Nike Volleyball Camp in Anthem

Tiger Shelton officially joined the Jessup Staff as Head Coach of Jessup Volleyball in April of 2019. Through four seasons with the Warriors, Shelton holds an overall record of 45-47, and has led the program to its first GSAC Championship and NAIA Opening Round appearance.

Athletic Director Lance Von Vogt said on the hiring of Shelton, “At the outset of this search, we knew we were looking for someone that is an expert in building a culture with strong ties to our vibrant Northern California volleyball community. Our national search yielded top-flight candidates, and the field was extremely competitive; however, Tiger Shelton quickly rose to the top of our list at each stage of the process."

Shelton’s over 40 years of volleyball experience brings a wealth of knowledge to a program that has now experienced three consecutive winning seasons through 2022.

YEAR-BY-YEAR RESULTS

• Shelton immediately impacted the program in year one, helping Jessup improve their win total by four and increasing their conference win total by six marking a school record for conference wins with 10, the most in program history. The stellar year resulted in the team making their first GSAC playoff appearance and then-senior Vendela Williams being named to the All-GSAC team.
• The Warriors jumped out to two wins in their first three matches in year two under Shelton. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was pushed to the spring of 2021, forcing the Warriors to go 13 months without a match. Jessup finished the year 4-14, and the year was capped off with Madison Marlow and Jasmine Pinon earning scholar-athlete nods.
• Year three under Shelton saw the Warriors test themselves in the preseason, competing six times against teams receiving national votes, including two top-10 teams on a trip to Iowa. In conference, Jessup went 10-8, finishing the highest they ever have in the GSAC standings. Along the way, Taylor Dilley and Mary Padilla pieced together record seasons as the two were honored on the All-GSAC team. Dilley's record-breaking season also earned her the honors of an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.
• The Warriors were red-hot to finish year four under Shelton, closing the season winning 12 of their final 14 matches. Jessup won a program record 12 GSAC matches, clinching the two-seed and a first round bye in the 2022 GSAC Tournament. Wins over Vanguard (semifinals) and Westmont (championship) secured the Warriors their first GSAC Championship in program history, sending the team to the NAIA Opening Round for the first time (five-set loss at Southern Oregon). Shelton was honored for his work as the GSAC and AVCA Regional Coach of the Year, while Marina Gonzalez, Madalyn Miller, and Taylor MacCuish were added to the All-GSAC team.

COACHING EXPERIENCE
Shelton has been a volleyball coach for nearly 40 years, where he's coached at various levels with success at each stop along the way. Shelton has cultivated an extensive career as the Co-founder, director, and coach of Pacific Coast Volleyball Club (PCVC) based in Stockton. His vast coaching experience even goes beyond our borders as he's also coached overseas. Shelton also had a brief stint at Modesto Junior College before joining the Warriors.

Before co-founding PCVC, Shelton coached eight other club squads and three other high school and middle school programs.

Shelton's brings to the court and upbeat personality and expects his ties to the region to help the squad tremendously in recruiting.

"Tiger is a ball of energy and a culture setter," added Von Vogt. "He's also well connected locally and has extensive ties to the club volleyball scene. Our ability to recruit top tier student-athletes will significantly improve as well as the awareness of our program under Tiger's leadership."

Some of Shelton's coaching highlights include Trans Valley League Coach of the Year, as well as winning Southern League Coach of the Year twice. Shelton also won five consecutive CIF championships while coaching at Ripon Christian.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES
19 Scholar-Athletes
9 GSAC Player of the Week
6 All-Conference
3 CSC Academic All-District
2 Playoff Appearance
1 NAIA All-American
1 GSAC Championship
1 GSAC Coach of the Year
1 AVCA Regional Coach of the Year

PERSONAL
When asked why he chose to come to Jessup, Shelton said, "I have coached at many levels and around the world for many years. Coaching and working at William Jessup University gives me a chance to help develop a program with a lot of potential and resources along with support from the William Jessup staff and administration into an NAIA power through and by the power of God. The support, the amazing campus, the ability to attract athletes, and the athletes that are already at WJU. It's an exciting time to be a Warrior!"

Shelton hails from San Diego but currently resides in Roseville with his wife Michelle. The two have two children, Andie and Tyson.

Coach James Finley is a former DI volleyball head coach with 21 years of college success. His knowledge and passion for the game has helped thousands of athletes in their pursuit of their volleyball goals. He is meticulous in teaching the critical details of the sport while making the game fun and engaging.

In December of 2019, Seattle University volleyball head coach James Finley announced his retirement after seven seasons leading the Redhawks program and more than 20 years of collegiate coaching.

Finley was named the program’s second head coach in its Division I era in February 2013, following an eight-year term at Virginia Commonwealth. While at the Redhawk helm, he led the program to seven consecutive Western Athletic Conference Tournament appearances, and amassed 93 wins, second-most in program history.

The Texas-born coach was also responsible for some of the program’s best players as he worked with three-time All-WAC selection Martina Samadan, two-time WAC Setter of the Year Shae Harris, 2015 WAC Newcomer of the Year Jelena Vujcin as well as WAC Freshmen of the Year Iris Ivanis and Katarina Marinkovic.

In his first three seasons, Finley led Seattle U to consecutive winning records in conference play and helped the Redhawks advance to the WAC Tournament semifinal in 2013. The next year, Finley steered the program to a fourth-place finish in the regular-season standings before orchestrating a thrilling run to the title match with victories over Utah Valley and regular-season champion Kansas City. Then, in 2015, the Redhawks notched their best season as a Division I program finishing 18-11 overall and third in league play at 9-5.

During his seven seasons, Finley saw his teams post several top five single-season marks in the Redhawks’ record book including, most aces in 2015 (202), second-most blocks (289.0) in 2014, most digs in 2018 (1,670) and finished the 2019 campaign with the second-most kills (1,429) and digs (1,619).

Finley’s collegiate coaching career spanned 21 seasons, including 19 as a head coach with prior stops at Arizona Western College and VCU. He spent 15 seasons in the NCAA Division I ranks, posting 244 career victories in 477 games.