Winning a state championship certainly is not a requirement when it comes to Player of the Year honors. Winning titles did not hurt the case of the two players who lead the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 5A baseball/softball all-state teams.

Ouachita Parish’s Abby Allen and John Curtis’ Cade Beloso, who were named the Most Valuable Players in softball and baseball, respectively, by an LSWA panel.

New Iberia Senior High School’s Carson Romero and Carli Judice were honorable mentions to the baseball and softball teams, respectively.

Just a sophomore, Allen hit .505 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs for the Lions, who rallied from a seven-run deficit against Hahnville to win 10-9. Allen went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in the victory.

LSU signee Beloso led the Patriots to their second consecutive state championship, hitting .489 with 13 homers and 37 RBIs. He was 2-for-3 in the Division I state title victory over St. Paul’s.

Two New Orleans-area coaches were honored by the LSWA. After just missing in 2017, Jeff Curtis was named the 5A Coach of the Year for baseball after his team won a second straight Division I title and finished 31-4, including just two losses against Louisiana opponents.

Hahnville’s Jerry Nugent is the 5A Coach of the Year for softball. The Tigers also went 31-4.

Other All-State honorees in baseball include three members from John Curtis, including pitchers Will Ripoll and Ian Landreneau, as well as catcher Jay Curtis. Sulphur placed two on the team in pitcher Chance Stone and outfielder Connor Cooke. Zachary also placed two in outfielder River Town and utility player Rhett Hebert.

The Patriots also placed multiple players make 5A softball squad, as freshman outfielder Sierra Sacco and senior utility player Alyssa Dean were honored. Ouachita had three players honored in Allen, Alyssa Allen and pitcher Allie Ellerbe.

Mt. Carmel had Shelby Wickersham and Jordyn Perkins on the team. Alexandria’s Caroline Manzer and Briahna Bennett also were named to the team.