With the season for the majority of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s fall sports coming to an end, it’s about time to play a little game of check up on Ragin’ Cajuns athletics.
Starting with football, the Cajuns are one win away from becoming Bowl eligible. With a current record of 5-3, the Cajuns have a chance to finish the regular season with up to nine wins. This comes after a 2025 record of 6-7 where the Cajuns had to claw back after starting 2-6. However, the Cajuns are aiming for more than just a Bowl appearance this season. The ultimate goal is the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championship.
As of writing this, a conference championship appearance seems unlikely. The Cajuns are currently 2-2 in conference play and tied for second place in the SBC West. Leading the charge right now in the western division is the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, who came out victorious against the Cajuns earlier this season.
A conference championship game for the Cajuns would require LA Tech losing the rest of their conference games and the Cajuns winning out.
The key to this year’s team has been their strong defense, allowing only 21 points per game on the year so far. They’ve held four teams to 14 or less points and have only allowed three opponents to score more than 30 points, one of those opponents being the then No. 14 USC Trojans. The Cajuns’ standout player far-and-away has been sophomore cornerback Brent Gordon Jr., who’s currently a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award.
As for the soccer team, the Cajuns are having a historic year for the program. The Cajuns currently hold a record of 11-5-3 overall and 5-3-2 in conference play. They’ve had several strong wins throughout the year, including a 3-2 win over the then No. 15 Texas State Bobcats.
The team is currently led by sophomore midfielder Miku Kurihara and Redshirt-sophomore forward Carson Glenn. Kurihara and Glenn have placed themselves as two of the conference’s top goal scorers. They are second and third respectively in the SBC for goals scored this season, with Kurihara’s 12 goals and Glenn’s 11. Louisiana is currently tied for fourth place in the SBC, looking to make noise in the conference tournament.
Moving on to volleyball, it hasn’t entirely been the season the team anticipated. The Cajuns volleyball team is currently 12-13 overall and 7-5 in conference play. They have two more series before moving on to the SBC Championship tournament. One of their key players has been junior opposite hitter Sarah Schnell. Schnell recently posted a career-high 22 kills in a win against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on Oct. 31.
Across the three sports mentioned, the common strength they all share is the ability to protect their home turf. In home games this season, the soccer program has a record of 6-2-1. Volleyball currently holds a 7-5 record at home, while football remains undefeated at home with a 4-0 record.
Men’s and women’s basketball are officially kicking off their seasons respectively. For the men’s basketball program, Head Coach Quannas White plans to build off of his first season coaching with an improved roster. The program had an 11-22 record last season, but started picking things up towards the tail end of the season.
With returning key players like forward Todd Jones Jr. and guard Jamyron Keller, and new additions like freshman forward Tyshawn Duncan, the Cajuns are on a mission to make some noise this season.
For the women’s basketball program, the main goal this season should be becoming competitive. The Lady Cajuns only won five games the season prior, and only two in conference play. They won their last exhibition game against the Mississippi Christian Choctaws, but actual performance left a lot to be desired.
The Cajuns held their opponents to only nine points the entire first half, leading 39-9. However, the Cajuns allowed 54 second-half points for the final score to be 75-63. One of the weaknesses last season for the Lady Cajuns was the loss of energy after halftime. If this issue persists throughout the regular season, the team may be looking at a similar record to their 2025-26 outing.
The Cajuns women’s team starts their season off against the Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Nuggets on Nov. 3. The Cajuns men’s team’s first game sees them take on the Akron Zips Nov. 2.