Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech Softball head coach Josh Taylor was selected as the 2024 Conference USA Coach of the Year in a vote among the league’s head coaches.
In addition to Taylor’s honor, Bulldogs Alexis Gilio and Brooke Diaz were named first team all-CUSA while Claire Raley, Allie Floyd and Kylie Neel were named second team all-league. Rookie Mattison Buster was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team.
Taylor led the Bulldogs to a 31-20 mark that featured a third-straight 30+ win season, and he guided the Bulldogs to marquee wins over Sun Belt champion UL-Lafayette, Mountain West champion San Diego State and Southland Conference champion McNeese (three times) while also defeating Power Fives in Georgia Tech and Illinois.
Taylor has now won CUSA Coach of the Year honors in two of his three seasons at Louisiana Tech, having previously won the honor in 2022 after leading the Bulldogs to a CUSA Regular Season Championship and 39-20 overall record.
He is just the second coach in program history to guide Tech to 30+ wins in each of his first three seasons. Taylor has a record of 102-64 in his three seasons at LA Tech. His 102 wins during his first three seasons at LA Tech are the most by all current CUSA coaches in their first three seasons at their respective schools.
Taylor is just the second Tech softball coach to earn conference coach of the year honors, joining Mark Montgomery (2019). He is the first coach in program history to win multiple CUSA Coach of the Year honors.
The six all-conference selections are the fourth most in program history, trailing only the seven selections in 2017 and 2022 and eight selections in 2019. The Bulldogs’ six selections on the first, second, and all-freshman teams were the third-most in the conference, trailing Liberty and WKU, who both had eight.
Diaz earned first-team recognition for the first time in her career and previously was a second-team selection in 2022. The Eagle Pass, Texas native, has had an outstanding senior season, batting .265 with 26 hits, seven doubles, and 11 RBI. Her .265 batting average marked a 75-point improvement from a year ago. Defensively, Diaz has been one of the top catchers in the country, ranking 23rd nationally and leading CUSA with 13 runners caught stealing this season. Her first-team All-CUSA selection is the first for a Louisiana Tech catcher in the CUSA era (2014-present).
Gilio has made an immediate impact in her first season in Ruston. The BYU transfer leads LA Tech with a .380 batting average while registering 60 hits, 22 RBI, 29 runs scored, 19 walks, and a team-leading 14 stolen bases. She has recorded multiple hits in each of her last four games and has 20 multi-hit games this season. Her 60 hits were the most by a CUSA player this season. In addition to leading the league in hits, she ranked among the league leaders in numerous categories, including batting average (5th, .380), on-base percentage (7th, .443), and sacrifice flies (T-1st, 4).
Floyd has been a force in the circle for Louisiana Tech in 2024. The sophomore right-hander leads the Bulldogs with a 13-8 record, 77 strikeouts, and 137.1 innings pitched while posting a 2.70 ERA and limiting opposing hitters to a .241 batting average. Her 13 wins this season are the sixth-most by a sophomore in program history and rank third among all CUSA pitchers. She leads LA Tech and ranks second in the league with five saves. Floyd also ranks among the league leaders in innings pitched (3rd, 137.1), ERA (6th, 2.70), and strikeouts (T-6, 77).
Neel earned second-team accolades for the third straight season. The Richmond, Texas, product was among the league’s best hitters during the conference slate. Neel led CUSA with eight doubles during league play and posted a team-leading 11 doubles in the regular season, the 17th-most during a single season in program history. During league play, she also ranked among the CUSA leaders in hit-by-pitch (T-6th, 3), slugging percentage (8th, .647), and RBI (T-8th, 17).
Raley has started all 51 games at third base during her first season as a Bulldog. Offensively, she has posted 11 multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games. Raley is batting .280 this season with 47 hits, four doubles, four triples, four home runs, 15 RBI and a team-leading 32 runs scored. Her four home runs this season have tied a single-season career high, which she set last year at Utah State. The Clovis, Calif., product led CUSA with four triples while ranking among the league leaders in sacrifice bunts (T-3rd, 8) and stolen bases (9th, 11).
Buster has been outstanding in her rookie season for the Bulldogs. The freshman led Conference USA with a 1.57 earned run average in 26.2 innings pitched during league play. She also led the league in numerous additional statistical categories during the conference slate, including hits allowed (27), runs allowed (8), earned runs allowed (6), and walks allowed (3). Overall, she has posted a 2.72 ERA with 24 strikeouts and two saves in 46.1 innings pitched.
The Bulldogs will open play at the CUSA Championship on Wednesday as the No. 3 seed when they face sixth-seeded UTEP at 3:30 p.m. (CT). Coverage for all games leading up to the championship game will be available through ESPN+, with the title game set to air on CBS Sports Network.
