Shannon Sword

    Shannon Sword, a former standout player in the Horizon League, is in her second season as an assistant coach at Youngstown State.
    A First-Team All-Horizon League pick as a senior at Cleveland State, Sword is primarily responsible for team travel, scheduling, practice planning, camps, the program's annual golf outing and the Penguins’ community outreach.
    The YSU women’s basketball program completed 17 different community service projects throughout the 2008-09 academic year and earned the Horizon League Community Outreach Award for its efforts. Those projects ranged from a Trick-or-Treat night at a nearby retirement home to discussing life goals and important life decisions at the Youngstown Academy of Excellence to running a free basketball clinic for area youth.
    The Penguins also participated in nationwide philanthropic activities such as the Coaches vs. Cancer Walk and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund "Pink Zone".
    Sword came to Youngstown State after spending two seasons at Division II Ashland University as a graduate assistant. With the Eagles, she was responsible for on-floor coaching, film exchange and day-to-day operations of the program.
    Prior to Ashland, Sword spent a season as the top assistant coach at Manhattanville College, where she worked with the post players and helped organize and conduct team practices.
    Sword was also the head coach of the Dayton Lady Hoopsters, a 15-and-under AAU team and an assistant at Miamisburg High School. In her lone season at Miamisburg, the squad went 23-1 and ranked fourth in the final state poll.
    A native of Miamisburg, Ohio, Sword had a prolific playing career at Cleveland State University as a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter.
    A First-Team All-Horizon League pick in 2003-04, she was the team captain and most valuable player her senior year. Sword is CSU's all-time leader in career three-point percentage (.380). She also ranks second in career free-throw percentage (.802), tied for seventh in games played (113), 13th in scoring (1,136) and 13th in rebounding (523).
    Sword was on the Horizon League All-Academic Team for four years and was a four-time CSU Athletic Academic Excellence award winner.
    Sword graduated magna cum laude from Cleveland State in 2004 with a degree in sport management. She earned her master's degree in sport education from Ashland in May 2008.