This year’s 6A championship match between defending champion Bingham and top-seeded Lehi couldn’t have been much closer.
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The Miners took a 2-1 set lead, but Lehi wrestled the momentum back in its favor to force a fifth set and a match point.
Lehi had a few chances at securing the win, but Bingham strung together a few points to get within 14-11.
Pioneers coach Kolby Shewell took a timeout to settle his team. But, unusually, he didn’t say a word.
Instead, he let his son and star outside hitter Ashton Shewell take over for the timeout.
It was a stark difference from how he can be off the court. His calm, reserved and even shy demeanor was nowhere to be seen on the court.
“I’m not shy around my friends,” Ashton said. “I can just be myself and be crazy. I’m just not shy in sports, just my whole life I haven’t been.”
In that timeout during the 6A championship, he just repeated the same phrase, “One more point.”
“That’s the leader in him,” coach Shewell said. “We came into that timeout, and us coaches, we were talking strategy.
“But Ashton just took over and said, ‘Hey, one more point. That’s all we need.’ And then we’re like, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
Lehi finally scored the match point right after the timeout and won its first 6A state championship.
Ashton’s improvement this season was twofold; he kept growing as a more vocal leader for the Pioneers, and he increased his hitting accuracy and became even more of a weapon.
As a junior this year, he led the state with 511 kills, doing so with a .416 hitting percentage.
While he’s undoubtedly one of the best hitters in the state, what really sets him apart from the pack is his defensive numbers. Ashton Shewell led Lehi with 264 digs and added 53 blocks for the state champions.
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His ability to be a weapon on any spot on the court is what made him the recipient of Deseret News’ 2026 Mr. Volleyball.
“It’s crazy, I’ve wanted this ever since the start of the season,” Ashton Shewell said.
Despite the individual awards and being an all-stater in basketball with multiple DI offers, he’ll be the first to say he couldn’t have done it without his team.
But that also doesn’t tell the full story, as Ashton put forth a lot of effort to make sure this year’s Lehi squad was as close as possible.
Whether it was ensuring his teammates played games together or had sleepovers or made TikTok dances, he made sure everyone was included and together.
“One of the most important parts of our season was connecting together,” said Ashton. “Knowing how to play with each other, liking each other. Those TikToks, we made them every day. Rocket League, after every practice, we’d just go home and play with each other. We would have sleepovers a lot, too, just random nights.
“Those memories are everything to me. I’ll never forget those.”
Kolby Shewell noticed the impact the group activities had on his team.
“One of the main reasons they played so well is the team bonding,” Kolby said. “He was a leader of Rocket League he wanted everyone to get on and play with them. He’s been the natural leader since he was a freshman.”
Ashton Shewell benefited from the team’s cohesiveness, especially from star setter Ty Reynolds.
It’s easy to see why Ashton credits his growth as a hitter to Reynolds. Reynolds led the state in assists with 1,133, 65 of which were dished out in the championship match.
“Honestly, it was Ty, his sets,” Ashton said of his growth as a hitter. “I really can’t think of anything else. It was mainly him and just our team’s passing.”
While Ashton grew more into his leadership role, his athletic achievements have been on been on stage since his freshman year. He’s not only the best in the state for volleyball, but he was also one of the best in basketball, which earned him 6A all-state first-team honors.
Despite coming into the basketball state tournament as a No. 12 seed, Ashton had multiple star performances to push the Pioneers all the way to a semifinal finish. He recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a close loss to the eventual champion, Westlake.
He also holds offers for basketball from the University of San Diego and Utah Tech.
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Past Deseret News Mr. Volleyball winners
- 2025 — Trey Thornton, Maple Mountain
- 2024 — Trey Thornton, Maple Mountain