The New Iberia Senior High School baseball team will have a new, but familiar, face leading the dugout next season after Eli Lewellyn took the head coaching position at Southside High School, with NISH pitching coach Blayze Romero being named as successor.

The new position, which was posted on Facebook May 22, led to Lewellyn making the quick decision to move closer to home.

“It moved pretty quickly. I’ve had a long-term desire to eventually end up at Southside since I live right down the road in Youngsville,” he said. “It was a great opportunity and I’m thankful for my opportunity at NISH.”

Lewellyn will have a new roster of players and a new school to work at, but his baseball schedule will look familiar to him after coaching NISH in district 3-5A since 2021. The Sharks defeated NISH twice in district play this year, both times by one run.

Lewellyn said he is looking forward to continuing to build a winning program in Youngsville

“The school is growing and they’re trying to put some things in place, so I’m excited to be able to build upon the foundation that they’ve built over there,” he said.

Lewellyn was also quick to praise Romero’s coaching abilities, going so far as to offer him a position on the staff at Southside. Romero, whose wife also teaches at NISH and coaches the cheer squad, elected to stay at his alma mater.

“He’s an excellent coach,” Lewellyn said. “He’s done an incredible job with his coaching and has helped to set a solid foundation and a culture of success at the NISH baseball program.”

Lewellyn said that he was proud of his time at NISH, from making a playoff run in his first year to recording 19 wins in his final season.

“We did some great things in our program. For the first time since 1988, we made it to the quarterfinals in my first year as head coach,” he said. “We’ve been shifting the culture to a winning culture and I’m a firm believer in what we’ve done over there. I really believe that those kids are set up for success no matter who the coach is. That’s the toughest thing about these kinds of decisions, leaving behind a good group of kids, but they’re primed to be in a good position in the future.”