Editor’s note: I originally wrote this article for The Louisiana Weekly, which published it in the issue of July 13, 2026. I’ve added a few more things to the article for this post.

HBCU baseball and collegiate sports overall lost a shining light on June 30 with the passing of former Southern University baseball coach Roger Cador, who piloted the Jaguars’ program for more than three decades and became a legend along the way.

Cador, himself a Southern graduate and a native of New Roads, La., in Point Coupee Parish, was 75.

“Coach Roger Cador was far more than a baseball coach – he was a visionary, a mentor, a leader and a true pillar of the Jaguar Nation,” SU Athletics Director Roman Banks said in a press release. “His impact on Southern University and HBCU baseball is immeasurable. For more than three decades, he built a championship culture, developed generations of student-athletes, and inspired countless lives both on and off the field.

“Coach Cador’s legacy extends far beyond his wins, championships and accolades. He represented the very best of Southern University — excellence, pride, commitment and service. The foundation he built, the lives he touched, and the standard he established will continue to guide our baseball program and the Jaguar Nation for generations to come. We are forever grateful for his extraordinary contributions and the lasting mark he leaves on our university.”

In a statement after Cador’s passing, the American Baseball Coaches Association – into whose Hall of Fame Cador was inducted in 2022 – said the SU great was “one of the most accomplished coaches in college baseball history and a tireless advocate for HBCU baseball.”

“Cador’s impact extended far beyond Southern,” the ABCA statement added. “A passionate ambassador for HBCU baseball, he helped increase national exposure for Historically Black Colleges and Universities through initiatives such as the Urban Baseball Invitational, now the Andre Dawson Classic, while working alongside Major League Baseball to expand opportunities for student-athletes and grow the game in underserved communities.”

Cador coached the Jaguars for 33 years before retiring in 2017. In that time, he took a program with few resources and even less public recognition and guided Southern to two HBCU national championships, 14 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles and 11 NCAA Tournament Regionals appearances. In 1987, under his guidance the Jaguars became the first HBCU team to win an NCAA Regional game by beating No. 2 Cal State-Fullerton, 1-0. Cador compiled an overall record of 913-597-1 as the Jags’ head coach, making him one of the winningest college baseball coaches of all time. In addition, more than 60 of his players went on to be taken in the Major League Baseball Draft, and he coached 10 All-Americans during his career. He also received SWAC Coach of the Year honors 13 times.

Jay Sokol, who created and manages the Web site blackcollegenines.com and wrote a book about the history of HBCU baseball, said he feels honored to have known Cador.

“I didn’t know Roger during his coaching days, but of course I knew of him and his coaching achievements,” Sokol told The Louisiana Weekly. “I’m proud that I did get to know him after his retirement working on projects and loved his smile, laugh, positive attitude and the way he made you feel special.”

In addition to his induction into the ABCA Hall of Fame, Cador was an inductee into the SWAC Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

In an interview with this reporter several years ago, Cador said HBCU teams have been a crucial part of college baseball for a long time and deserve to be recognized for their contributions to the sport.

“It’s a story that’s extremely important for the making of the history of American baseball,” he said.

The coach added in the interview that HBCU baseball has produced a great number of players who have gone on to make an impact on professional baseball, beginning decades ago.

“There were several guys who played in the big leagues at some point,” Cador said. “That says a lot about how important [HBCU baseball] was. There were a lot of great people that played baseball and were important to baseball.”

Cador said back then that HBCU baseball was due for a resurgence, a prediction that has been proven current in recent years.

“We are in a good situation where we can try to get the good players back,” he said. “We have the right things we need to attract them.”

In June 2019, the USA Today Network wire produced an article that was subsequently published in the Alexandria, La., Town Talk newspaper and served as a retrospective of Cador’s career.

In the story, reporter Mike Gegenheimer quoted several of the Southern coach’s old friends and associates, including the great Dusty Baker, who knew Cador from their playing days and who assisted the latter in getting the resurrected Southern baseball program off the ground.

Baker discussed for the article why Cador was so beloved.

“It’s his genuineness,” Baker said. “The fact that he cares so much about the game, his players, the school of Southern University, and you want to help somebody that has that deep, genuine concern for what they’re doing. He’s touched many, many lives.”

Legendary Louisiana State University baseball coach Skip Bertman, a close friend of Cador’s, told Gegenheimer this about what Cador meant to Southern and his players.

“Roger has never complained one bit and has been a great representative of Southern University,” Bertman said. “He didn’t have everything that I had or the coach at LSU now has … Whenever he asked for something, it was always for the players. He never asked for himself.”

Likewise, the late Tony Robichaux, longtime coach of University of Louisiana baseball, described how Cador found success.

“He’s never let what he does for a living become who he is,” Robichaux said. “We have to be so careful in sports that sports can define us. … The thing I respect about Roger is, he’s never let the game define him. It’s the way he’s lived his life. It’s his personality.”

To commemorate Cador’s retirement at the time, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a resolution honoring his lifetime of service to the sport of baseball and the state of Louisiana. The document stated, in part, that “Coach Cador built the Southern University Jaguar baseball team into one of the most well-respected and successful baseball programs in the country” and that the coach “is an ambassador to the sport of baseball around the world …” 

The resolution also noted that the achievement of which Cador was most proud was the program’s roughly 80-percent graduation rate, quoting Cador: “I receive a tremendous amount of satisfaction in helping a young man grow from adolescence to manhood and accomplish his goals. They revitalize me with the courage and effort they put forth. After four or five years the end product makes it all worthwhile.”

The resolution added that “it is appropriate to commend and celebrate this beloved coach who is widely respected and had one of the most influential careers in the sport of baseball.”

It concluded:

“THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend and salute Coach Roger Cador upon his retirement after leading Southern University’s baseball program for thirty-three years; does hereby commend his dedication to his student-athletes, Southern University baseball, and the sport of baseball; and does hereby recognize and record for posterity his outstanding accomplishments.”