Roger Cador

Sport: BaseballCoach

Induction Year: 2019

University: Southern

Was one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s top all-time coaches in any sport leading the baseball team at his alma mater, Southern University, for 33 seasons (1985-2017). Cador was an assistant baseball and basketball coach before being named SU’s baseball coach on Aug. 4, 1984 and built the team into one of the most respected HBCU programs in the nation. He compiled a career record of 913-597-1 (.604) in leading Southern to 14 conference titles and 11 NCAA tournaments.

In one of the most significant moments of his career, on May 21, 1987, Cador guided the Jaguars to a stunning 1-0 upset of No. 2-ranked Cal State Fullerton, which was the top seed for the NCAA South II regional at UNO. It was the first time an HBCU school won an NCAA tournament game.

Cador added two more NCAA tournament victories en route to posting a dozen 30-win seasons. He coached 10 All-Americans and had 62 players chosen in the MLB draft. Under Cador’s tutelage, second baseman Rickie Weeks, a two-time NCAA batting champion, won the 2003 Golden Spikes Award and was the second overall pick in the draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cador has long been an ambassador for Major League Baseball and has been lauded for raising money for Baton Rouge-area charities. He also oversaw the construction of SU’s Lee-Hines Field after the university president, one year before the titanic upset of Cal State Fullerton, said the program would never have an on-campus facility and would continue to play at a parish-owned stadium. Born 1-30-1951 in Ventress, La.