Kyrin LeBlanc envisions UL Ragin' Cajuns' baseball fans chanting his nickname.
The hard-throwing transfer pitcher, who expects to be in a closer role at his new school, wants to hear the words "Mr. Triple Digits" — which refers to his velocity — as he takes the mound.
"It's fun being up there in the 1% of the world," LeBlanc said of throwing his fastball up to 102 mph. "When you get up there in the triple digits and strike somebody out, it's different."
The St. Martinville High grad is transferring to UL from Texas A&M, where he spent one year and didn't make any appearances because of what he described as "dead arm from overthrowing."
"Ah man, it's been crazy," he said of the reaction from the Lafayette area to his decision to come back near his hometown for two final years of eligibility. "UL fans are insane. I've heard things about how they're going to chant my nickname."
LeBlanc is back in rare form, striking out 36 in 19⅔ innings during the summer for the Abilene Flying Bison of The Mid-America League. He was second in the league with three saves in 12 appearances.
"I'm back up to 101," he said. "When I throw that hard, it's free and easy. I don't even feel it come off my fingers. I look up, and it's there (in the catcher's mitt)."
The 6-foot-3 right-hander also throws a sinker (at 97-98 mph) and a sweeper (86-88) and has shown improvement with control, going from "walking a lot of hitters" to 10 walks over the summer.
"When batters are geared up for the fastball and I throw the sweeper, it changes how they look at everything," he said. "Personally, I like to go with the curveball (for an out pitch)."
LeBlanc spent two post-high school seasons at Cisco Junior College in Texas, throwing a combined 24 innings (21 as a sophomore) with 37 strikeouts. He bonded with assistant coach Mark Jones and initially committed to Texas before switching to the Aggies after a coaching change.
"At the beginning of my career, it was hard coming in and maintaining control," he said. "I've been working on honing in on the strike zone. It paid off this summer."
UL coach Matt Deggs established a relationship with LeBlanc, who also had interest from Florida State, Central Florida and multiple SEC schools.
"Coach Deggs is different from a lot of head coaches," LeBlanc said. "He reminded me of coach Jones. We got along really well with that same chemistry. Coach Deggs reached out quite a bit during my recruitment. I want to go back to Louisiana and dominate."
In the future, the business major plans to build baseball programs for local youth. LeBlanc said his years in the junior college ranks in Texas helped mold a confident mindset.
"It was amazing," he said. "I wouldn't change it for anything and would do it all over again. It's a grind, getting in there, knowing nothing and really starting to see that it's all on yourself.
"You have to put yourself into a position to succeed; I don't take anything for granted."