New Palestine High School

Shawn Lyons has announced his retirement as the New Palestine baseball head coach after 14 seasons at the helm - and more than two decades as part of Dragons baseball. Lyons has helped build the Dragons into one of Central Indiana's premier baseball programs, and has maintained that status during his tenure as head coach. He became the Dragons' head coach in 2012, and in 14 seasons at the helm, has led them to a 286-129 overall record. His teams have won seven sectional titles - including four in the last five years. They have also won five regional championships, winning the first in his debut year as head coach in 2012. The Dragons also won a regional in 2014, and won three straight from 2023-25. They advanced to the Elite Eight of the IHSAA baseball tournament seven times, and won at least one regional game in each trip past the sectional. The Dragons also won three Hoosier Heritage Conference championships in one of the state's deepest leagues. “We would like to thank Coach Lyons for the decades of hard work with the student athletes in our baseball program,” athletic director Brian Murphy said. “He has been an outstanding mentor to New Palestine young adults on their way to hoisting many trophies. Best of luck in retirement; you will be missed!” Eight times in his tenure, the Dragons posted a 20-win season, and they had 13 winning records in his 14 seasons as head coach. He has coached numerous Indiana All-Stars and All-State players. Prior to becoming the Dragons' head coach, Lyons spent 14 seasons as an assistant with the program alongside Marvin Shepler and Al Cooper, helping develop one of the state's premier pitching staffs. He joined the staff in 1998 and was part of the staff that won the 2004 state championship and was the 2003 state runner-up. Coach Lyons shared the following: After 28 unforgettable seasons as the baseball coach at New Palestine High School, I have decided it is time to retire. This has truly been one of the hardest decisions of my life. I have spent several weeks considering what was best for me and for the program. As you can imagine, I have prayed, cried, lost sleep, sought advice from family, friends and other coaches. For me, coaching baseball has never been just about the game or about wins. It is my hope that I have led this program well, both on and off the field. It has always been about the young men who wore our uniform, the relationships we built, and the memories we made together. It’s all about “The Climb” — IYKYK. I have been blessed to coach hundreds of outstanding young men and to work alongside incredible assistant coaches. I owe a special thank-you to all of my assistant coaches over the years, especially Al Cooper, Landon McBride and Tim Zellers, who have been with me since the beginning of my time as head coach. Their loyalty, friendship, and commitment have meant more to me than words can express. Thank you, Al, for bringing me into this program in 1998. Thank you also to my athletic director, Brian Murphy, for giving me the time and space to make this difficult decision. It was not an easy choice, and I truly appreciate his patience throughout the process. I am forever grateful to my family for sharing me with this program. To my wife, Holly, thank you for her unwavering love, patience, and support through countless practices and games. To my children, Katie Schuck, Nick Lyons, and Corey Lyons, along with their spouses and my four wonderful grandchildren — with one more due very soon — thank you for being my greatest joy and my biggest supporters. I also want to thank my dad, who has always been my biggest supporter, along with my mom and stepmom who both recently passed, my brothers and their spouses, my friends, our amazing administration, our New Palestine Baseball Backers, fellow coaches, parents, and the entire New Palestine community for believing in and supporting our program. I am so proud of the success of our program over the years - the conference championships, sectional and regional titles, postseason runs, and the State Runner-up and State Championships I was part of. But those accomplishments are only part of the story. What I will cherish most are the dog piles after big wins, the team cookouts at our house before sectional, the celebrations in the locker room, the bus rides, the practices, the texts from players and coaches, and the lifelong relationships formed along the way. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as the head baseball coach at New Palestine. I leave with a grateful heart and tremendous pride in what our players, coaches, families, and community built together. Thank you, Coach Shawn Lyons