University of North Texas Athletics
Kennedy Shelstead Joins UNT Volleyball as Assistant Coach
3/17/2025 4:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DENTON, Texas – Kennedy Shelstead was hired as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for UNT volleyball, head coach Dave Fleming announced Monday.
"I'm really excited to welcome Kennedy on board as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator," Fleming said. "She will bring some really innovative ideas, especially for recruiting, to our program and she knows north Texas better than just about anyone."
Shelstead joined the Mean Green after one season at Pittsburg State (Pittsburg, Kan.) where she worked under head coach Jen Gomez. While with the Gorillas, she coached one all-conference performer and nine members of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
"I'm so excited to join the Mean Green volleyball family and Coach Fleming's staff," Shelstead said. "As a native Texan, the opportunity to work at UNT comes at the perfect time for me. I'm excited to contribute both on the court and in recruiting as we work toward building a championship-level program. Thank you to Coach Fleming for this opportunity and of course GO MEAN GREEN!"
Prior to her arrival at Pittsburg State, Shelstead coached four seasons at Arkansas Tech (Russellville, Ark.) with two years as a graduate assistant (2020-21) and two as an assistant coach (2022-23) under Kera Dukic. In 2021, the Golden Suns won the Great American Conference (GAC) tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
Shelstead began coaching after her four-year playing career with two seasons at John Brown University (2015-16) before she transferred to Abilene Christian (2017-19). She finished her indoor career with 317 sets played, 608 kills and 292 blocks over four seasons. While at ACU, Shelstead competed in both indoor and beach competition.
In spring 2020, she earned a Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll selection as a member of the Wildcats beach volleyball team. As a sophomore at John Brown, she was named an honorable mention all-league selection for the Sooner Athletic Conference.
A native of Keller, Texas, Shelstead was a three-year letter winner during her prep career and graduated from Melissa High School. 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 Arkansas Tech in May 2022.
