Year at Saint Mary's: 2nd (in 2025-2026)
Record at Saint Mary's: 13-12
Courtney Shelton is the head women's basketball coach at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, a position she has held since mid-April, 2024.
In her first season at the helm of the Cardinals, she recorded a 13-12 winning record, guided the team to its first MIAC Quarterfinal appearance in over two years, and coached the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
Shelton comes to Saint Mary’s after serving as a women’s basketball assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division I UW-Milwaukee during the 2023-24 season, helping guide the Panthers to a 16-16 overall record, including a 10-10 mark in Horizon League play.
Prior to her arrival at UW-Milwaukee, Shelton spent six seasons with Central Michigan. During her time with the Chippewas, the team amassed over 100 wins, and earned bids to the NCAA Division I Championships in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. During the team's run in 2018, the eleventh-seeded Chippewas picked up wins over both LSU and Ohio State to reach the Sweet 16.
In addition to the team's national success, the program was also a force within the Mid-American Conference, with three regular season and two MAC Tournament championships.
Under her tutelage, several guards coached by Shelton have reached unprecedented success. Micaela Kelly was the 21st selection in the 2021 WNBA Draft, while Presley Hudson became Central Michigan’s all-time leading scorer. In her most recent season, Shelton both recruited and coached Sydney Harris, who was selected as the MAC Freshman of the Year for the 2022-23 season.
Shelton has also served as an assistant coach at Northwood University, where she was responsible for player development and focused on guard play. She was also in charge of all on- and off-campus recruiting efforts among many other aspects of the program. Shelton got her start on the sidelines as the video coordinator with Central Michigan during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
Shelton played collegiately at Northern Illinois, where she was a three-year starter for the Huskies. In her 102 career games, she scored 643 points and connected on 33 percent of her career shots, while shooting just under 31 percent from beyond the arc. Throughout her collegiate career, she corralled 247 rebounds while adding 270 assists, 16 blocks, and 73 steals.
A native of Roscoe, Ill., Shelton earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies in 2012 at Northern Illinois and later added her postgraduate degree from Central Michigan in Sports Administration in 2015.
