Coach Gee Cassard’s recent recruiting class has brought in a lot of talent, and no player looks more promising than Louisiana native, Brooks McMinn.

McMinn went to St. Mary’s High School in Natchitoches where he lettered in baseball, football and track and field.

McMinn, who plays shortstop and second base for the ‘Pack, says that two players he has always tried to model his game after are Nomar Garciaparra, of the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Houston Astro, Craig Biggio.

McMinn won All-State, All-District and All-Parish honors for baseball at St. Mary’s. The school won two district championships during his tenure.

Brooks was introduced to the sport at the age of 4 by his father, who also played collegiate baseball.

McMinn has been a Boston Red Sox fan his entire life. Coming out of high school, he was recruited by a number of junior colleges, but chose Loyola due to its’ proximity to home and the potential that he saw in a rebuilding program.

“I was looked at by a bunch of junior colleges and some of the bigger schools (in the country), but I wasn’t really that interested,” he said. ” My high school coach talked to Coach Gee (Cassard) and we realized that Loyola was a good fit for me. I also did really well academically which gave me a lot of help.”

McMinn, like many students on campus, enjoys the small family-like atmosphere that Loyola provides, but thinks the athletic programs could use more support from the student body.

“I like how it’s a small school — the classes are small and it’s easy to get around. But, I don’t think the school is that involved in athletics. I’d like to see more involvement, especially with the baseball team. Of course, it’s hard since the field is so far away from campus. I don’t think many of the students actually care about the athletics,” he said.

Despite the lack of fan support, McMinn is enthusiastic about being a part of the Wolfpack and is excited about the future of the baseball program.

“I think Coach Gee did a really good job of recruiting this year; there’s a lot of really good freshmen. I think if he keeps it up we’ll be very good within a few years. This year really seems like a rebuilding year. There’s twelve freshmen who are all solid; this program’s going to make a name for itself very soon,” he said.

Dan Pitta can be reached at [email protected].