By T. Scott Boatright
When Choudrant High School head baseball coach Joel Antley recently told CHS principal Chris Jones it was time for him to move on from leading the Aggie baseball program, Jones knew his new hire had to be a good one.
After all, Antley has been coach since July 2022, leading Choudrant to the state tournament in 2023 after taking over the role from his cousin, Tony Antley, who led the Aggies to state titles in 2022, 2021, 2017, 2005, 2002 and 1996.
To try to make that good hire happen, Jones reached out to another proven championship winner, longtime North Louisiana coach Tim O’Neal, who has nearly 25 years of coaching experience, including leading Ouachita Christian to a 2015 state title before helping OCS earn a Louisiana Class 1A runner-up trophy in 2017.
Jones announced O’Neal as the new head coach for the Aggies on Tuesday.
“First off, we want to thank Joel Antley for the four years that he gave us as the skipper at CHS,” Jones said. “He always did a great job of taking care of our kids and making sure we were ready to compete. He also does a great job in the classroom.
“I’m really excited about adding Tim O’Neal to our staff. We have some young guys on staff, and being around him is going to develop them for the future. Everybody in the state of Louisiana who has spent much time around high school baseball knows who Tim is and knows the knowledge that he brings to our program.”
O’Neal, who is also executive director of the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association, has a career coaching record of 362-198, helping guide programs such as D’Arbonne Woods, St. Frederick High School, Ruston High School, Neville and Ouachita Christian.
Jones said he first met O’Neal in 1998.
“My dad actually hired him to come to St. Frederick High School, and I just missed out on getting to play for him,” Jones said. “I asked several of my friends who did play for him what their thoughts were about him, and they said that he was the best baseball coach they had ever had, and that included their college coaches.
“Tim knows the game inside and out, and I think he’s gonna do a great job of leading our young men. He’s an old-school coach, and he believes in discipline and hard work, and we can’t wait to see what he’s gonna do here at CHS.”
O’Neal, who has a career coaching record of 362-198, said he feels good about Choudrant’s returning corps of players, including 2026 first-team All-District and LBCA All-Region 2 selections Cash Camp and Cam Bagwell, for the 2027 season but plans to build for the future, too.
“The goal is leading them to another state championship. I’m going to work hard at it, and I expect them to work hard, too,” said O’Neal, a product of West Monroe High School. “I look forward to building the kind of relationships that can help make that happen and bringing them back to the level of play they reached year after year for so long. We have some solid arms, maybe five of them. We’re going to expect toughness. We’re going to expect a solid work ethic, both on the field and in the classroom.
“We’re looking for kids that want to play this game and want to represent Choudrant the way it deserves to be represented. We’re going to try to start them young and build them from the junior varsity level on up. We’ve got a group of solid junior and senior players capable of contending for a state title. We want to do that year by year, so we’re going to start building a brighter future early on by building this program with the younger kids all the way up to the seniors. We want Choudrant to be that respected baseball power on a yearly basis.”
College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Wilbert Ellis of Grambling State University was elated to hear of O’Neal’s return to coaching in Lincoln Parish.
“He helps me with my baseball camps,” Ellis said. “He’s all about serving the game and the youth who play it. I am thrilled to see this happen and hopefully get a chance to see him coaching next season. He knows so much about the game of baseball. This is a really good hire for Choudrant.”
