Tuesday, March 22, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. - The postseason honors continue to pour in for Western Oregon's men's basketball program with the selection of head coach Jim Shaw as the West Region Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC).

In his first year leading the program, Shaw led the Wolves to its second consecutive GNAC regular season title, its first GNAC Championships tournament title and the No. 1 seed in the 2016 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional Tournament. The Wolves defended the home court three times to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with regional wins against Humboldt State, Azusa Pacific and UC San Diego. It is the first time that Western Oregon has advanced to the round of eight in a national tournament since the 1982 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

In addition, Shaw led Western Oregon to its first No. 1 ranking in program history when it topped both the NABC and D2SIDA national polls on Feb. 9.

Hired by Western Oregon last summer, Shaw is a 1985 graduate of Western Oregon and was a Honorable Mention NAIA All-American for the Wolves as a senior. He returned to Monmouth after a long career as a Division I assistant coach, most recently at Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Washington.