | 12–15 | 8th | |||||
2013 | North Florida | 40–19 | 18–9 | 3rd | |||||
2014 | North Florida | 22–31 | 11–16 | 8th | |||||
2015 | North Florida | 45–16 | 16–5 | 1st | |||||
2016 | North Florida | 39–19 | 15–6 | 2nd | |||||
2017 | North Florida | 33–24 | 12–9 | 4th | |||||
North Florida: | 237–160 (.597) | 97–77 (.557) | |||||||
Total: | 688–428–1 (.590) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Coaching honors
- 1995 Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year
- 1999 Southland Conference Coach of the Year
- 2002 Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year
- 2003 SEC Coach of the Year; Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year
- 2004 Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year
- 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year
See also
References
- ^ "UNF Names Smoke Laval New Baseball Coach". unfospreys.com. University of North Florida. August 24, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
- ^ "2011 LSU Tigers Baseball Media Guide". LSU Sports Information. p. 170. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "2012 Louisiana–Monroe Baseball Fan Guide". Louisiana–Monroe Sports Information. pp. 70–71. Archived from the original on 2014-01-06. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "The History and Traditions of the University of Louisiana at Monroe" (PDF). ULM.edu. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
On August 27, 1999, the university officially changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Monroe
- ^ "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ^ "2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "2012 Atlantic Sun Conference Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-26. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "2013 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.