Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- shalon.pillow@mtsu.edu
- Phone:
- 898-2498
UPDATED: 5/9/19
Shalon Pillow brings experience and knowledge as she begins her sixth season at Middle Tennessee in 2019-20.
A native of Addyston, Ohio, Pillow serves as an assistant coach on Rick Insell’s staff and has been instrumental in helping lead Middle Tennessee to five straight postseason appearances during her tenure.
Winning is nothing new for Pillow, who was part of five NCAA Tournament teams at Kentucky where she coached prior to Middle Tennessee. At Kentucky, Pillow was part of staff’s that led the Wildcats to three Elite Eights.
Head Coach Rick Insell lauds Pillow as a premier coach of post players because she understands what it takes to play the position at a high level because she did it herself as a player for Pat Summit at Tennessee. Pillow is regarded as a strong teacher of the game with a great feel for how to develop young players.
Pillow aided in developing standout Alex Johnson into one of the most productive post players in program history. Johnson was a three-time All-Conference USA selection and the 2015-16 C-USA Freshman of the Year. Johnson flourished under Pillow’s tutelage and capped her illustrious career among the Top 10 of nine different all-time categories, including scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
Another of Pillow’s success stories was post Gabby Lyon, who was named C-USA Sixth Player of the Year in 2016-17. Lyon improved into one of the top defenders in Conference USA and was a strong rebounder.
Pillow was also instrumental in the development of forward Jordan Majors, who turned in a career year in 2018-19 as she produced five of her six double-figure scoring games and more than doubled her career scoring and rebounding totals.
Pillow helped guide the Lady Raiders to 24 wins and the WNIT quarterfinals during her first season in 2014-15 when she worked with Cheyenne Parker, who was the No. 5 overall pick of the WNBA Chicago Sky in April, 2015.
Prior to Middle Tennessee, Pillow spent five seasons at the University of Kentucky, where the Wildcats posted a 137-39 record. Kentucky made three Elite Eight appearances and was SEC regular-season champions in 2012.
In her first season in the Bluegrass, Pillow’s tireless and consistent work ethic blended in perfectly with the UK Hoops staff. She coached and mentored the Wildcat post players, which included forward Victoria Dunlap, UK’s first SEC Player of the Year and first State Farm/WBCA All-American since 1983. The Wildcats won a program-best 28 wins, were second in the SEC and reached the NCAA Elite Eight.
In her second year, Pillow once again helped lead the Cats to an impressive season as UK advanced to its second straight NCAA Tournament and finished ranked in the Top 25 of the AP poll. The Wildcats finished second in the SEC race with a school-record-tying 11 league wins. Dunlap was again named SEC Player of the Year by the AP and she ended her illustrious career ranked No. 2 in career scoring and rebounding.
Pillow came to Kentucky after one season as an assistant coach at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y., and three seasons at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla.
At Hofstra, Pillow coached the post players and helped the Pride compile a 16-14 record, which ranked as one of the top turnarounds in women’s college basketball. Hofstra’s 11-game improvement ranked fourth-best nationally. At USF, Pillow was the director of basketball operations for one season before being promoted to assistant coach during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.
Prior to her coaching stints at Hofstra and USF, Pillow was Camp Director and Event Operator for the Ohio Girls Basketball Report (OGBR), where she was responsible for directing the largest 8-10th grade summer camp in the Midwest. She also directed the Top 64 Showcase, and handled pre- and post-camp evaluations.
In addition to her position with the OGBR, Pillow served as a guest services representative at the Argosy Hotel in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, from 2003-05, where she assisted in the facility’s marketing and promotions.
Pillow, a 6-foot-3 center, was a four-year letterwinner (1998-2002) at Tennessee under legendary coach Pat Summitt. She played in 108 career games and helped the Lady Vols advance to four NCAA Tournaments, including two Final Four appearances. She graduated from UT in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in general psychology and a minor in communications.
Following graduation, Pillow played for the Tennessee Fury of the National Women’s Basketball League during its inaugural season, and appeared in 20 games. She also served as an assistant coach with the varsity team at Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio, from 2003-04 and worked the Lady Vols’ summer camps from 1998-2001.
She was a highly-decorated player coming out of Taylor High School, earning Nike and Parade Magazine All-America honors after averaging 22.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 3.0 steals per game as a senior. She also was tabbed by USA Today as one of the top 20 scholastic players in America and was a finalist for the Naismith High School Player of the Year Award.
