Athletics Director Brian Reese announced that Nicole Shelwick has been named the 12th head coach of the Lander Women’s Basketball program.
“I am very excited for Nicole to join our Lander family,” said Reese. “From the very beginning in our search, it was clear that she possessed all of the traits we wanted in the new leader of our women’s basketball program.”
Shelwick comes to Greenwood after a successful stint as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I Detroit Mercy that saw the Titans finish the season with 17 wins, the most by the program since 2017. The 17 wins marked a 12-win turnaround from her first year in the Motor City as in the prior six seasons the Titans had only won 19 games total. The Titans also earned their first postseason win under Shelwick’s guidance as they bear Robert Morris, 59-48, in the Horizon League Tournament.
“I am honored and grateful to be selected as the next Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Lander University,” said Shelwick. “Lander is an amazing institution that allows for an awesome Student-athlete experience. I look forward to expanding on the traditions and building a culture of success for this program. I want to thank Brian Reese for believing in me and allowing this incredible opportunity to be a Bearcat. The vision is clear, expectations are set and I’m excited to get to work as the servant leader of this program!”
In her first season at Detroit Mercy, the Titans beat IUPUI, the defending conference champions, for the first time in program history and saw the coaching staff’s first recruit, Amaya Busch, earn Horizon League All-Freshman team honors.
Nicole moved to Detroit with head coach Kate Archer after a season at Loyola-Chicago. During her year with the Ramblers, Shelwick helped guide the team to their most wins since 1988-89 and as the team’s defensive coordinator, oversaw the 12th-ranked three-point defense, the 25th-ranked scoring defense, and the 37th-ranked field goal defense. The Ramblers had two players earn All-Conference honors and Maya Chandler earned the Missouri Valley Conference’s Freshman of the Year Award.
Prior to her time at Loyola, Shelwick was the Head Coach at Indiana University Kokomo, leading the team to a 54-41 overall record and a River States Conference (RSC) West Division Title in 2018-19. Shelwick coached seven All-RSC players, including an NAIA All-American in Deja Felder. Off the court, Shelwick’s teams had a perfect graduation rate and had 93% retention year over year.
In addition to her head coaching duties with the Cougars, Shelwick served as the Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Administrator which saw her oversee all Title IX and diversity and inclusion initiatives for the department.
Prior to her time at IU Kokomo, she was the head coach at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass. where she lead the Warriors to a runner-up finish in the MCCAC Tournament and an appearance in the NJCAA Region 21 Semifinals.
Shelwick started her head coaching career in 2015 at the College of St. Elizabeth where she led the Eagles to 10 conference wins despite being hired just over two weeks prior to the start of the season.
Prior to her first head coaching job, Shelwick served as an assistant at the University of Arkansas at Monticello during the 2014-15 season, helping lead the Cotton Blossoms to their first winning season since 2008-09 and the program’s first postseason win as member’s of the Great American Conference.
Shelwick opened her coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at Central Methodist before being promoted to a full-time assistant after helping guide the Eagles to their best start in program history at 16-1 and saw the team ranked as high as 17th and earn their first NAIA National Tournament bid in program history.
Shelwick was a two-sport athlete while earning her Bachelor of Art in Communications at Belhaven University in 2010 before earning a Master of Education and Administration from Central Methodist in 2014.
Shelwick has two sons, Jacobi and Jacori.
What they are saying:
“Lander got an absolute star with Nicole. She is hard working, thorough, and the perfect combination of old and new school. She will do incredible things for the Bearcat women’s basketball program and will also be an asset to the entire Greenwood community.” – James Arnold, Director of Athletics/Head Women’s Basketball Coach – Columbia College (Mo.)
