Shawn Forrest joined head coach Will Wade's staff prior to the 2023-24 season.
A 25-year veteran of college basketball, Forrest most recently was the Assistant to the Head Coach for Penny Hardaway at Memphis for two seasons. He also served as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern during the 2020-21 campaign.
Before arriving to Statesboro, Forrest spent three seasons (2016-19) at SMU, where he helped the Mustangs to a 30-5 record in 2016-17. SMU went 18-0 at home that season, won The American regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. SMU was ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 for the last six weeks of the season and finished 11th in the poll. Forrest was also instrumental in the development of three NBA draft picks during his tenure at SMU, Semi Ojeleye, Sterling Brown and Shake Milton.
Prior to that, Forrest spent three seasons at Western Kentucky (2013-16), helping the Hilltoppers to consecutive 20-win seasons, and he mentored NBA draft picks Elfrid Payton and Shawn Long at Louisiana in 2012-13. He helped North Texas to four consecutive 20-plus win seasons (2008-12) and coached NBA Draft selection Tony Mitchell. The Mean Green won the 2010 Sun Belt Tournament, earning the league’s bid to the NCAA Tournament. Forrest began his career as a graduate assistant at Troy (1998-2001) and spent six seasons at Arkansas State (2002-08), where he played a part in recruiting multiple top-100 classes.
Forrest is the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1998. He and his wife, Renea, have three daughters, Abri, Aaliyah and Alyssa.
