A Coaching Career That Almost Wasn't: Greater Allegheny's New Women's Basketball Coach Returns to the Game

This is the ninth in a series of feature stories during the fall 2023 semester. Each campus will be featured once throughout the semester as we highlight happenings, people and interesting stories from around the PSUAC.

Story courtesy of Penn State Greater Allegheny athletics.

MCKEESPORT, Pa. - Jalyn Shelton-Burleigh is quite familiar with Penn State University. Growing up in State College, PA and having attended State College High School before continuing her basketball playing career at NCAA Division II Lock Haven University, Coach Jalyn Shelton-Burleigh is the coach who almost never became a coach.

Shelton-Burleigh was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at Penn State Greater Allegheny earlier this fall. She replaces reigning PSUAC Coach of the Year Tre McKeithen who opted to focus more on the men's side of the game and remain as a Greater Allegheny men's assistant coach in addition to pursuing some opportunities outside of the university.

Coaching almost never happened for Coach Shelton-Burleigh. By the end of her collegiate playing career, she said, "I remember telling my dad that I'm done with basketball."

The stress of recovering from a significant knee injury, interpersonal team issues, and the constant 24/7 pressure of being a high-level collegiate athlete was starting to wear on her. "I was done.," she added.

But, like most competitors after their playing days end, how does one fill that void? Some former players pick up new hobbies. Some fill the gap in other ways. Some leave their respective sport altogether never to return.

It started for Shelton-Burleigh by attending one practice (for fun), working one volunteer event, which led to working as an assistant coach which led to working in the AAU game, which led to the college game and the rest is history.

Shelton-Burleigh added, "My dad said after I started coaching, "You are yourself again."

After moving to Pittsburgh from Indianapolis for work (she works in the insurance industry) Shelton-Burleigh started helping Propel Schools as an assistant coach. The coaching world is small and that led to meeting coaches locally in the AAU game and beginning to coach with the Western PA Bruins and girls of various ages. The AAU game led to last season working as an assistant coach at Penn State New Kensington and now to Penn State Greater Allegheny as the head coach.

Greater Allegheny Women's Basketball comes off its most successful regular season in program history with a 17-7 record, 14-5 in the PSUAC and semifinal berth in the playoffs before bowing out to Penn State Schuylkill.

Key players such as Tomisha Pierce, Abby Henderson, and Lauren Harris all return.

Shelton-Burleigh is looking for a cohesive, tenacious team that plays together and continues the recent success the program has had.

"I inherited a good situation from Coach Tre. My job is to add some small tweaks and things here and there to help us replicate and hopefully elevate our success.," she added. "We have to be as tight as a team off the court as on the court."

All the things she expected of herself as a player are now what she is passing on to the GA program – be on time, work hard, and do the little things every day. Not bad for someone who swore off basketball a few years ago.

GA Women's hoops plays two preseason games before tipping off against Point Park University on November 2 at home.