Shawn Forrest, a 17-year veteran of collegiate coaching, will begin his third season on the WKU coaching staff in 2015-16 after arriving from Louisiana-Lafayette after the 2012-13 campaign.
While on the Hilltopper bench in 2013-14, Forrest helped develop a roster heavy on underclassmen and helped WKU secure its second-straight 20-win season and best finish in the Sun Belt Conference since 2008-09.
The 2014-15 season resulted in more of the same in WKU's inaugural season in Conference USA, as the squad put together a third-straight 20-win season and knocked off a ranked opponent for the first time since 2009. Forrest helped propel seniors George Fant and T.J. Price to two of the finest careers in WKU history, as the duo finished near the top of the Hilltopper record books in multiple categories.
Before coming to The Hill, Forrest helped the Ragin' Cajuns to the quarterfinals of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Forrest helped coach first-team all-conference guard Elfrid Payton in 2012-13, who went on to become the 10th selection in the 2014 NBA Draft. He joined the Louisiana-Lafayette staff after spending four seasons from 2008-09 to 2011-12 as an assistant coach at North Texas.
While with the Mean Green, Forrest worked with teams that averaged over 21 wins per season. In 2009-10, the Mean Green went 24-9, won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament and faced Kansas State in the first round.
Forrest was instrumental in helping land the 2010-11 recruiting class of Tony Mitchell, Jordan Williams, Chris Jones and Roger Franklin, which was ranked as high as No. 31 in the country.
Prior to moving to Denton, Forrest worked as an assistant coach at Arkansas State for six seasons from 2002-03 through 2007-08. He helped the Red Wolves to multiple top-100 recruiting classes, which included a pair of two-time All-Sun Belt Conference players, a Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year, a league-leading scorer, a second-leading scorer and a third-leading scorer.
Forrest joined the Red Wolf staff in August 2002 after serving as the recruiting coordinator at Florida A&M during the 2001-02 season.
While at Florida A&M, Forrest helped the Rattlers to a fourth-place finish in the MEAC, which was the highest the program had finished in 10 years. Forrest also recruited Terrance Woods, who was a two-time All-MEAC First Team performer. Woods holds the third- and fourth-best single-season three-point field goal totals in NCAA history, and in 2004 he won the NABC All-Star Three-Point Contest at the Final Four in San Antonio.
Forrest got his start in collegiate coaching as a graduate assistant at Troy for three seasons from 1998-99 to 2000-01. During that time, Forrest worked with the guards and assisted with recruiting, academics and travel.
During his time at Troy, Forrest helped four-straight top-100 recruiting classes, which produced five all-conference players and two players of the year in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Forrest helped the Trojans to two regular-season Atlantic Sun championships, one tournament title, one NCAA Tournament appearance and one postseason NIT appearance.
Forrest received his bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 1998.
Forrest and his wife, Renea, have three daughters, Abri, Aaliyah and Alyssa.
Coaching Career
Troy, graduate assistant, 1999-2001 (3 seasons)
Florida A&M, assistant coach, 2002 (1 season)
Arkansas State, assistant coach, 2003-08 (6 seasons)
North Texas, assistant coach, 2009-12 (4 seasons)
Louisiana-Lafayette, assistant coach, 2013 (1 season)
WKU, assistant coach, 2014-present (3rd season)
