Luke Shelley, a 6-foot-2, 163-pound guard from Victoria, Australia will continue his education and basketball career at Kentucky Wesleyan College, according to Panther head coach Todd Lee. He is the first Aussie recruit in the 101-year history of KWC basketball.
Shelley competed on two clubs, one state junior representative team plus high school and participated in the Basketball Australia National Intensive Training Program over the past three years.
He played for the Dandenong Rangers in the Under-23 Development League of the Australian Basketball Assocation in 2008 and again this past season. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest.
In 2009, he played for Latrobe City Energy in the U-23 D-League for for his coach and father Phil Shelley.
“Luke is a very skilled player and a good athlete that shoots the ball well with international three-point range," said Lee. "He will stretch the defense with his long distance scoring ability.
"His experience of playing with older more mature players will serve him well. His adjustment as a freshman coming in will be getting stronger and also getting used to the American-style of collegiate competition.
"He comes from a basketball family where his father is a specialist shooting coach to two different Australian Leagues teams, the state and junior state teams and serves as a consultant to the national program."
Shelley was a member of the 2008 Victorian Bushrangers U-18 Victorian Country Representative Team that won the 2008 Australian Country Junior National Championship Cup. He twice made the "final 20" selection in the Victorian U-20 state team.
In high school, Shelley was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School. He was the captain of the 2008 and 2009 U-18 Victorian Schools Senior Boys Representative Team where they finished third twice in the National Independent Schools Division 2 Championships.
He is the son of Phil and Carolyn Shelley and will major in business administration.
