Barnes Rounds Out Staff With Key Hires

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Women's Basketball Head Coach Adia Barnes has announced a trio of staff hirings. The program has added Bett Shelby as Special Assistant to the Head Coach, Kayla Scott as Director of Basketball Operations and Zane Barnes as Creative Content Specialist.

"I want to thank our Director of Athletics Dave Heeke, University President Dr. Robert C. Robbins and Arizona's Senior Leadership Team for continuously supporting myself and the Arizona Women's Basketball program," Barnes said. "They are committed and invested in this program. With their commitment and support, we can continue to operate and compete at a championship level. Today, Arizona just got better! We are extremely excited to announce the addition of three incredibly talented people that are Made For It."

BETT SHELBY
Bett Shelby joins the program with has vast coaching experience that includes over 15 years in college basketball and joins the Arizona staff after three seasons as the top assistant at West Virginia.

"The first person that I am so excited to announce is Bett Shelby," Barnes said. "She is one of the most proven coaches and recruiters in the nation. No one matches Bett's energy, determination or work ethic. She has been a critical piece of some of the best programs in the nation. Her coaching experience, knowledge, and expertise will help us reach another level. Bett has signed top recruiting classes, numerous All-Americans, and she knows what is takes to operate and compete at the highest level. She will directly assist me in multiple aspects of the program both on and off the court. There is no doubt that she is Made For It, and she will leave a legacy. I can't wait to start this journey with Bett as part of our staff."
 

During her time in Morgantown, Shelby held guide WVU to success on the court that included a banner 2020-21 season of 22 wins, a second-place finish in the Big XII and an NCAA Tournament appearance. She also developed and coached a pair of marquee stars in WNBA Draft picks Tynice Martin and Kysre Gondrezick with Gondrezick becoming the highest draft selection in program history as the fourth overall pick by the Indiana Fever.

"I am thrilled and honored to be joining Coach Barnes staff here at Arizona," Shelby said. "As a former Wildcat herself, WNBA champion, and now as an extremely successful head coach, I am excited to learn from her winning pedigree. She is a proven winner, and I am grateful to be a part of what Adia has built here at Arizona. I look forward to helping her to continue to carry out her championship vision for the program. The sky is the limit for what can be accomplished here at Arizona, and I can't wait to get started."

Shelby coached at North Carolina and Maryland prior to West Virginia where she was also the Tar Heels' and Terrapins' recruiting coordinator. Maryland signed a pair of top-five recruiting classes and won Big Ten regular season and conference championships during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

Her prior stops include Virginia Tech and Seton Hall where she had achieved success on the court and on the recruiting trail with a top-20 recruiting class with the Hokies and record-breaking BIG EAST wins with the Pirates. Shelby also signed top recruiting classes in her first coaching stops with the top mid-major class and best in the Missouri Valley at Southern Illinois as well as the top recruiting class in the Ohio Valley Conference during her tenure at Tennessee Tech.

Shelby broke into the college basketball coaching ranks as the Director of Operations at East Carolina following her playing career. The Charlotte, North Carolina native played two seasons at UNC Wilmington before transferring to Greensboro College where she led the Pride to regular season and conference tournament titles and a NCAA Tournament appearance. She graduated from Greensboro with a bachelor's degree in sports and exercise studies with a concentration in coaching in 2006. Shelby is the daughter of Brad and Texie and has a sister named Mary.

KAYLA SCOTT
Scott joins Adia Barnes' staff following six seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Stephen F. Austin. She served on Mark Kellogg's staff in Nacogdoches during a historically successful tenure that included an average of 25 wins per season, back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, two regular season conference championships and a Southland Tournament championship.

"Arizona Women's Basketball continues to elevate itself with the addition of Kayla Scott as our new Director of Basketball Operations," said head coach Adia Barnes. "Kayla is aligned with our program's core values and culture. She understands what it takes to operate an elite program in a professional way. She is a relentless worker, creative thinker, and is extremely organized. Kayla is widely respected throughout college basketball, on the men's and women's side as well as in professional soccer. I love Kayla's servant mentality in the workplace and in the community. She developed and created successful donor, coaches and kids' programs. With Kayla's skill set there is no doubt that she will be a tremendous asset for our program! We hit a home run with Kayla. Tucson, please help me welcome Kayla Scott to our Wildcat Family."
 

The Texas native managed SFA's team travel, budgeting, scheduling and on-campus visits among other duties during her time with the Ladyjacks. Prior to her tenure at SFA, Scott spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Cameron University and Western Texas College.

Scott is a 2013 graduate of Howard Payne University where she was a member of the Yellow Jackets' women's basketball program. As a guard on the team, Scott appeared in 92 games in her career and was a three-time selection to the American Southwest Conference's All-Academic Team.

ZANE BARNES
Barnes arrives in Tucson after working as part of the Cincinnati Bearcats' video staff where he worked with all of the department's programs. He shot and logged footage while creating highlight reels for teams and student-athletes. He produced social media content as a Game Day Video Editor for the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2021 season as well.

"Zane Barnes is one of the most talented young cinematographers in the nation," said head coach Adia Barnes. "His work speaks for itself. For this generation, creative content is one of the most important roles in a program. Zane is talented, dynamic, driven, and he brings a creative energy to the program that I love. His skillset adds a new element to our program. Zane will develop creative content that will elevate our national social media presence, student-athlete development, branding, and he will play an important role in name, image and likeness. I am excited to work with Zane and can't wait to see him grow our national brand."
 

 
He is a 2022 graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he earned his bachelor's degree in Multimedia Production with a minor in Sport Media and Promotion. During his studies at UC, Barnes worked with ESPN+ as part of a social media production class and the student-ran Bearcast Media.