2016 Louisville Slugger 716 Select Review

Updated August 10, 2023

We spent 2 hours in the cage and 1 hour in the field hitting with the 2016 Louisville Slugger 716 Select. We also spent another 2 hours reading reviews from other players and deciphering message boards that discuss this bat. In that 5 hour time, we found the 716 Select to be a lighter swinging hybrid bat built hot out of the wrapper for players who consider themselves occasional power hitters and, due to it's focused barrel, know how to hit a ball well.

Price Check

2016 Select 716 Video

2016 Select 716 Models

The 716 has a heavy swing---so, naturally, our bigger hitters liked it. It's a softer connection piece than in later years, but it packs a punch and is the go to bat for several collegiate level players.

General Recommendations

We'd quickly recommend the 716 to hitters who prefer two-piece composite bats for their sting dampening, durable barrel, and hot the wrapper performance to players looking for a lighter swing but often hits for power. This bat, it should be noted, doesn't swing as light as a 916 Prime or RBZ X3, but for a hybrid, it is the lightest you can find in BBCOR (save the possible exception of the DeMarini NVS Vexxum).

Reviews By Model

Previous Bats

Compared to last year's 715, the 2016 comes with two upgrades in an updated color scheme and a black and white camo lizard skin grip. Otherwise, there are no notable differences. The 716 from the 715, by way of performance improvements, are identical---which is not a bad thing considering the 715 was well-received, especially at collegiate levels.

Construction

The 2016 716 Select (like the 2015 Louisville Slugger 715 Select) is a two-piece hybrid bat. Meaning, it has a composite handle and an aluminum barrel. The bat also has a composite slug that sits within the transition point of the handle and barrel. This slug both dampens sting on mishits as well as keeps the bat stiff for quality performance. Slugger refers to this as a TRU-3 connective piece since it makes the bat officially 3 pieces.