Steve Shelton joined the Ball State soccer staff as an assistant coach in July 2016. He spent the previous five seasons as the head coach at Concordia University, an NAIA program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Shelton led Concordia’s rise up the NAIA rankings from No. 178 in 2011 to No. 27 in 2015, his final season. His teams posted records of .500 or better in each of his final three campaigns, including 10-win seasons in both 2014 and 2015.
Shelton coached Concordia’s first All-American in Julia Palushaj, who twice led the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference in scoring. His squads also had success academically, managing a team GPA better than 3.5 every year.
Shelton coached with the Northville branch of the Michigan Rush Soccer Club for three years and coached the Rush Select Team featuring the top players from each branch of the club. He also spent two years as an evaluator for the Michigan ODP.
Shelton played collegiately at Kalamazoo College and graduated from Western Michigan University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in public policy.
He began his coaching career at Grosse Ile High School in Michigan, where he was a standout prep player. The 2010 Huron League coach of the year led Grosse Ile to two district championships and a conference title.
As a player, Shelton was an all-state selection and set the Grosse Ile records for assists in a season (27), assists in a career (52) and goals in a game (5). He helped his team to a state championship in 2002 and a ranking of No. 13 nationally in 2003.