A HIT SINCE 1912

percentage from .559 to .574 and saw outfielder Cort Brinson earn Southland Conference Hitter and Student-Athlete of the Year honors.

In 2016, Oller was one of three Demons drafted (Nick Heath, Daniel Garner) from an NSU team that won its final 10 Southland Conference games of the year, setting a school record for consecutive conference victories, one that remains active entering the 2017 season.

Former NSU Academic All-American Bobby Barbier took the reins of his alma mater’s program prior to 2017 and began putting his stamp on the program. A tough 2017 season as a team had its highlights, including Fry’s ABCA First-Team All-South Central Region selection.

A year later, Barbier’s charges did what no other Demons team ever accomplished — winning the Southland Conference Tournament championship. NSU swept the event in four straight games behind an MVP performance from Fry and advanced to the Corvallis Regional where it went 1-2, notching the program’s first NCAA Regional shutout, a 9-0 blanking of San Diego State.

Fry was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and All-Louisiana Hitter of the Year while pitcher Jerry Maddox earned Southland and All-Louisiana Newcomer of the Year honors. Barbier picked up Southland and All-Louisiana Coach of the Year acclaim as well as the ABCA Central Region Coach of the Year award. In June, Fry (7th round, Milwaukee) and outfielder Kwan Adkins (30th round, San Francisco) became Major League Baseball draftees.

The 2018 Demons won 18 more games than the 2017 team, marking the largest single-season jump in program history.

Barbier continued to burnish Northwestern State’s player development reputation, producing two more draft picks — right-handed pitcher Nathan Jones (5th round, New York Mets) and shortstop Caleb Ricca (23rd round, Seattle) — in 2019.

Even in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Barbier’s Demons made school history.

Hofmann went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 28 innings, earning second-team All-American honors before being drafted in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hofmann was part of a trio of Demon pitchers who earned All-America honors, marking a first for the program.

Right-hander Johnathan Harmon was a Freshman All-American selection by Collegiate Baseball magazine while closer Kyle Swanson earned Third-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, giving the Demons their first single-season All-American trifecta in program history.

In 2021, the Demons continued their draft success as right-hander Levi David was selected by the New York Mets in the ninth round. Second baseman Daunte Stuart extended the Demons’ Freshman All-American streak to two, earning honors from Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Following the 2022 season, the Demons produced the Southland Conference’s first draft pick for the fourth time in five seasons as the Cincinnati Reds nabbed right-handed pitcher Johnathan Harmon in the 13th round of the annual MLB FirstYear Player Draft.