A hurler for the decade

“After the battles, comes the rewards.”
For former Sacred Heart and McNeese standout hurler, Kaleb Jon Fontenot, this Latin proverb rings with deafening truth.
Because of the auspicious career he produced and the battles endured on the mound for the Cowboys, that not only tested his psyche but also battered his body, Fontenot was tabbed as one of the best ever on the Lake Charles American Press All-Decade team.
The first team selection was a no doubter, especially when you look at the entirety of his career. From 2013-2016, Fontenot fanned 252 batters and possessed a total ERA of 2.55, both second in the all-time history of the school.
Fontenot, whose jersey has been retired at Sacred Heart, garnered second team All-Southland Conference honors in his senior year at McNeese after going 6-5 with a 2.02 ERA, 108 strikeouts and a .209 opponents batting average.
“First off, I want to give credit to Coach (Justin) Hill for giving me the opportunity to be a part of McNeese baseball,” stated Fontenot. “I think everyone except three players on the All-Decade team were a part of his teams. It was just a perfect storm for us. I was just lucky enough to be a part of the program.”
During his career at McNeese, Fontenot faced a situation that could have ended it all. In his freshman campaign, Fontenot suffered an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, which forced him to have Tommy John surgery. Through surgery and rehab, Fontenot came back to be one of the iron men on the mound for the Cowboys.
The right-handed fire thrower finished his career with 42 starts and 282 innings under his belt.
“I believe I threw the most innings in this last decade,” said Fontenot. “It was a fight. A lot of people do not realize how much of a beating on the body a pitcher takes. It’s not like a football beating, but more like a beating from running a marathon.”
Following his career at McNeese, Fontenot was drafted by the Texas Rangers and was sent to Spokane to begin his major league career. He was assigned to the Rangers in the spring of 2017, but then reassigned to the Hickory Crawdads.
Fontenot moved up to A+ ball with the Down East Wood Ducks in 2018 and spent two seasons there. Fontenot finished his career this past season with the Gary (IN) South Shore Rail Cats.
“I was starting to have elbow problems again and went on the disabled list for 10 days,” commented Fontenot. “The number of strikeouts I was used to getting began to dwindle. The number of innings I could get in started going down more and more.”
“We were supposed to go on a road trip to Texas and I told myself and my parents that I would not be playing anymore after that trip,” Fontenot continued. “I wanted them to see me on the mound one last time. But, we wound up not making that trip because of the shutdown.”
So, Fontenot did some soul searching and decided that at age 26, he just did not have that drive anymore to rehab for another long stretch and try to come back again.
Fontenot hung up his cleats for the last time this past summer.
Through his connections with Sacred Heart alum Danny Ardoin, whose son played at Sam Houston High School, and his presence around the program, Fontenot was able to land a job as the pitching coach for the Broncos this past season. He also found a job teaching STEM Sports Science at F.K. White in Lake Charles.
“When I told my parents I was going to be a teacher, they couldn’t believe it,” Fontenot said with a laugh. “I really didn’t have a set goal after baseball, but this opportunity came up and it sounded pretty good.”
Fontenot is currently in the process of becoming a certified teacher, which should come to fruition after a one-year stint in the ITeach program.
As far as the coaching aspect in concerned, Fontenot is basically learning on the fly.
“I became a part of the coaching staff in the fall after they had gone through the summer workouts, so it was an awkward time,” declared Fontenot. “But one thing I have learned about coaching is that it is a stressful job. I was used to worrying about just my preparation, now I have to worry about a whole group and you have no control of the outcome of a game.”
Learning the ins and outs of coaching will come with time. However, with Fontenot’s knowledge and experience, any program would be lucky to have him aboard.