| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1955-12-20)December 20, 1955 (age 69) McDonald, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1974–1975 | Gulf Coast CC |
| 1976–1977 | Jacksonville |
| Position(s) | Catcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1977 | Jacksonville (Asst.) |
| 1978 | Wolfson High School (Asst.) |
| 1979 | LSU (Asst.) |
| 1980–1981 | Gulf Coast CC (Asst.) |
| 1982–1983 | Florida (Asst.) |
| 1984–1993 | LSU (Asst.) |
| 1994–2000 | Louisiana–Monroe |
| 2001 | LSU (Adm. Asst.) |
| 2002–2006 | LSU |
| 2007–2010 | Toronto Blue Jays (scout) |
| 2011–2017 | North Florida |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 688–428–1 |
| Tournaments | 17–17 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1995 SLC Tournament championship 1999 SLC Championship 2000 SLC Championship 2003 SEC Championship 2015 A-Sun Championship | |
| Awards | |
| 1995 LSWA Coach of the Year 1999 SLC Coach of the Year 2002 LSWA Coach of the Year 2003SEC Coach of the Year 2003 LSWA Coach of the Year 2004 LSWA Coach of the Year 2015 A-Sun Coach of the Year | |
Raymond Peter "Smoke" Laval (born December 20, 1955) is an Americancollege baseball coach who was the head coach of theUniversity of North FloridaOspreys. He is a former head coach of theLouisiana State UniversityTigers and theUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeIndians baseball teams. He has led his teams to twoCollege World Series, five conference championships, and sevenNCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances, and has received a number of coaching awards.
Laval was born inMcDonald, Pennsylvania. He enrolled atGulf Coast Community College in 1974, where he playedcatcher on thecollege baseball team. He transferred toJacksonville University in 1976, playing for theJacksonville Dolphins baseball team.
After college he served in a variety ofassistant coaching positions at Jacksonville,Wolfson High School,Louisiana State University, Gulf Coast Community College, and theUniversity of Florida from 1977 to 1983. In 1984 he took a longer term assistant position with theLSU Tigers baseball team under the legendary coachSkip Bertman. During that time the LSU program became one of the best in the nation winning twoNational Championships (1991 & 1993). As a result of the success at LSU, Laval was offered the head coaching position at nearbyUniversity of Louisiana at Monroe in 1993.
Laval became head coach of theNortheast Louisiana Indians (now the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks) for the 1994 season. Laval led the team to a 241–159 (.603) record, two NCAA tournament appearances, twoSouthland Conference regular season championships (1999 and 2000) and one Southland Conference tournament championship (1995). As a result of this success he attracted the attention of LSU in the wake of Skip Bertman's impending retirement.
LSU hired Laval as an administrative assistant for the baseball team under Bertman in 2001, with the intention of promoting him to head coach succeeding Bertman. Bertman retired at the end of that season having won five national championships and Laval took over head coaching duties in 2002. Expectations were high for the new coach, as one would expect following a legend like Bertman.
In 2002 Laval led the Tigers to a 44–22 record and an appearance in aSuper Regional in his first season. Things got even better in 2003, Laval's second season, as he led the team to a 45–22–1 record and their firstSoutheastern Conference regular season championship since 1997. He was named the 2003SEC Coach of the Year. He also led the team to an appearance in theCollege World Series as the #2 national seed. However, the Tigers went home after two straight losses.
2004 saw the Tigers compile a 46–19 record and included a return trip to the College World Series. Like the prior year, LSU went 0–2 in the CWS and was eliminated. LSU fans were not used to going winless in Omaha, leading to questions about Laval's ability to maintain the program's elite status. The 2005 Tigers struggled during the regular season but still managed to compile a 40–22 record. The team lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament and did not make an appearance in a Super Regional for the first time ever (Super Regionals began in 1999).
Although Laval's first four years were fairly solid, they were below Tiger fans had come to expect. He began feeling pressure from LSU fans and the athletic administration, and it was generally felt that 2006 would be a make-or-break season for him. Unfortunately for Laval, the Tigers had their worst season since 1983, the year before Bertman arrived. The team finished the season with a record of 35–24 and its first losing SEC record in 24 years. They missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years. Under pressure, Laval officially resigned on June 4, 2006. He finished his career at LSU with a record of 210–109–1 (.658) in five seasons.Notre Dame coachPaul Mainieri was hired to replace him.
Following his resignation, Laval worked as a scouting adviser for theToronto Blue Jays.
In 2009, theUniversity of North Florida announced that Laval would succeed Hall of Fame coachDusty Rhodes as head coach of theOspreys upon Rhodes' retirement.[1] He took over prior to the2011 season, becoming the second baseball coach in the school's history. He led the team to its firstAtlantic Sun Conference regular season championship in 2015 and was namedAtlantic Sun Conference coach of the year that season. Laval was removed as head coach after the 2017 season.
Below is a table of Laval's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Louisiana/Louisiana–Monroe(Southland Conference)(1994–2000) | |||||||||
| 1994 | Northeast Louisiana | 20–33 | 6–18 | 9th | |||||
| 1995 | Northeast Louisiana | 37–20 | 16–7 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1996 | Northeast Louisiana | 41–19 | 21–9 | 1st(Louisiana) | |||||
| 1997 | Northeast Louisiana | 33–21 | 17–11 | 2nd(Louisiana) | |||||
| 1998 | Northeast Louisiana | 33–22 | 13–9 | 2nd | |||||
| 1999 | Northeast Louisiana | 36–22 | 19–7 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2000 | Louisiana–Monroe | 41–22 | 20–7 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| NELA/ULM: | 241–159 (.603) | 112–68 (.622) | |||||||
| LSU(Southeastern Conference)(2002–2006) | |||||||||
| 2002 | LSU | 44–22 | 19–10 | 2nd(West) | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2003 | LSU | 45–22–1 | 20–9–1 | 1st(West) | College World Series | ||||
| 2004 | LSU | 46–19 | 18–12 | T–2nd(West) | College World Series | ||||
| 2005 | LSU | 40–22 | 18–12 | T–1st(West) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2006 | LSU | 35–24 | 13–17 | 4th(West) | |||||
| LSU: | 210–109–1 (.658) | 88–60–1 (.594) | |||||||
| North Florida(Atlantic Sun Conference)(2011–present) | |||||||||
| 2011 | North Florida | 27–27 | 13–17 | 8th | |||||
| 2012 | North Florida | 31–24 | 12–15 | 8th | |||||
| 2013 | North Florida | 40–19 | 18–9 | 3rd | |||||
| 2014 | North Florida | 22–31 | 11–16 | 8th | |||||
| 2015 | North Florida | 45–16 | 16–5 | 1st | |||||
| 2016 | North Florida | 39–19 | 15–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 2017 | North Florida | 33–24 | 12–9 | 4th | |||||
| North Florida: | 237–160 (.597) | 97–77 (.557) | |||||||
| Total: | 688–428–1 (.590) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
On August 27, 1999, the university officially changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Monroe