Shanele Stires, most recently the head coach for six seasons at Cal State East Bay where she led the Pioneers to two CCAA Championships, was named the seventh head coach of the Cal Poly women's basketball program on April 14, 2022 and is in her fifth season. In the 2025-26 season, she coached two players that earned...
Shanele Stires, most recently the head coach for six seasons at Cal State East Bay where she led the Pioneers to two CCAA Championships, was named the seventh head coach of the Cal Poly women's basketball program on April 14, 2022 and is in her fifth season.
In the 2025-26 season, she coached two players that earned All-Big West honors in freshman Charish Thompson and sophomore Vanessa McManus. In 2024-25, Stires led the Mustangs to the quarterfinals of the Big West Championship and a 14-win season. She also saw two players earn All-Big West honors in Annika Shah and Mary Carter.
In 2023-24, Stires' second season as head coach, the Mustangs ended the season with a 17-14 overall season record. They were 13-7 in the Big West Conference. Stires led 3 Mustangs to All-Big West accolades this season with Natalia Ackerman receiving First Team All-Big West and All-Defensive Team, Mary Carter taking home the All-Freshmen Team and Annika Shah with an Honorable Mention award. Ackerman also earned her first Big West All- Academic selection. Stires led the Mustangs through a banner season with 17 home game wins for the first time since the 2017-18 season, along with sending them to the WNIT Postseason Tournament since 2014.
In her first season leading the Mustangs in 2022-23, Stires helped Cal Poly more than triple its win total from the previous season. During the season, Cal Poly had a three-game win streak for the first time in more than two years and beat UCSB for the first time in two years. They also were 2-0 against Mountain West opponents, beating both Fresno State and San Jose State. The Mustangs ranked second in the Big West in attendance and their game against No. 1 South Carolina at Mott Athletics Center was the second-highest attended women's basketball game in Cal Poly history. Off the court, four players earned Big West All-Academic honors for their work in the classroom.
In six seasons at Cal State East Bay, Stires elevated the program while compiling a career record of 94-53. She guided the program to at least the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament in five of her six seasons, including winning titles in 2017 and 2022. In her final season at Cal State East Bay in 2021-22, Stires led the Pioneers to a 24-3 record -– the program's most wins since the 2015-16 season, a 15-1 conference record, a CCAA Tournament Championship, and to the West Region Semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament,
During Stires' tenure, she saw 11 players earn All-Conference honors, including Shomari Harris, who was named CCAA Player of the Year in 2017. Additionally under her watch, 31 players earned CCAA All-Academic honors.
Prior to taking the head coaching job at Cal State East Bay in the fall of 2016, Stires served as the associate head coach for the women's basketball team at the University of San Francisco from 2012-16. In that role, she was San Francisco's recruiting coordinator as well as the team's primary defensive coach. In 2015-16, she was instrumental in helping the Dons win the West Coast Conference and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 years.
Before arriving at San Francisco, Stires served as an assistant coach at University of Nebraska-Omaha (2011-12), Stetson University (2010-11), San Diego State University (2008-10), San Francisco (2006-08), and Ohio University (2003-06). During this period, she helped lead those programs to three conference championships and three NCAA tournament appearances.
At Nebraska-Omaha, she oversaw recruiting, scouting and the development of UNO's post players as the Mavericks transitioned to Division I. Stires also helped UNO double its win total from the prior year.
In her one season at Stetson, Stires helped the program to the second-best turnaround in Division I that year. The Hatters went from six wins in 2009-10 to 20 victories in 2010-11. Stetson went on to win the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament for the first time since 2005 and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Stires also led the effort in producing the top-ranked 2011 recruiting class in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which included three players listed in ESPN.com's Top 300. The class was ranked 63rd in the nation by recruiting analyst Dan Olson.
During her time at San Diego State, the Aztecs won two Mountain West Conference championships and appeared in two NCAA Tournaments, reaching the second round in 2009 and Sweet 16 in 2010.
Other past coaching experiences include time spent at NCAA Division III Augsburg College as well as Salina (Kan.) South High School, which made the Class 5A state finals while she was on staff in 1997.
Stires was a standout player at Kansas State from 1992-95, where she scored 1,344 career points, grabbed 701 career rebounds and earned Kodak All-America honorable mention, First-Team All-Big Eight honors and runner-up in Conference Player of the Year voting as a senior in 1995. She left the school ranked fifth all-time in career rebounds and sixth all-time in scoring.
From there, she moved on to a professional basketball career, winning two American Basketball League titles with the Columbus Quest from 1996-99. After the ABL folded, she joined the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, where she played 49 games in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During the WNBA offseason, Stires played overseas in Greece, Portugal and Sweden.
Stires received her bachelor's degree in social science from Kansas State in 1995, and a master's degree in collegiate athletics from San Francisco in 2016.
Shanele Stires
