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2016 Louisville Slugger 716 Select Review

By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022


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 716 Select Video

2016 716 Select Video

2016 716 Select 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.

BBCOR
USSSA –10
USSSA –10
USSSA –5
USSSA –12

General Recomendations

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).

Model Recommendations

BBS7163

BBCOR Review

Select 716 BBCOR Ratings (key)
5 4 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 31, 32, 33, 34-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: BBS7163
Bat Type: Hybrid
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other BBCOR Bats
SLS716X

USSSA Drop 10 Review

Select 716 USSSA Drop 10 Ratings (key)
3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SLS716X
Bat Type: Hybrid
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
SLS7160

USSSA Drop 10 Review

Select 716 USSSA Drop 10 Ratings (key)
3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SLS7160
Bat Type: Hybrid
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
SL7165

USSSA Drop 5 Review

Select 716 USSSA Drop 5 Ratings (key)
4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SL7165
Bat Type: Hybrid
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 5 USSSA Bats
YBS7162

USSSA Drop 12 Review

Select 716 USSSA Drop 12 Ratings (key)
3 4 4 3 4 4 2 5 4 3
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: YBS7162
Bat Type: Hybrid
Barrel Size: 2 1/4

Comparable Bats

Compared to other bats, the 716 Select is most similar to the 2016 DeMarini Voodoo Raw or the Easton Hybrid XL. However, its swing weight is lighter than both, but its barrel is smaller than both. If you’d like a lighter swing a bigger barrel, the 2016 Louisville Slugger 916 Prime may be your ticket—although it’s composite barrel will take a bit of working in. If you’d like a stiffer bat with a little more gumption, then the 516 Omaha also from slugger should be worth checking out.

Previous Models

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.

Overall Ratings

The overall rating uses seven different weighted metrics to determine our overall score. Half of total rating comes from the player and our exit speed tests (Player Rating: 25%, Performance: 25%).The other categories are Relevance (20%), Demand (10%), Durability (10%), Resell Score (5%), and Tech Specs (5%).

*: When a bat is denoted by a star (*) it is a preliminary rating. Expect it to be updated as we learn more about the bat and gather more data.

(PlaRa) Player Rating: We measure player rating from user reviews. Those users include our own hitters that we test at the lab as well as reviews we find online.

(ExVe) Performance: Performance measures the exit speeds and distances we capture in our hitting lab with HitTrax using these bats.

(Relv) Relevance: We measure the number of sizes and the MOI of the bat. Bats with a wider range of options get a better score.

(Dmnd) Demand: Demand is measured by consumer sentiment and the buzz around the bat.

(Drb) Durability: A bat’s durability is measured by user reviews as well as feedback from manufacturers.

(ReSl) Resell Score: Based on the price the bats go for used. Higher prices mean greater user demand which means, generally, a better bat. A resell value closer to its original price means a higher score.

(Tech) Tech Specs: We rate the bat on its technological advancements from previous years and compared to the industry at large. This is our chance to reward companies who are trying to innovate.
MOI
MOI or Mass Moment of Inertia is a measurement of bat swing weight. This quantifies how difficult it is to swing a bat. The industry often refers to this as things like End Load or Balanced but those words have been overused to the point of meaninglessness. We measure the actual swing weights of each bat we test using the industry-standard pendulum period, balance point, and scale weight. You can read more about that here.
Price
The price is the original MSRP price of the bat.
Type
The types of bats are single-piece alloy (SPA), two-piece composite (TPC), single-piece composite (SPC), hybrid (Hyb.), and wood (Wood). Hybrid bats are made of composite handles and alloy barrles.
Date
The estimated date the bat began distribution.

Download our data.