Elmira College Vice President of Athletics, Pat Thompson, is pleased to announce that former Ithaca College and St. Lawrence University assistant Devin Shea has been appointed head coach of the EC women’s basketball program.
Shea replaces former coach Shannon Howley, who stepped down after 10 seasons to accept a position as Assistant Athletic Director at Division II Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey.
“Involvement in a quality, competitive program both as a player and coach, experience in recruiting and familiarity with our Empire 8 Conference, along with her energy and enthusiasm, make Coach Shea a great fit for our basketball program,” Thompson said.
“I would like to thank Pat Thompson and Elmira College for giving me the opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program,” Shea said. “I am excited to join the Soaring Eagles family and am honored to work at such a phenomenal institution alongside such passionate people. The young women of this program are so bright and driven. I greatly look forward to working with them to help them advance the program forward.”
Shea joins the Soaring Eagles after spending the past three seasons as the top assistant at former Empire 8 Conference rival, Ithaca, under Dan Raymond, an eight-time E8 Coach of the Year honoree. The former Bomber helped her alma mater qualify for three consecutive conference championships, in addition to trips to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons. An at-large selection into the most recent national tournament, Ithaca earned an auto bid after capturing the 2016-17 E8 title.
Overall, the Bombers went 62-23 during Shea’s tenure, and she tutored eight All-Conference honorees, including the 2017-18 Co-Player and Defensive Players of the Year in the team’s first season as a member of the Liberty League. This past season, Ithaca finished in a tie for first place in the Liberty League regular-season standings, before moving on to upset No. 22 nationally-ranked SUNY Geneseo in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to her time with IC, Shea served as an assistant at St. Lawrence from 2013-15, earning Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year alongside Saints head coach Dan Roiger in her first season. Her Saints squad won regular-season titles and advanced to the conference championship game during both years with Shea on the bench. She assisted in the development of 2014-15 Liberty League Player of the Year and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American, Kara McDuffee, who became just the third player on St. Lawrence history to earn All-America status.
As an undergraduate student-athlete at Ithaca, Shea was elected Empire 8 All-Conference as a junior and senior, while leading the Bombers to E8 titles in both seasons. A three-time NCAA Tournament participant, Shea and the Bombers set a program record with 27 wins en route to a trip to the Sweet 16 during her senior campaign, during which she was crowned the Empire 8 Tournament’s Most Valuable Player and a member of the All-Tournament Team. A former team captain and dominant post player, Shea scored 886 career points with 491 rebounds, and ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in blocks with 125.
A native of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, Shea earned her bachelor’s in Therapeutic Recreation from Ithaca and completed her master’s in Educational Leadership at St. Lawrence. She also received her certification as a Sports Performance Coach from USA Weightlifting in May.
Tagged with: DIII Head Coach
