Jesse Cassard knows something about expectations. In his first three years as Zachary’s baseball coach, he guided the Broncos to Class 4A state titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Since then, his teams pretty much have been expected to compete for the state title.
Last year, the veteran-laden Broncos were seeded third in the state tournament, but were stunned by Archbishop Shaw 7-1 in the first round of the playoffs, putting an end to a 26-8 season. Seven players from that team signed to play college baseball.
In 2016, the expectations are there again for Cassard’s team to be contenders for the state title. He wouldn’t want it any other way despite the fact his team is younger than a year ago.
“We have a fairly young team, but we have some pitchers with experience,” Cassard said. “Our kids know how to play the game, so it’s not like they weren’t around it last year. We’ve had a great preseason practice period. I’ve seen nothing but great things from our kids.”
