February 5, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

The province of Quebec walked away with three players taking home honours from the Canadian Baseball Network’s recent All-Canadian Team First Team rankings.

The province tied with British Columbia with three players while Ontario led the way with five, while Saskatchewan followed with one representative of their own.

For right-hander L.P Langevin (Quebec, Que.), who earned the All-Canadian First Team relief pitcher honour, the rankings and recognition mean a lot to him because of where he comes from.

“It was nice seeing my name on the list because you are seeing your name alongside some guys who got drafted (Matt Duffy, Matt Wilkinson, and Brady Cerkownyk) and that’s pretty incredible to see,” said Langevin, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “The best thing and certainly what makes me the most proud is seeing Robin Villeneuve (Gatineau, Que.) and Pier-Olivier Boucher (Saint-Joseph-de-Bauce, Que.) also on the list, representing the province of Quebec. Villeneuve and I played travel ball and high school ball together and to see both of us and Boucher getting ranked on the All-Canadian First Team is an incredible honour.”

Pitching for the Wabash Valley College Warriors last year, the right-hander appeared in 22 games, sporting a 2.48 ERA while also making eight starts for the program. He struck out 92 batters through 58 innings and also racked up three saves early in the campaign before transitioning into a hybrid role for the club, working out of the rotation and bullpen down the stretch.

“It was a new beginning becoming a starter because I started the year as the team’s closer,” said Langevin. “Halfway through the season, our coaches were looking for a third starter and I put my name in the bucket and they gave me a chance to make some starts.”

His first start came against Frontier Community College on March 11, where he lasted three innings and allowed just one hit and one earned run in the contest while striking out five. His next start came roughly one month later on April 14, where he went four innings at Kaskaskia and allowed three hits and two earned runs.

Langevin’s presence on the mound helped the Warriors advance to the NJCAA College World Series which included a start in the semi-finals versus Weatherford College (and former teammate Villeneuve) to send the Warriors to the championship game. He also made one relief appearance in the second championship contest against Central Florida, where he kept the opposing team hitless through 3 1/3 innings of work with four strikeouts.

“I think the biggest difference between starting and relief work was knowing when I was going to throw and planning my routine and lifts accordingly,” said Langevin. “As a closer, you don’t know when you are going to throw but as a starter, you know you are going to get the ball one of the weekend days and I can do my prep ahead of time, which I think made my body feel a lot better. When closing, you have such a different mentality when you enter high-pressure situations and as a starter, you are thinking long-term and have a more refined game plan, especially going through multiple innings and multiple times through the opposing batting order. I was taking that closer’s mentality towards being a starter but the only difference was that I was going more than one inning.”

For the 2024 campaign, the Academie du Baseball Canada product is taking his talents from Mount Caramel, Indiana to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he joins head coach Matt Deggs and the Ragin’ Cajuns roster. This program is Division 1 in the Sun Belt Conference that features programs such as Coastal Carolina (pre-ranked 18th best program by D1Baseball.com), Old Dominion, Arkansas State, and Texas State.

The Ragin’ Cajuns first game is slated for Friday, February 16 against Wright State and the club will also play in the Astros Foundation College Classic in early March at Minute Maid Park, taking on Vanderbilt, Houston, and rivals Louisiana State University. The NCAA Regionals are currently scheduled for May 31 to June 3, with the sites to be determined.

“This program is full of absolute grinders,” laughed Langevin, speaking about the Ragin’ Cajuns squad. “Everybody has earned their spot on this team and the coaching staff and training is very in-depth and tailored in a way similar to what I was doing at the time at Wabash. Even with LSU being so close and also a talented program, this team is full of guys who were given another chance to play, some coming back from surgeries or finding a new opportunity for playing time; just a bunch of guys playing through adversity. We play hard day in and day out and I think it’s a tough program, which I think is awesome for my development. It has the JUCO mentality and an extremely talented squad that I think can do some damage this season.”

The Ragin’ Cajuns squad ranked 23rd overall by D1Baseball.com within the 2024 Transfer Class rankings as the club added 22 new players this past transfer cycle. The club finished with a 41-24 record last season and bowed out in the NCAA regionals at the hands of the University of Miami in the elimination bracket, one win away from advancing to the finals against Texas after the Ragin’ Cajuns bested Maine in their previous do or die game.

Featuring a fastball that can reach the mid-90s and an ability to strikeout batters at a high clip, Langevin is looking to be a dependable arm for the squad and his coaches, regardless of where he ends up.

“My goal personally is to be a guy trusted by the coaches and be one of the ‘dudes’ on the team. If we are in a tough situation, I want the coaches to know they can turn to me to help get this club out of a jam. For me, I want to win. I will roll with whatever spot the coaches think is best for me and whatever role they need me to be in to help this program win, I will absolutely be that person. The goal is to win the Sun Belt Conference and go to Regionals, and not just advance to Regionals but host as well, having some of the best programs come to our home and put on a show there in front of a home crowd. We have a good schedule and looking at our team, we are going to do some special things. They are the most talented team I have ever seen in my life and I think we can go all the way against some tough programs with the crew we have given our talent and chemistry. We are ready to go and ready to win.”