BEAUMONT, Texas – Five days remain on the calendar before Opening Day 2020 for Lamar University baseball, and that leaves more than enough time to break down the roster, position by position. Today we'll focus on the catcher, which will feature a significant veteran presence.
 
RETURNING PLAYERS
 
Rhett McCall – Jr.-2L – Mont Belvieu, Texas – Barbers Hill HS
The lone Cardinal in today's breakdown that played at catcher in a 2019 LU baseball game, Rhett McCall comes into the 2020 season with 48 starts in his career. McCall is a student-athlete that greatly benefitted from a Texas Collegiate League summer in the 2019 offseason, improving his batting average by almost .200. He showed a flash of extra base power with three doubles and two homers in 33 total hits, and he earned a reputation as a defensive presence behind the plate with just 12 stolen bases allowed in 44 games last season and eight runners caught stealing. He trailed only two catchers in the SLC in runners caught stealing.
 
"Rhett McCall took a huge step forward as a player last year," said head coach Will Davis. "Defensively he has really learned how to run the show back there, his blocking and receiving are stellar and he only allowed 12 stolen bases in 44 games last year."
 
Anthony Quirion – Sr.-1L – Dixville, Quebec, Canada - Clarendon JC (Academie les Estacades)
Anthony Quirion will mostly see play in the infield this year, but fans can expect to see him catching as well. The senior saw starts at first, second, and designated hitter in 2019, and added catching to his tool belt this past summer. Quirion was one of just two Cardinals to start in every game in 2019, and for a significant part of the season he led Lamar in home runs before surrendering that lead in the final month of the year. The Dixville, Quebec, native had a .289/.492/.340 line in 2019 with 57 hits including 12 doubles, two triples, and eight homers, and he accounted for a significant chunk of Big Red's offense with 25 runs scored and 26 RBIs. Defensively he excelled as well, finishing second in the SLC in total putouts. He had 18 putouts against McNeese on March 16, the most putouts by a single player in any conference game in 2019.
 
"Anthony Quirion is a Swiss Army knife for us," said Davis. "In addition to being a pre-season all-conference third baseman, he is also a solid defensive catcher."
 
Logan LeJeune – Jr.-2L – Port Neches, Texas – Port Neches-Groves HS
Logan LeJeune is another experienced student-athlete that will see time at multiple positions in 2020 with career starts at first, left field, right field, and designated hitter. He was an Honorable Mention All-SLC designated hitter in his freshman season, and is a career .214 hitter with 39 hits and 22 RBIs. LeJeune will be more discussed in the infielder preview later this week.
 
Up Next – Infield
The next position preview will come out on Tuesday when LamarCardinals.com examines the infield.