“I’m a winner. I want them (MLB teams) to know that they’d get a winner.”
Kyle DeBarge is a baseball player.
That may be an obvious statement, but he perfectly fits the mold of a baseball player. Confident, styled, a chain with his jersey number, leadership ability, a knack for winning, and a wicked swing.
The junior shortstop has been an impact player for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns baseball program since he first stepped foot on campus, and if you were wondering if he was nervous the answer is not really.
“I guess I could say a little bit, but not much,” DeBarge said in an exclusive interview with ESPN 103.7 Lafayette. “If he (Matt Deggs) has confidence in me, then I might as well have confidence in myself. So I think confidence trumps a lot of nervousness.”
From a very young age in Kinder, DeBarge has had a love for the game of baseball.
“Kyle began playing baseball at three years old,” Ramona DeBarge, Kyle’s mother said. “From the time he could sit up, he always loved having a ball in his hands. He played in Kinder’s youth league until he was about 8 before getting involved in travel ball. Toby, his dad, was good at listening, paying attention, and making decisions about what we should let him do next. Kyle could never get enough baseball. After baseball practice, he would beg to play just a little bit longer at the field… generally for about 3 hours beyond practice.”
A career .326 hitter with over 30 RBI in each of his first two seasons, DeBarge came into 2024 with a ton of expectations, most notably being the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year and the seventh-rated shortstop in America by D1Baseball.
“I would’ve believed you,” DeBarge said when asked what he would’ve said two years ago about his career so far. The confidence is undeniable, but where does it come from?
“Definitely just preparation,” DeBarge said. “Then how I came up, going from a small town in Kinder, and then deciding to move to Lake Charles, not knowing if I’d ever see the field at Barbe, and then saw the field for four straight years. That gives you a lot of confidence. And then coming to UL and then seeing the field on day one. It just gives you a lot of confidence when your preparation shows and you’re playing every day.”
The move from Kinder to Lake Charles was a big move for the DeBarge family, but it was about more than Kyle playing baseball for an elite program led by Glenn Cecchini.
“We moved to Lake Charles for Kyle’s dad (Toby) to be closer to work,” Ramona DeBarge said. “We were also spending a great deal of time traveling for Kyle to have travel ball opportunities. He played in Lake Charles some, but more in Beaumont for practice and the Houston area for games. Thirdly, we were also hoping for better opportunities for Mitchel, our autistic son, in Lake Charles. While everything didn’t go exactly as planned-referring to the opportunities for Mitchel, I think everything has worked out as it should have. We have a lot of family in the Lake Charles area and coaches like Kyle’s middle school basketball coaches, Cody Duplechin and Trey Degilia, taught us to trust new beginnings. Toby was always all about trying something to better yourself.”
“Barbe baseball molded us into a whole new family.”
Playing for a top program that’s family-oriented like Barbe has been known to prepare DeBarge for stepping up to the next level and into another tight-knit program with the Cajuns.
DeBarge started at Barbe as a freshman, playing several positions throughout his time with the Bucs. In 2021, he was rated as the seventh-best catcher and 44th-ranked prospect in Louisiana, leading Barbe to the state and national championships. He finished his senior season with the most throwouts in school history as well as the most stolen bases from a catcher.
“Kyle was a big part of the culture of our program,” Cecchini said. “He always showed up to support the younger players on the JV squad, he always led by example, and he was always willing to do whatever it took for the success of the team.”
Cecchini once told DeBarge about how Kobe Bryant would wake up at 4 a.m. every day for workouts. Soon after, Cecchini started doing the same and by the time he’d get to school around 5 or 6 in the morning, DeBarge was typically there working out.
“He was always the first player in and the last one to leave,” Cecchini said. “He was raised by hard-nosed, tough people (Ramona and Toby) that didn’t give him anything. He was raised by hard work, earned his own way, and stuck to the process to get where he is.”
Now listed as the 29th rated MLB Draft prospect according to Prospects Live, DeBarge has a high possibility to go in either the first or second round of the draft, similar to former teammate Carson Roccaforte, who was drafted 66th overall by the Kansas City Royals a year ago.
“He’s a five-tool player,” Cecchini said about the two-time member of the Sun Belt Tournament team. “He’s very skilled despite his smaller size and has an amazing internal clock.”
“Honestly, he just has the IT factor so I think he could play any position in the Big Leagues.”
His current coach also believes he can make it to the next level.
“That’s what makes him,” Matt Deggs said after Debarge hit a three-run walk-off home run to defeat Tulane. “He just has it. Johnny Manziel had it. Alex Bregman has it. Baby Blake Trahan has it. He (Kyle) just expects to win no matter what he’s doing. And I guarantee you that isn’t the first time he’s ever done something like that.”
“He’s a natural-born winner and I’m so glad his parents had him. I’m so thankful to The DeBarges because you know what he rubs off on us. He’s changed my life. He’s one of my all-time favorites and I got no problem saying that. When he’s done here, I’m going to enjoy watching him play for another 20 years, I can promise you that.”