2026 CENLA Baseball Season Previews
by Marshall Loeffler
ALEXANDRIA – The Glenmora Wildcats are returning their entire core from a winning 2025 campaign with second-year head coach Gary Ashworth emphasizing maturity, fundamentals, and competing against top competition right out of the gate. The Wildcats skipper, a local product who played with many of the current players’ fathers, is in his second season steering the team and feels the program is on the right track, thanks to continuity and hard work.”Last year we had a winning season… we played in a lot of one-run games. Sometimes we were really big eyed and tried to do too much,” Ashworth said. “But they’ve been there… hopefully we’ve matured some and our preparation is going to pay off this season. We really worked hard all through the summer, the fall, and we prepare to win the one-run game every day.”
The Wildcats boast remarkable roster stability—no players graduated after 2025, and none are slated to leave after this year—meaning the same group that gained valuable experience returns intact. Leadership falls to the sophomores and juniors, whom Ashworth encourages not to “try to win the game on every pitch” while reminding them to “take what the game gives you” and avoid forcing plays. He’s stressed training leadership: “we as coaches got to train them how to be leaders… they don’t just wake up one day and they have leadership ability, but you got to train them to do it the right way.”
Pitching and defense form the foundation, with Glenmora’s returning arms providing enough experience on the mound to get started. Offensively, the Wildcats are scrappy and contact-oriented: eliminate strikeouts, improve two-strike approaches, put the ball in play, foul off tough pitches, execute bunts, and do the “little things” to manufacture runs. “We’ve really, really worked on our two-strike approach and just putting it in play… eliminate the strikeout and get the bunt down, you know, do the little things, like we always say,” Ashworth explained.
The schedule wastes no time testing the team. The regular season opens in a tournament against 5A Airline, followed by Beaumont Kelly and Sulfur—deliberate choices to gain exposure. “Why not start your season off there, because that’s where you want to end your season… go and compete against the best you can and get after it. You’ll get exposed, and hopefully find out who you are, how to compete,” Ashworth said. The home opener against Plainview is followed by Evangel, all while they juggle multi-sport commitments.
Ashworth also highlighted the passionate community support in Glenmora: “I’m originally from here… I played with these guys [the dads]. I can speak freely… they trust me with their kid… we have passionate people. We’re very passionate about our kids.” He views the rising expectations in his second year as healthy and expects fan turnout to match enthusiasm this year. The emphasis on maturity, small-ball execution, and winning the close ones positions them for a strong push this spring. As Ashworth put it, it’s still a “kids game”—but one they’re prepared to play at a high level.
