DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Heritage Patriots will have a new baseball coach.
After a storied and Hall of Fame coaching career, accumulating nearly 750 wins, coach Dean Lehrman retired in May.
Heritage AD Josh Dommer has announced that the school has gone outside the system and hired Aaron Barras as the school’s new business teacher and head baseball coach.
Coach Barras was born and raised in southeastern Louisiana near New Orleans, where he attended Holy Cross High School, graduating with a 4.2 GPA and received the school’s highest honor, the Holy Cross Man Award. On the baseball field, he earned All-District, All-Parish, All-Metro, and All-State honors before continuing his playing career at Spring Hill College. There, he was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection and was named Freshman of the Year in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
Coach Barras comes to Heritage with nearly 20 years of coaching experience. He has served as a varsity head coach at the high school level for 12 seasons, compiling nearly 200 career victories.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Coach Barras began his collegiate coaching career at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he served as the pitching coach, infield coordinator, and scouting coordinator. During his second season, he led the team to a 10-2 record as interim head coach. He was then named head coach at Episcopal High School outside Philadelphia, where, over four years, he helped six players earn Division I scholarships and four players earn Division II scholarships.
During that same time, Coach Barras directed the Philadelphia Phillies’ youth organization for Eastern Philadelphia during the summers. After two seasons, he was promoted to General Manager of the organization’s three-state operation, taking on additional leadership responsibilities with the Phillies.
Coach Barras later returned home to New Orleans, where he spent the next eight years teaching and serving as a high school head baseball coach. Most recently, he was named Coach of the Year in 2025 after leading his team to a district championship. During the 2026 season, Coach Barras assisted Homestead High School in developing both its varsity and junior varsity players on and off the field.
Coach Barras is married to his wife, Nicole, and together they have three children: Brooks (4), Josephine (3), and Allie (3).
“We are excited to welcome Coach Barras,” said Dommer, “and his family to the Patriot community and look forward to the leadership, experience, and passion he will bring to our students and baseball program.”
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