Shawn is a 1997 graduate of South Central High School and is the only Cougar player ever selected to play at the professional level. He was drafted in the 29th round of the 1997 free agent draft by the San Diego Padres, and after a stellar season with the Blue Knights of Olney Central College, signed with the club a year later. He climbed the ladder through their minor league system for 2 1/2 years, and in the summer of 2001, was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for major league player, Emil Brown. After finishing strong with their single A affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats, he was assigned to the Florida Instructional League in Bradenton to finish out the year.

The summer of 2002 found him assigned to the Pirates AA club, the Altoona Curve of the Eastern League. After a solid season there, he was selected to participate in the prestigous Arizona Fall League, where he competed against other high-profile minor league prospects as a member of the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

After another summer with Altoona in 2003, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies at the start of the 2004 season and was assigned to their AA affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers. After the trade of Larry Walker to the St. Louis Cardinals in early August, an opening was created on their AAA club and Shawn was promoted to the Colorado Springs SkySox where he finished the season.

In 2005, Shawn signed a free agent contract with Oakland Athletics and spent his summer playing with their AAA team in Sacramento. In 2006 he signed with the Phildelphia Phillies and spent the first half of the season in Scranton, Pennsylvania with their AAA club before moving on to Nashville to close out the summer with the Cardinals very own Memphis Redbirds.

The following information is a season to season account of Shawn's baseball career, from his days as a high school player at S.C.H.S., to his season at Olney Central, to his climb through the minor league ranks.