Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Franklinton didn’t have to look far for their new baseball coach.

They only had to look in the dugout and in the Tageant family.

Clay Tageant has taken over as the Demons’ head coach after his father Jeff Tageant recently announced his retirement.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Clay Tageant said. “I didn’t want my dad to retire. My dream job my entire life was to be his assistant and to humbly serve him. I wasn’t ambitious to take over his job, but with him stepping away, it’s an honor to be next man up. Nobody will be able to fill his shoes. My goal is to carry on his legacy and tradition of a first-class program the best I can.”

Clay Tageant, who is a 2011 Franklinton High School graduate, has spent the last six years as the Demons pitching coach. He also has one year of head coaching experience, which was at Varnado in 2017. That year, he led the Wildcats to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.

In high school, Tageant played for his father at Franklinton where he was a pitcher and a shortstop. After high school, Tageant played for LSU-Eunice, Delgado and the University of Southern Mississippi. Tageant graduated from USM in 2015 and played his senior season of 2016 while taking classes.

Clay Tageant said he will lean on his father, who has a career record of 565-317-2, for advice.

“That’s my first appointment is him being my top advisor,” Clay Tageant said.

Clay Tageant talked about how proud he is of his father.

“If you work hard in the game of baseball, you get rewarded,” Clay Tageant said. “I don’t think there’s any coach in the state that outworked him. He held his players to a high standard. He knew the battle was bigger than winning games. It was about making better husbands, better fathers and men that could contribute to society in a positive way. He’s got 565 wins and the Coaches of the Year, but the thing for me was seeing the opposing coaches wanting to talk to him and the respect people gave him.”