Marshall pitcher Blaine Albright was not angry when his pitching coach Taylor Sandefur left the Thundering Herd for UL last summer.
But Albright did miss his former mentor, so once the 2026 season ended, the native of Lima, Ohio, decided to do something about it.
He entered the transfer portal with the hope the Ragin' Cajuns were interested. As it turned out, the Cajuns were and Albright committed to UL with two years of eligibility remaining.
"Yes, it was a pretty easy decision," Albright said. "When coach Sandy was my pitching coach at Marshall, I loved him to death. He's probably the best coach I've ever had. So when I entered the portal and decided to leave, I was thinking that would be one of my top spots if they were interested."
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound redshirt junior signed with Indiana and redshirted his one season in Bloomington before transferring to Marshall for two seasons.
In his first season with the Herd, he was 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 17 appearances, giving up 14 hits, five walks and striking out 20 in 17 innings. Opponents hit .212 against him.
In his first season without Sandefur, things didn't go as well. Albright was 1-3 with a 7.92 ERA over 14 outings, including four starts. In 25 innings, he allowed 30 hits, 25 walks and struck out 23.
Albright said his struggles were more complicated than just having a new pitching coach.
"In my first outing of the season against Kennesaw State, I pulled my hamstring, so I was trying to get healed for about a month and a half," he said. "During that time, it kind of messed me up mechanically and that's why I sort of struggled with my command. Eventually, it came back and I started to feel like I did the year before."
Albright said Sandefur's value as a pitching coach begins with the personal relationship.
"After coming from Indiana, he made me fall in love with the sport of baseball again," Albright said. "I just think it's his ability to connect with players and understand that everyone is going to be coached differently and everyone has different personalities. He just finds ways to connect with you. He finds ways to get inside our brains and helped us understand him."
Albright said he's willing to be a reliever or starter at UL.
"Whatever I earn when I get down there is what I earn β possibly a midweek starter, we'll see," Albright said. "I'm just looking forward to see whatever that is. I know I'm going to work my butt off and see what happens.
"For me, the biggest priority is just opportunity β whatever I can do that helps the team. I just want to get back to that prior relationship with Sandy, knowing what he got out of me two years ago. "
Because of that prior relationship with Sandefur, Albright committed to the Cajuns without visiting Lafayette. He'll get familiar with the South Louisiana heat when he visits later in June.
"He (Sandefur) said it takes a little bit of time to get used to, but once you're used to it, you know, it's a normal thing down there," Albright said of the heat.
Another former Marshall pitcher Charlie Krebs also has committed to the Cajuns for next season.
The UL roster is also getting a talent infusion from two high school and six junior-college signees. The high school additions are Teurlings Catholic pitcher Evan Vincent and Barbe second baseman Myles Ledoux.
The juco signees include Tallahassee JC infielder Eric Fernandez, Vernon CC pitcher Degan Kubat, Iowa Central CC pitcher Maddox Sullivan, Central Arizona CC first baseman/outfielder Kayle Pisano, Chandler Gilbert CC first baseman Jeremy Kuiper and Bossier City CC pitcher Trent Lape.Β
UL's list of portal losses so far includes one part-time starter in outfielder Maddox Mandino, as well as Owen Galt, Kasen Bellard, Trip Dobson, Cole Flanagan, Griffin Hebert, Cowan Alfonso, Jayce LaCava and Wilton Taylor.