Barbe’s Cecchini named National High School Baseball Coach of the Year

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Glenn Cecchini gathered his Barbe Bucs in a huddle near the mound following the team’s 8-2 win over Sam Houston in the state championship. The coach told his team with a smile, “Hey, you’re going to be national champions.” Little did he know, the national award would first be headed his way.

The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) announced Thursday that Cecchini was named its National High School Baseball Coach of the Year. On Tuesday, Cecchini led Barbe to its 10th state championship as the Bucs are currently ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Super 25 national rankings. Cecchini’s 2014 team was named national champs.

Earlier this year, Cecchini became the 13th high school baseball coach in the nation to win over 900 baseball games during his career. In 2018, Cecchini was inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame for his outstanding career that has spanned three decades.

“We are extremely pleased to honor Coach Cecchini,” said Eric Hess, Executive Director of the NHSCA. “He has established Barbe as one of the top baseball programs in Louisiana and the nation. He exhibits a strong dedication to supporting and developing his high school student-athletes in the classroom and outside of it.”

Cecchini is the first Louisiana coach to be named the NHSCA National Baseball Coach of the Year.

Past NHSCA National Baseball Coaches of the Year:

2018 – Eric Kibler – Horizon HS, Arizona

2017 – Todd Boyer – Shawnee HS, Oklahoma

2016 – Rich Bielski – Archbishop McCarty HS, Florida

2015 – Chan Brown – Parkview HS, Georgia

2014 – Ken Frank – Toms River South HS, New Jersey

2013 – Phil Clark – Bartlett High School, Bartlett, Tennessee

2012 – Gene Schultz – Kee HS, Iowa

2011 – Tom O’Connell – Catholic Central HS, Wisconsin

2010 - Jerry Dawson – Chaparral HS, Arizona

2009 – Guy Anderson – Cordova HS, California