Ragin’ Cajuns softball adds third player in five days

LAFAYETTE — The Louisiana-Lafayette softball team has added its third player in less than a week.

The Ragin’ Cajuns announced Thursday morning that Gulf Coast State College infielder Kynadi Tipler had signed with the team and will be eligible to play for the 2018 season. The Hoover, Ala. native earned all-conference honors in 2017 after she batted .442 with 10 home runs and 71 RBI in her freshman season at the junior college in Panama City, Florida.

“Kynadi is an extremely strong and powerful hitter who will add power to our team,” Cajuns coach Gerry Glasco said in a statement. “She has tremendous potential to develop into a great offensive threat in the coming seasons.

“She is also an outstanding student in the classroom and her intelligence transfers over to the field,” Glasco added. “She is an extremely intelligent baserunner and has a high softball IQ, which is a product of being coached by outstanding coaches at Spain Park and Gulf Coast State. We’re excited about the addition of Kynadi to our program.”

Tipler is the third player the team has been added to the Cajuns roster since Sunday. 

Brittany Rodriguez, a two-time All-Southland Conference performer at Lamar University, transferred to the Cajuns on Sunday. The following day, the team announced the addition of sophomore infielder Brittany Holland, who earned first team NJCAA All-American honors last season at Central Arizona College.

Those three additions before Christmas, will help the Cajuns fill the void created by the recent departures of a trio of star players (senior shortstop and All-American D.J. Sanders, Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Alyssa Denham and All-American outfielder Aleah Creighton) who all transferred to Pac-12 programs following the firing of longtime coach Michael Lotief.

Lotief was dismissed by the university back on Nov. 1 for allegedly subjecting “student-athletes and co-workers to violent, vulgar language and verbal and physical assault, creating a hostile learning and working environment,” the university claimed following a lengthy investigation.

The new-look Louisiana-Lafayette softball team will open the 2018 season at Lamson Park on Feb. 8 against Stamford in the annual Mardi Gras Classic.