Anthony Ray Robichaux (September 10, 1961 – July 3, 2019) was an American
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
Robichaux played at McNeese State, and became interim head coach immediately after ending his playing career. He was made permanent head coach following the 1987 season, and remained with the Cowboys until 1994. Only once in his time at McNeese State did the Cowboys finish below .500, and in his final season he led the team to their first 40 win season and first national ranking. Robichaux's pitching staffs placed among the nation's top six three times in five years, including 2nd in 1990. He is currently the all-time winningest coach at McNeese State, with 263 victories leading the Cowboys.
Louisiana
For the 1995 season, Robichaux was hired as the head coach of the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team. In his twenty-five seasons with the school, he led his team to twelve NCAA Regionals, four NCAA Super Regionals, the 2000 College World Series, and two athletic name changes (In 1999, the name changed from Southwestern Louisiana to Louisiana-Lafayette. In 2018, the athletic name was officially changed to Louisiana). In addition, Robicheaux coached the team to five
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams partici ...
Jefferson, Louisiana
Jefferson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the north side (referred to as the "East Bank") of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner metropolit ...
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
(whose assistant coach was also assistant under Robichaux) as well as
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
wore #36, a symbol of Tony Robichaux on batting helmets, hats, and jerseys.
During a 2020 midweek game between Louisiana and McNeese State, two of Robichaux's former teams, home team McNeese renamed their bullpen in Robichaux's honor.
Protégés
Seven of Robichaux's assistants went on to become college head coaches:
Matt Deggs
Matt Deggs (born August 20, 1971) is an American baseball coach and former infielder, who is the current head baseball coach for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He played college baseball at Alvin Community College (1991–1992) then transferred to N ...
Wade Simoneaux
Wade Simoneaux is a former head coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball team. Before coming to Louisiana Tech for the 2003 season, he served as the hitting coach, recruiting coordinator, and infield coach for the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin ...
at
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...