Lake Bates holds the FS · Starter spot in Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns’s safety room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Lake Bates is a free safety for Louisiana standing 5'11" and weighing 190 pounds. The Stonewall, Louisiana native from North DeSoto High School redshirted during the 2024 season. As a high school senior, Bates recorded 127 tackles and five interceptions, earning District 1-4A Defensive MVP honors and the inaugural Defensive MVP award on the 2023 Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate All-Prep Team. He also returned one interception for a touchdown and helped North DeSoto to an 11-2 record and district title. In 2025, Bates compiled 22 total tackles and 9 solo tackles in his first year of competition.