Bio

Coach Tyrone Shelley is a native of San Diego, CA. He is excited to be working with the talented students at Southwestern College as the Assistant Coach for the men’s basketball team. Before taking his passion and knowledge of the sport to Southwestern College, Shelley spent time in Ridgecrest, CA, just north of Los Angeles County. He assumed the role as Assistant Head Coach at Cerro Coso Community College. In his first year at Cerro Coso, Shelley helped the Coyotes to 18 wins. During that time the team had an impressive 12-game winning streak. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the next season was cut short but the Coyotes were able to take away 9 wins in the 2020/2021 season. Prior to his time in Ridgecrest Shelley served as Varsity Head Coach for San Pasqual Academy and O’Farrell High School.  

Although Shelley has a passion for coaching, he is no stranger to being on the court. He graduated from Crawford High School where he posted a sophomore scoring average of 27.9 points and was named the California sophomore of the year by CalHiSports. As a junior, Shelley earned All-State First- Team accolades and was named the San Diego section and San Diego Union-Tribune player of the year after averaging 34.9 points per game, the second-highest total in section history. In that same year, the high school standout scored a record 76 points in a single game. As a senior, Shelley completed his high school career by setting the CIF San Diego Section career scoring record with 2,962 points and earned EA Sports All-American honors. 

As a college- freshman Shelley attended Pepperdine University where he averaged a team- high of 15 points per game and ranked fourth in the West Coast Conference. After one year in Malibu, the shooting guard transferred to San Diego State University. As a junior, he helped the Aztecs take home the Mountain West Conference Championship and a NCAA Tournament berth. Shelley and the Aztecs parted ways after his junior year. He attended Georgetown College, a NAIA Division school in Kentucky. 

In 2014, Shelley decided to take his talents to the professional level where he played in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Shelley served as a player and Interim Head Coach of the San Diego Surf Basketball Team. He’s played in a number of amateur leagues across the west coast. 

Shelley has always demonstrated a love for the game of basketball but understands that education opens the doors to many opportunities. He hopes to share that with his student- athletes. Shelley earned his bachelors degree in Business Administration and a masters degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Sports Management. In 2019 Shelley authored a children’s book titled “Adventure of Alexander.” The school-age read inspires young readers to follow their dreams. 

In his spare time Shelley holds basketball camps and trains athletes to better their skills on the court. He enjoys great food, music and spending time with family. He also enjoys being able to share his passion of the sport with his children.