Lane Burroughs receives contract extension

Lane Burroughs isn’t going anywhere.

After eight seasons as head coach of Louisiana Tech baseball, Burroughs was officially given a new, five-year contract extension Friday to keep him in Ruston through the 2029 season.

“I would like to thank Dr. Henderson and Ryan Ivey for believing in me and our program and trusting us to continue leading the Bulldogs at the Love Shack for the next five years,” Burroughs said in a statement. “I say it all the time and truly mean it that being the head baseball coach at Louisiana Tech is one the highest honors of my life. We take our job and the responsibilities that come with that very seriously.”

“My family and I absolutely love the Ruston community and our great university,” Burroughs said. “We are forever grateful to the people we have met and friends we have made, while being at Tech. Our fans, alumni and season ticket holders have continued to support us at an unprecedented level.”

In his eight seasons, Burroughs has helped develop 11 of the program’s 14 All-Americans and recruited the school’s only CUSA Player of the Year in Ethan Bates. Prior to Burroughs taking over in 2017, LA Tech had been to eight NCAA Regionals in 45 years. Now, the program has made three trips in the last four years.

Since 2017, Tech has the most wins (278) of any Division I mid-major program in Louisiana.

Tech Athletic Director Ryan Ivey told the Leader signing Burroughs to a long-term deal was a no-brainer given the program’s success.

“It’s huge. To me, it was one of my number one priorities as we went through this year and looked at the timing to do that,” Ivey said. “Lane has done a phenomenal job as our head baseball coach. I envision he’ll continue to do that. That’s where, when we look at the future of college athletics, for us in our department, baseball has got to be really important for us. Locking him, creating stability in this time of instability, I think is crucial to our future success.”

Coming off a 45-19 season – the second most wins in school history – along with a Conference USA Regular Season Championship in 2024, Burroughs expects the program to continue thriving.

“It is so great to see what we have all built together the last eight years through hard work, great players, tremendous coaches, loyal fans and a supportive administration. We are looking forward to a brighter future and continuing to build and grow Louisiana Tech baseball,” Burroughs said.

Given Burroughs’ 278-161 record at Tech, including three 40-win seasons, and ability to compete on a national level, Ivey said Tech baseball is worth major investment in the future.

“When you look at the investments we’ve made in facilities, you look at our location from a geographic standpoint from a recruiting aspect and you look at the history and success we’ve had in those sports [baseball/softball], and you look at the coaches we have, I think we have real opportunities to compete on a national level,” Ivey said. “We’re going to have to look at that. As the House settlement comes, we’ll look at what that’s going to change from financial aid. We’ve got to be on the front end of that and figure out how we can compete in both softball and baseball.”