ALEXANDRIA, LA – Louisiana State University of Alexandria has announced its 2026 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted on February 14 in The Outpost. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
Among the inductees is former LSUA softball player Raquel Granados.
Granados played from 2013 to 2016 for LSUA. She finished her career with 211 hits, 116 runs scored, 169 runs batted in, 24 home runs, and a slugging percentage of .604. She is second all-time in LSUA history in hits, doubles, runs scored, runs batted in, and home runs. Granados earned NAIA Second Team All-American honors in 2016. She was named an All-AII First Team selection in 2013 and All-RRAC First Team in both 2015 and 2016. Granados added an NFCA All-Region First Team nod to her accolades in 2016. She was selected to the LSUA Softball All-Decade Team this past summer.
LSUAGenerals (LSUA): First, congratulations on your induction. When you received the call from Assistant Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics, Tyler Unsicker, what was your reaction?
Raquel Granados (RG): I was taken aback, was not expecting anything like that, and it was a pleasant surprise for sure. It brought just a rush back of all these memories from my college days. All good memories.
LSUA: How did you end up at LSUA?
RG: There was my first coach. He was actually a coach in El Paso in my hometown and he moved out to LSUA and he was telling a few girls from El Paso about it and we came on a college visit and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with just the people, the atmosphere, definitely the food. And yeah, at that point in my life, I was ready to take that next step. And like I said, it was a beautiful place. So it wasn't hard.
LSUA: You mentioned all those memories coming back. What do you miss most about your time at LSUA?
RG: Being out on the field for sure, definitely. The schedule, it's just like practice, school, practice, school, you know, and it was something that I loved. It was my first love of my life, definitely, and to be able to play at that level and to get the opportunity was just incredible. And I knew I was like, can't mess this up. You know, this opportunity doesn't happen to everybody. So, it was definitely a huge honor.
LSUA: Looking back, would you have done anything differently in your time at LSUA?
RG: Probably take more pictures. You know, of course, you know, at that age I was, I made some mistakes here and there, but definitely take a lot more pictures. So you know, the memories are still there, but you know, obviously with time things get a little blurry. But yeah, that's the only thing I would change.
LSUA: What advice do you have for current or future LSUA student athletes?
RG: Definitely soak it in, take in everything around you. At the time, you may feel that you're not making a difference or just another athlete, but you're not. You know, whether whatever, whatever position you play, whatever sport you play, I feel as my time there, it's like you're building up a legacy. You're building up the school. And even if you think that you're just building up brick by brick, you know that's how things are built. And you know, you think, oh, I'm just a small brick but at the end of the day, it just makes everything come together and you know, looking back on it, yeah, your brick might be at the bottom, you know, with age. I'm getting old now, but it definitely sets a foundation for future student athletes and I think that's what's important. Setting the stage for future student athletes.
LSUA: What was your most memorable moment or moments while you were at LSUA?
RG: Oh man, there's quite a bit. But anytime I was on the softball field with my teammates, I mean, I think one of my favorite memories, it's not we weren't playing at the time. We were, we were getting ready to play at a home game and I remember all of us being in the huddle and you know, we're nervous or we got the jitters. It was the opening day, you know, and that feeling, that rush, you know, our uniforms are nice. You know, we're all nervous. You know, we all went through our hairstyle rituals. It was just that moment right there. It's just like, I will always hold that moment. It wasn't a certain play or anything. It was just being surrounded by my teammates and getting ready to get the season kicked off.
LSUA: That's opening day jitters, that little bit of.
RG: The butterflies, yeah.
LSUA: Did you ever imagine when you were at LSUA that you would wind up in the LSUA Athletics Hall of Fame?
RG: I had no idea. I mean, I really, I didn't even know there was going to be a Hall of Fame, you know? Yeah, I never crossed my mind.
LSUA: You were a three-time first team all-conference selection, NFCA All Region first team selection, NAIA Second Team All American. You racked up over 211 hits, over 150 runs batted in and 24 home runs in your career. What was the biggest reason outside of your talent for your success?
RG: Definitely have to give all that to God, God's grace for sure, to put me in that position to give me all these opportunities. And the next thing I can think of, I think about is my teammates. I mean, there's nothing like going up to the box and that dugout is just loud. It was never quiet. That's the one thing I remember about my teammates, you know? I was never able to keep my head down because they would pick it right back up, you know, and anytime I'm out, I was out there on the field. I was just surrounded by a great group of girls and I definitely give them a lot of the most of the credit to be honest with you, because you know, you just you look at, you know, the girl next to you, the girl in front of you and you want to do good for them because you see them every day. Busting their butts at practice and you know, I want to do that for them, so it's giving back to them as well.
LSUA: Can you catch us up on what's happened in your life since LSUA.
RG: I've been, let's say, almost 10 years now. Oh, my. But right now, I work for TSA. I'm an explosive detection canine handler, so that's a lot of fun. I get paid to walk my dog around looking for explosives. But that's a lot of fun. I am currently engaged. Me and my future husband plan to get married this October, and I am currently pregnant. Five months.
LSUA: Is there anything else you'd like to add? Something we missed?
RG: Just a huge thank you to you guys, you know, for over the years I've had, I've worked out in New Orleans or just in my travels and I'll never miss an opportunity to pass LSUA. Just because I've seen it grown, I've seen it online, you know, the websites, it's, it's awesome to see it expand, to see it grow. And I again, just want to thank you guys because I get to tell my future son here that his mom is a Hall of Famer, it's just a tremendous honor. And one more thing! Just a little shout out to the players that came before me. I remember we were blue and gold, you know, I was there for that transition and there was a lot of, you know, a lot of really talented. Strong girls on the softball team that that came before me to set that path and that's why I strongly believe in, you know, brick by brick we you build year by year you build and but yeah, I just definitely wanted to give them a shout out. And I was given the awesome opportunity to see LSUA grow because I was there was only two sports, you know, I was there when we were able to go into purple and gold. I mean to this day, my favorite color is still purple, so. But yeah, just a huge thank you to you guys and love what you guys are doing and definitely will always be a fan of LSUA.
