Bett Shelby joined Arizona Women's Basketball as Special Assistant to the Head Coach in June of 2022 with vast coaching experience that included over 15 years in college basketball, including the three seasons prior as the top assistant at West Virginia. She was named Assistant Coach in April 2023.
The 2023-24 season was a successful one for Arizona as the Cats secured their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament bid with an 18-win season. Arizona's win tally included a pair of top-25 victories over No. 15 Utah and No. 3 Stanford. The win over Stanford was the first in Maples since 2001 and marked the highest-ranked road win in program history.
Shelby coached a pair of WNBA Draft picks at Arizona, helping Helena Pueyo and Esmery Martinez to selections. She was on the staff of Martinez's teams throughout the forward's five-year career, coaching her first at West Virginia and then Arizona. Martinez concluded her college career with 1,580 points and 1,267 rebounds.
During her time in Morgantown, Shelby helped guide WVU to success on the court that included a banner 2020-21 season of 22 wins, a second-place finish in the Big XII and an NCAA Tournament appearance. She also developed and coached a pair of marquee stars in WNBA Draft picks Tynice Martin and Kysre Gondrezick with Gondrezick becoming the highest draft selection in program history as the fourth overall pick by the Indiana Fever.
Shelby coached at North Carolina and Maryland prior to West Virginia where she was also the Tar Heels’ and Terrapins’ recruiting coordinator. With her assistance, the Tar Heels made their first NCAA Tournament in four years with a spot in the 2019 tournament. Maryland signed a pair of top-five recruiting classes and won Big Ten regular season and conference championships during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Her prior stops include Virginia Tech and Seton Hall where she had achieved success on the court and on the recruiting trail with a top-20 recruiting class with the Hokies and record-breaking BIG EAST wins with the Pirates. Shelby also signed top recruiting classes in her first coaching stops with the top mid-major class and best in the Missouri Valley at Southern Illinois as well as the top recruiting class in the Ohio Valley Conference during her tenure at Tennessee Tech.
Shelby broke into the college basketball coaching ranks as the Director of Operations at East Carolina following her playing career. The Charlotte, North Carolina native played two seasons at UNC Wilmington before transferring to Greensboro College where she led the Pride to regular season and conference tournament titles and a NCAA Tournament appearance. She graduated from Greensboro with a bachelor’s degree in sports and exercise studies with a concentration in coaching in 2006. Shelby is the daughter of Brad and Texie and has a sister named Mary.
