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Roger Cador, legendary Southern baseball coach and player, dies at 74
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BATON ROUGE — Southern University baseball legend Roger Cador has died at the age of 74.
Cador played basketball and baseball for the Jaguars in the early 70's, a time he called a "golden era" for HBCU baseball. He led the team in 1972 with a .393 batting average before being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1973, according to the American Baseball Coaches Association.
After five seasons in Atlanta, Southern brought him on as an assistant coach for the basketball and baseball teams for a few years.
In 1985, he was named Southern's head baseball coach, a position he held for the next 33 years, according to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Before he retired in 2017, Cador led the Jaguars to 14 conference titles and 11 NCAA tournaments with a career record of 913-597-1. He coached 10 All-Americans and 62 MLB draftees, including 2003 Golden Spikes winner Rickie Weeks.
In 1987, Cador's Jags became the first HBCU school to win an NCAA tournament game in a 1-0 upset over No. 2-ranked Cal State Fullerton, his Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame entry reads.
He was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
“Coach Roger Cador was far more than a baseball coach — he was a visionary, a mentor, a leader and a true pillar of the Jaguar Nation," Southern University Athletic Director Roman Banks said. "His impact on Southern University and HBCU baseball is immeasurable. For more than three decades, he built a championship culture, developed generations of student-athletes, and inspired countless lives both on and off the field."
"Coach Cador’s legacy extends far beyond his wins, championships and accolades," Banks continued. "He represented the very best of Southern University — excellence, pride, commitment and service. The foundation he built, the lives he touched, and the standard he established will continue to guide our baseball program and the Jaguar Nation for generations to come. We are forever grateful for his extraordinary contributions and the lasting mark he leaves on our university.”
"Coach Roger Cador was a Southern University legend whose impact reached far beyond the baseball diamond, touching the lives of the hundreds of student-athletes he coached and mentored throughout his extraordinary career," said John K. Pierre, Chancellor of Southern University and A&M College. "He built one of the nation's most respected baseball programs while helping to shape generations of young men into leaders. His legacy will forever remain a cherished part of Southern University's history."
"Coach Cador is Southern Baseball. When I was considering coming back to Southern in 2019 to be an assistant, I called to ask for his blessing. True to Coach Cador, he gave me a hard time at first, then said, “I know it’s in your heart. Come on back,” Chris Crenshaw, Head Coach of Southern Baseball, said. "Those words meant more to me than he ever knew. His support and belief in me helped bring me back home. Coach Cador was more than a coach he was a mentor, a born leader, and a true Southern man. Coach and I had a saying that will always be special to me, he said he would be holding my hand through it all and I know he will continue to hold my hand until the end. I will always be grateful for his guidance and the impact he had on my life and our program. Thank you, Coach! Your legacy will live on forever."
Cador was fighting brain cancer before his death.
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