Middle Tennessee Christian School is pleased to announce the hiring of Valanna Lyons as our new head softball coach.

Coach Lyons joins the Cougars after serving as the pitching coach at Oakland High School since 2019. Prior to her time at Oakland, Lyons served as the pitching coach at Siegel High School from 2010-2017 where she helped lead the Stars to back-to-back state tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017.

Coach Lyons is a Murfreesboro native and was a standout player on the softball field at Oakland where she was a high school All-American performer for the Patriots. She became the first African American signee forthe University of Arkansas softball program when she signed a scholarship to play for the Razorbacks.

During her collegiate career, Lyons put up stellar numbers in the circle and helped lead the Razorbacks tothe NCAA tournament in 2002 where she pitched a complete game shutout in a victory over Army.

Athletic Director Jason Piercey states, “We are thrilled to add Coach Lyons to our athletic department. Her experience and knowledge of the game made her an obvious choice to lead our softball program. We are thankful for the hard work and the foundation that has been built by Coach Smith and we know that Coach Lyons will do a great job building on our recent success.”

Coach Lyons is replacing head coach Julie Smith who stepped down from the position after leading the Cougars to the most successful season in program history which ended in the state quarterfinals after falling to eventual state runner-up Tipton Rosemark Academy.

Coach Lyons states, “I would like to thank the MTCS administration and the athletic department for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to joining the Cougar softball family and continuing to build on theirmomentous season.”

Coach Lyons is married to Ricardo Johnson and they have a daughter.