Program field guide · 2026

Sun Belt · Louisiana

Louisiana

Ragin' Cajuns

Louisiana’s Louisiana-developed core fell from 59 to 55 players.

2026 roster · Roster geography

In 2016, 59 of 124 roster spots were filled by Louisiana players with no earlier college team detected. On the 2026 roster, 55 of 105 fit the same definition. Detected transfers went from 3 to 9.

In 2016 the median player grew up 179 mi from campus. Now it is 119 mi.

Of the 9 players who came from another college, 7 are from Louisiana. Those home-state players make up 78% of detected-transfer stock on this roster.

Then → now

2016–18 compared with 2021–25

2016–182021–2547.8%53.1%4.4%9.2%
  • Local-developed core
  • Transfer stock
Measure2016–182021–25
Local-developed core47.8%53.1%
Transfer stock4.4%9.2%

The roster, at a glance

  • 182 miAverage hometown distanceAverage hometown distance among 100 located players.
  • 60.2%In-state60.2% of the roster is from Louisiana.
  • 43.0%Backyard43.0% grew up within 100 miles of campus.
  • 8.6%Detected transfers8.6% of the roster arrived after playing at another school.

Across the FBS

Where Louisiana ranks

Most In-State#1360.2%Most Transfers#1308.6%Closest to Home#1182 miFarthest From Home#138182 miBiggest Localism Shift#7660.2%Most Backyard Players#943.0%Fewest Transfers#98.6%Biggest Transfer Shift#1258.6%

Homecoming Radius over time

The median hometown-to-campus distance, by season. The dotted line is the FBS median.

050100150200250FBS median (250 mi)200920122016201920232026

Roster composition over time

Where the in-state lens draws the line: local-developed, local transfer, outsider developed, outsider transfer, and unknown. This chart begins where stable athlete IDs make transfer detection possible; the radius chart above carries the official-archive geography farther back.

Local-developedLocal transferOutsider developed200920122016201920232026

Where do Louisiana's players come from?

SeasonRosterIn-stateTransfer signalRadius
202610560.2%8.6%119 mi
202510854.4%9.3%123 mi
202413563.8%10.4%119 mi
202313662.3%6.6%119 mi
202213866.4%8.0%119 mi
202113558.0%11.9%125 mi
202013060.0%7.7%119 mi
201913958.3%6.5%119 mi
201812455.6%6.5%119 mi
201711743.6%4.3%185 mi
201612447.6%2.4%179 mi
201512055.0%1.7%159 mi
201411853.4%1.7%154 mi
201311559.1%3.5%121 mi
201211056.0%2.7%159 mi
201111353.2%1.8%149 mi
201010552.9%1.0%123 mi
200910658.1%0.0%119 mi

Where the roster grew up

Every 2026 player's hometown, with campus marked and the Homecoming Radius circled.

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Homecoming Radius: 119 mi

(This slider is for exploring — leaderboards use the fixed lenses.)

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