Bradley University Athletics

A key contributor to Bradley Baseball's resurgence, Sean Lyons has completed seven seasons on the Braves coaching staff, rising to the position of Associate Head Coach in 2015-16.  Bradley's recruiting coordinator and hitting instructor, Lyons boasts 13 years of collegiate coaching experience following a standout playing career at Eastern Illinois.
 
Lyons' move to Bradley coincided with NCAA restrictions on bats, but the Braves have adopted well to his offensive philosophies.  Notably, Mike Tauchman was a consensus All-American in 2013 when he led all NCAA Division I players with a .425 batting average and was selected the Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.  The Braves ranked ninth nationally by averaging 2.32 doubles per game in 2016 and their 116 two-baggers in just 50 games were the most for the team since 1999 (136 doubles in 57 games).  Bradley also posted the best team batting average (.311) during the 2015 NCAA Baseball Championship.  Incorporating speed into their game, the Braves have swiped 441 bases in Lyons' first seven seasons, including the second- (94 in 2011), third- (78 in 2010) and fourth-best (75 in 2014) single-season totals in program history.
 
In the last five seasons, Lyons' hitters have earned five Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America awards to complement Tauchman's 2013 consensus All-America award, while pitcher/designated hitter Elliot Ashbeck was a top 10 finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award in 2015.  While Tauchman led the nation in batting in 2013, second baseman Chris Godinez finished fourth nationally in 2015 with a gaudy, .505 on-base percentage.  In 2016, shortstop Tyler Leffler (11th, 0.42) and first baseman Paul Solka (31st, 0.39) both ranked amond the nation's top 50 in doubles per game, while third baseman Spencer Gaa (36th, 14.3 ABs per K) ranked among the nation's toughest hitters to strike out.
 
In addition to the national recognition, Bradley's position players have collected 21 All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in Lyons' first seven years, highlighted by designated hitter Greg Partyka, who earned first-team All-MVC notice in 2013 and 2014 to become the first Bradley hitter selected a 2-time All-MVC first-teamer since first baseman Daren Epley in 1987 and 1988.  Tauchman and Gaa are two of the five players in Bradley Baseball history to earn All-MVC honors three times in their careers. 
 
At least one Bradley position player has been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in each of the last five years, all within the first 27 rounds:  Jason Leblebijian (2012, 25th round); Tauchman (2013, 10th); Max Murphy (2014, 9th); Chris Godinez (2015, 18th); Tyler Leffler (2016, 27th).  A two-way pitching and hitting star at Bradley, Elliot Ashbeck also was selected in the 16th round of the 2015 draft as a pitcher.
 
Prior to joining the Braves for the 2010 season, Lyons spent six years as the Eastern Illinois defense and infield coach, recruiting coordinator and also worked extensively with EIU's hitters. In addition to his coaching experience, Lyons played for the Panthers from 1996-99.
 
Under Lyons' tutelage, the 2009 Eastern Illinois squad ranked second in the nation with a .362 batting average, third in slugging percentage, eighth in homeruns per game and ninth in scoring. The Panthers finished 36-14, earning the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and the school's first ever top-30 national ranking.
 
Eastern's 2008 team captured the OVC Tournament championship, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers defense turned 52 doubles plays during the season, 12 more than opponents, and scored 17 runs in two NCAA Regional games.
 
In 2007, the Panthers batted .299 as a team and had the fewest number of strikeouts in the OVC. Eastern Illinois' defense led the OVC in fielding percentage and double plays turned in 2006, while the team batted .304 and recorded the fewest number of K's in the conference.
 
In his six seasons at EIU, Lyons recruited and coached four Major League Baseball draft picks, two Freshman All-Americans, one Academic All-American, one mid-season All-America and one OVC Player of the Year.
 
A Byron, IL native, Lyons began his coaching career at Liberty (Mo.) High School where he served as an assistant for two years before returning to his alma mater. As a player at EIU, Lyons was a three-time All-OVC outfielder and still holds the school's career record for runs scored (182). He led the Panthers in hits for three straight seasons (1997-99) and twice led the team in doubles (1998-99) and runs scored (1997-98).  As part of the school's 2016 celebration of its first 20 years as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Lyons was selected the #19 EIU student-athlete of its OVC era.
 
Lyons and his wife, Jill, have two children.