(JCCC Sports Information) OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- After 33 seasons in the Cavaliers dugout, Kent Shelley will retire as head coach of the Johnson County Community College baseball program at the conclusion of the 2020 season. The Hall of Fame coach enters his final campaign with 1,055 wins, two NJCAA World Series appearances, four Region VI titles and three East Jayhawk Conference titles. He is the winningest coach in JCCC history, and one of the all-time leaders in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.                

"I am extremely honored to have been given the opportunity to coach all 33 years of my career at the same institution which I have taken great pride in representing throughout my travels in the world of baseball," said Shelley. "To be able to sustain a level of excellence both in the class room as well as on the baseball field has been a direct testament to the high caliber of student-athletes we have been able to identify, develop, provide a quality education and assist in moving to the next level. I will always be a Cavalier, and I will remain their No. 1 fan."

In his previous 32 campaigns as the Cavaliers skipper, Shelley has produced nine teams that have surpassed 40 wins, 20 teams that have won at least 30 wins and his teams have topped 20 wins more in 31 of those 32 seasons. He has been named the Region VI Coach of the Year four times (1990, 1993, 2003, 2014) and was the Kansas Jayhawk Conference East Division Coach of the Year in 2014.

Shelley's players have also seen unbelievable success. He has coached 11 NJCAA All-Americans, two preseason All-Americans, one World Series All-Tournament selection, six USA Junior College All-Stars, 34 All-Region performers and 176 All-East Jayhawk Conference selections.  Additionally, 44 of his former players have been drafted or signed as free agents by Major League Baseball. In August of 2002, power hitter Kit Pellow became the first JCCC player to make it to the Major Leagues, playing for the Kansas City Royals. Two years later, Pellow was the opening day starter in left field for the Colorado Rockies.

Off the field Shelley's players have been honored by the NJCAA for academic excellence 63 times, and since 2008, his teams have been ranked among the top 15 academic teams in the country. In 2019, pitcher Dylan Bierman became the first JCCC male athlete to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America® College Division At-Large as named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Shelley has also played a significant role in helping his players continue their playing careers at four-year universities and college. A total of 315 student-athletes under his direction have transferred to play at four-year institutions, with 272 at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels, including Arkansas, Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Missouri State, Nebraska, New Mexico State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Tennessee to name a few. 

"I am proud of the men my players have become," Shelley said. "They are impressive husbands and wonderful fathers who are making major impacts in their communities, as well as making a positive difference in the world. You can find my players representing almost all professions in the workforce. These men are community role models and civic leaders."

Shelley's influence on the game at the community college level extends a long way beyond the college and lines of Johnson County. He has been active on both the national and international levels of junior college baseball. In January 1997, at the American Baseball Coaches Association annual meeting, he was selected as president of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association. As president, Shelley represented the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association on the ABCA Executive Committee. Before that appointment, Shelley had just concluded a three-year stint as vice president of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association. In addition, he served on the International Baseball Committee for that organization. He has also represented the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association on the NCAA Division I baseball rules committee.

In 2002 Shelley was selected to serve on the Executive Committee of the American Baseball Coaches Association, becoming just the second coach from the community college ranks to earn such an honor. He has continued to move up the ranks, and in 2007 completed the role of president of the ABCA, becoming just the second junior college coach to serve as president. He will continue to serve on the ABCA Board of Directors for life. The ABCA is the largest coaching organization with nearly 13,000 members around the world.

In addition to serving on the ABCA Board, Shelley also currently serves on the ABCA Ethics Committee, NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee, NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Committee and the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association International Baseball Committee.

Over his career, Shelley has been asked to serve as a coach or administrator for several national teams and organizations. In 1994 he served as head coach for Team USA, a select NJCAA team that played host to a select team from Japan. In 1990, he served as an assistant coach on the first NJCAA team to participate in international competition. The USA All-Stars competed in the Friendship Games in Las Tunas, Cuba. He also has been selected as head coach of the Kansas Region VI Eastern Division All-Stars three times.

Shelley is also highly regarded by his coaching peers and his success at JCCC has earned him national recognition. In May 2007, Shelley was inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, joining 77 other community college coaching greats. He was just the second coach from Region VI and the Kansas Jayhawk Conference to earn this prestigious honor. In Jan., 2013, Shelley earned college baseball highest coaching honor when he was inducted to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame. That same year, he also joined the JCCC Athletics Hall of Fame. In December 2015, Shelley was inducted into the Ban Johnson League Hall of Fame.

A solid background in baseball has helped set the stage for Shelley's success at Johnson County Community College. He was a collegiate standout catcher at Pratt Community College and the University of Kansas. At Pratt, he was co-captain and most valuable player in 1980. At the University of Kansas, Shelley was elected co-captain in 1982. Following his senior year, he served as graduate assistant for the Jayhawks. Before taking the helm at JCCC, Shelley served one season at JCCC as assistant coach under Cavalier Hall of Famer Sonny Maynard. 

In addition to his duties at JCCC, Shelley also serves as an associate scout for the Kansas City Royals. 

Shelley earned his bachelor's degree in personnel administration at KU and completed his master's degree in student/personnel administration at Emporia State University.

Shelley and his wife, MargE, have two daughters: Mandi, 31, and Madison, 25.