Louisiana Baseball Coach Suspended for Playoffs After Taking Off His Shirt

Central-Baton Rouge was upset in its first-round playoff series after coach Sham Gabehart's suspension.

Central High School

Central-Baton Rouge baseball had plans to make a playoff run in Louisiana's toughest division. Instead, the Wildcats got swept 2-0 by underdog St. Amant without coach Sham Gabehart, who was suspended two days before the Division I nonselect bidistrict series.

Video Surfaced of Coach Taking Off Shirt During Contested Call

LouisianaSports.Net posted a grainy video of Gabehart removing his shirt after leaving the dugout to contest a call during a doubleheader at Calvary Baptist in Shreveport on April 11. The Wildcats, who debuted at No. 14 in the Louisiana High School on SI Top 25 baseball rankings, split the series with the Cavaliers and defeated Teurlings Catholic in their final regular season game last Monday.

Suspension Handed Down by LHSAA

Although the Louisiana High School Athletic Association doesn't comment publicly on suspensions, word of the ruling surfaced on message boards as the No. 11-seeded Wildcats hosted No. 22 St. Amant in a meeting of Baton Rouge area programs.

Wildcats Stumble Without Coach

Without Gabehart in the dugout, Central lost 8-7 and 7-0 to St. Amant. which advanced to the second round at No. 6 Benton. The Wildcats (24-11) had won six of seven games before dropping Game 2 to Calvary Baptist 6-1. Central had a previous win over Catholic Baton Rouge, which finished last year at No. 1 in the Top 25 rankings.

Message Board Reaction

The popular LSU message board Tiger Droppings has an active thread dedicated to the topic. Views were split about the situation with some posters shouting "FREE SHAM!" and lauding his coaching ability, while other dished out criticism.

Great Season Suddenly Ends

Under Gabehart's direction, the Wildcats overcame a 5-6 start to the season by reeling off 12 straight wins after a four-game losing streak. Following a loss to Catholic Baton Rouge, Central defeated the Bears in Game 2 of their series to begin its swing of six wins in seven games.

Central has seven state titles in baseball, including four straight from 1992-1995 during a stretch that encompassed the career of all-state pitcher Brian Wiese., who played at Mississippi State and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 10th Round.

Gabehart, who was hired at Central in 2024, has previous head coaching stints at South Terrebonne, The Dunham School, Parkway and Central Private, along with jobs as an assistant at Parkview Baptist and Zachary.

An experienced coach when it comes to working with pitchers, Gabehart's staff held opponents to two-or-fewer runs in 18 wins this season.

Last year as a No. 15 seed. Central traveled to Lake Charles and dropped a pair of 1-0 pitching duels at Barbe, the No. 2 seed.