Pittsburg State Gorillas

Kennedy Shelstead begins her first year as the assistant volleyball coach at Pittsburg State University. 

Shelstead comes to Pitt State after spending the past four seasons at Arkansas Tech University. She served as a graduate assistant for the Golden Suns in 2020-21 and as an assistant coach in 2022-23. In 2021, Tech finished in a tie for second place in the Great American Conference (GAC) regular season standings after a 13-3 league record. The Golden Suns went on to capture the conference tournament title and advance to the NCAA-II National Tournament. 

A native of Lewisville, Texas, Shelstead went to ATU after a successful collegiate career at Abilene Christian University, where she played in 171 sets over two seasons. A middle blocker for the Wildcats, Shelstead totaled 351 kills and 175 total blocks. Shelstead’s time at ACU came after she played her first two seasons of collegiate volleyball at John Brown University. While at JBU, Shelstead played in 146 sets and totaled 257 kills and 117 blocks. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in sports and recreation management from ACU in December 2019 and a master’s degree in student affairs administration from ATU in May 2022.