The Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team had its 17-man recruiting class tabbed No. 13 in the nation in the 2015 NCAA Div. I Collegiate Baseball Recruiting Survey, Collegiate Baseball Magazine announced Tuesday.

“I think anytime you get ranked in something, it’s good,” head coach Tony Robichaux said. “They don’t list my name on it; they list the university’s name, and that’s really great. I have to commend my entire coaching staff because that’s where a lot of the credit goes in recruiting. Those guys, Anthony Babineaux and Jeremy Talbot, spent a lot of time on the road. They spent a lot of time on the phone, and spent a lot of time sitting in baseball stadiums in 100 degree heat. I think you have to give those guys a lot of credit for all they have endured and given up to recruit for the university and bring in this class. It’s rewarding to know that your hard work has paid off.”

The Cajuns are the second highest non-power five program on the list behind No. 9 South Florida. UL is the only Sun Belt team to be ranked on the list and is one of two squads from the state ranked.

The rankings are based only on athletes who are on campus in school this fall. Factors include drafted players and the round they are chosen, All-Americans, All-State selections and All-Conference picks.

Collegiate Baseball also gives points for Conference Players of the Year, State Players of the Year and National Players of the Year.

“This is a nice award, but you also have to think about what the award actually is,” Robichaux stated. “It’s based on what we think some of these kids can do, rather than them having come in and done it. So that’s the toughest part about it. You have to try and stay grounded in the sense that it is a great award, but you still have to play the 56 games this spring.”

The 2015 class includes 12 position players and five pitchers. The team has been engaged in conditioning and individual workouts since the start of the fall semester in late August, and will open fall practice on Oct. 3.

“The excitement for us is getting on the other side of the draft,” Robichaux said. “We spend a lot of time building relationships with these guys, and it’s so tough when you lose a kid to the draft and you have to start all over again. This class we were able to get some guys in through the door. We appreciate that from those players because they had a chance to take some money and go into professional baseball. So we really appreciate them sticking with us and trying to help us ultimately get back to Omaha.”

The recruiting ranking is the highest in program history and comes on the heels of the Cajuns second straight NCAA Super Regional appearance. Louisiana has the second most wins (100) in the country in the last two seasons and finished the 2015 campaign ranked 16th in the nation.

“Recruiting is a big part of anything,” Robichaux stated. “That’s why we want to make sure that we have the facilities to take care of our players. The Student-Athlete Performance Center and everything going on around here has helped. The pictures that we are showing recruits and walking them through the new weight room have certainly helped us. That’s important with facilities because you are having guys turn down money to come play baseball here, so you want to make sure you have the facilities to help him when he is turning down money to go play professional baseball.”

The Ragin’ Cajuns open the 2016 campaign on Feb. 19-21 when they host Sam Houston State at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field.