Head Coach STEVE SHELTON

The University of Detroit Mercy tabbed Steve Shelton as its new head women's soccer coach in the summer of 2019. He concluded his sixth season as head coach in the fall of 2024.

During the 2024 season, Shelton led the Titans to a 10-8-2 overall record and a 7-1-2 mark in #HLWSOC play. The Titans finished third in the league standings after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason. As the No. 3 seed in the #HLWSOC Tournament, Shelton led Detroit Mercy to a quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne, before eventually falling in the semifinals to No. 2 seed Northern Kentucky. For his efforts during the season, Shelton earned #HLWSOC Coach of the Year honors. UDM won 10 games for the first time since the 2016 season, and won their first #HLWSOC Tournament game since 2018. Shelton also led the Titans to an undefeated 4-0-2 mark on the road, and a second straight Metro Series victory over arch-rival Oakland. He also became the first UDM coach since 2012 to earn #HLWSOC Coach of the Year honors.

Last season, Shelton led the Titans to the #HLWSOC Tournament for the first time since 2018. No. 6 seeded Detroit Mercy dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky. The Titans finished the year with a 7-9-3 overall record and 5-5 mark in Horizon League play. Abbey Lodato was named First Team All-Conference while Leila Lanier was named Horizon League All-Freshman. 

Year four under Shelton saw the Titans improve their win total to six. Detroit Mercy won the season opener over Florida Gulf Coast, while also winning four Horizon League contests. Shelton also led the Titans to a 5-1-1 record at the friendly confines of Titan Field.

During the fall 2021 season, Erica Leinweber earned Horizon League All-Freshman honors under Shelton.

His second year with the Titans was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as Detroit Mercy played its 2020 season in the spring of 2021. During that season, Shelton led the Titans to Horizon League victories over Youngstown State and Robert Morris.

In his first year, he led the Titans to a tie in his coaching debut against Northwood and then picked up two road wins as his "firsts" with his initial win on the road at Madonna and then his first Division I win on the road at Indiana State.

Shelton -- a native of Grosse Ile, Michigan -- came to the Titans after serving as an assistant coach at Ball State and head coach at Concordia (MI), while also working with the Royal Oak Football Club, the Michigan Rush and Grosse Ile High School.

"Steve is a young, energetic and local product who has already experienced a tremendous amount of success in his career," said Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels, Jr.  "His passion for coaching and mentoring student-athletes was evident from the start, and I believe he will be a great leader for the women's soccer program."

"I would like to start by thanking Robert Vowels, Holly Kerstner, Teri Kromrei and the rest of the search committee for giving me the opportunity to lead this great program," said Shelton. "Coaching at this level has always been a dream of mine and being able to do it so close to home is truly special. I couldn't be more excited to join the Titan family and continue to build on the tradition and success of this program. Although there are too many to name, I would like to thank everyone who helped me get to this point and believed in me throughout my coaching journey. I am truly grateful for your guidance and support."

Shelton was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Ball State the last three seasons, helping the Cardinals to the 2016 MAC regular-season championship, two MAC West Division titles and a run to the MAC title game in 2018.

In his three years, Ball State was 39-13-9, including 25-4-4 in conference play. In his first year, the Cardinals reached an all-time high of No. 40 in the NCAA RPI and compiled a school-record 10-game unbeaten streak and tallied a win at ACC opponent Louisville, the first victory for Ball State over a Power 5 opponent in a decade.

Ball State also recorded a 25-game home unbeaten streak in his tenure, which was the longest in the country at the time, and won a school-record nine games in a row during the 2018 season.

Before that, Shelton was the head coach at Concordia University in Ann Arbor and completely turned around the program, helping the Cardinals post their first winning season since the late 1990s. Concordia went from one win in his first season in 2011 to 9-9-1 in his third year and back-to-back 10-win campaigns in 2014 and 2015. The team skyrocketed up the NAIA rankings from No. 178 in 2011 to No. 27 in 2015. He also coached Concordia's first All-American in Julia Palushaj, who twice led the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference in scoring, and his team was full of student-athletes, managing a team GPA better than 3.5 every year.

He began his coaching career at Grosse Ile High School, where he was a standout prep player, coaching the junior varsity team from 2007-2009 before taking over as the varsity head coach from 2009-2011. He was the 2010 Huron League Coach of the Year and his program captured two district championships and a conference title. His 2010 team was a regional finalist and second in the state and his squad was the first ever to go 14-0 in the Huron League.

He was the Director of Coaching and Player Development at the Royal Oak Football Club after leaving Ball State. Shelton was also the Director of Coaching at the Delaware County Futbol Club in Muncie while he was at Ball State and coached with the Michigan Rush Soccer Club when he was at Concordia.

As a player, Shelton was an All-State selection and set the Grosse Ile records for assists in a season (27), assists in a career (52) and goals in a game (5). He helped his high school team to a state championship in 2002 and a ranking of No. 13 nationally in 2003.

He went on to play collegiately at Kalamazoo College and graduated from Western Michigan in 2008 with a degree in public policy.

Shelton holds a USSF National A coaching license.