– Photo courtesy of Philip Levine
Lebanon Community School Corporation announced the newest addition to the sports coaching team with a new hire for head coach of the varsity Lebanon High School baseball team for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.
Lebanon High School welcomed new Varsity Head Baseball Coach Riley Benner to the Tigers team after official approval by the school board on Tuesday evening, and he plans to bring his knowledge and experience from his previous coaching successes to Lebanon High School according to Athletic Director Philip Levine.
“Coach Benner is a detail-oriented, self-motivated and compelling leader,” Levine said. “He has a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge and experience, and I look forward to him continuing to grow the Lebanon Baseball Program and its players to be successful on and off the field.”
Benner is a Tri County Middle-Senior High School graduate where he played high school baseball, continuing his baseball career at Saint Joseph’s College where he was a 3-year started who played the infield and the outfield. During his career, he earned All Academic Conference for four years, achieved a career batting average of .321 and finished in the top 10 in history for Saint Joseph’s College for hitting doubles. Benner also focused heavily on his academics, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
Since college, Benner has been the Head JV Coach and Varsity Assistant at Noblesville High School since 2021 where he worked under Justin Keever, who is noted as a successful head coach at Noblesville, for five years. Benner also served as the Head Coach of the Indy Sharks in Fishers for four years, where he was given the opportunity to coach Keever’s children.
“Coach Keever says Coach Benner is an intelligent coach and mentor who works tirelessly in helping student athletes close their capability gap through genuine relationship building and accountability,” Levine said. “He is very well organized, an effective communicator and sets great examples for his players.”
Levine continued to comment on Benner’s capabilities and philosophies as he gears up to take the reins of the baseball program during the spring sports season this year.
“Coach Benner’s philosophy for Lebanon Baseball is to mold student athletes to excel in the classroom, create a strong chemistry and positive program culture, build a commitment to excellence and respect on and off the field,” Levine said. “Coach Benner says he will be visible in the community and work hard to create and maintain a positive relationship with the many youth baseball programs, and he is very hopeful to win many Conference and State Championships.”
Benner is currently employed at Descartes Systems Inc. as an Implementation Engineer and currently lives in Noblesville with his wife, Jessie, who works for the National Federation of High School Sports, and their newborn daughter, Macy.
“I am extremely excited to welcome Coach Benner to the Tiger Coaching family,” Levine said.
Lebanon Community School Corporation is hosting a callout meeting and meet and greet on Wednesday, July 24 at 5 p.m. in the Lebanon High School Community Room for students interested in playing baseball next spring to meet Benner and learn more about the program.